Book Review: The Turn of the Key

Author: Ruth Ware

Genre: thriller, horror, contemporary

Rating: 4/5

Verdict

*slight spoilers ahead*

The Turn of the Key is a horror novel by Ruth Ware set in the rural countryside of Scotland. In a world that combines tradition and modernity, we witness the breakdowns of convention and the unsettling emergence of human desperation.

Laid out simply, our main character is Rowan Caine, a child carer based in London who applies for a nanny position at Heatherbrae House in Scotland, which she is successful in acquiring. In her post she is looking after 2 young girls, a baby and their teen sister. With the teen away at school and the parents leaving for a work convention, Rowan starts her position on her own with the kids for a week. With only fellow colleagues Jean and Jack around, during that time she faces multiple challenges and tribulations as it becomes apparent that someone, or something, does not want her there.

If the title doesn’t give it away, the book draws from OG ghost story, Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. If you haven’t read that story, I recommend you do. Whilst the plots overlap at points, The Turn of the Key is reliant on modern conveniences and leaves fewer questions unanswered.

The characters are each pushing problematic to the max. Under the scrutiny of their mother, they live fairly controlled lives. With the house largely run via the ‘Happy App’, cameras are installed in every single room. Privacy is an aspiration, rather than a right in this house. Constant surveillance also leads to some challenging behaviours from the girls when their parents aren’t around. Their hellish antics are difficult and had me sympathising with Rowan.

This is where a sense of duality comes to play. Everyone seems to have 2 identities in this house: a public image for the camera and then a more secretive ‘truer’ nature. With the public image seeking perfection, their true selves become more haggard and fractured as the novel develops. We see the characters unravel as they constantly look to fulfil both versions of themselves, and ultimately fail.

Is this book a bona fide ghost story? I wasn’t sure for ages. The book is clever in its use of the supernatural to disguise what’s actually happening. With ghosts, problematic technology and sinister histories used to mutilate the image of Heatherbrae House, secrecy thrives in this narrative. I was so focused on the ghost element of the story, that other facts went unchallenged.

Towards the final third of the novel, the secrets start to be revealed with an urgent frequency. It got to a point where every chapter was throwing out a new piece of information, forcing you to re-consider everything you thought you knew to that point. Considering the epistolary structure, the solicitor the narrator directs this story to would’ve received an astronomical number of cliff-hangers.

Essentially, hindsight is a beautiful thing. There’s more going on in this narrative than you first realise. When reading, it’s a young woman stuck on her own with 3 kids enduring a lot of mysterious encounters. In hindsight, the plot is as a dramatic and packed as a soap opera. It holds your attention and leaves you stunned at the final page. The first book of 2021 to suck me in, I highly recommend it to those seeking a distraction from the mundane.

Find the book on Goodreads!