The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Rowan is delighted to receive notice that she has been successful in her application for a job as a live-in nanny in a beautiful old house in the Scottish Highlands. A house that has been fitted with the latest digital and electronic accoutrements, so the best of both worlds! At first she is beguiled by the perfection of the children, the home, the salary, the splendid isolation. But of course, this is a thriller so something will go wrong.
In fact, the book begins with the ending, Rowan is in jail awaiting trial for the murder of one of her charges, and the delivery of the book is mainly through her letters to a barrister begging him to believe that while she is far from perfect, she did not kill the child. Her first mistake was taking the job, despite hearing tales of a rapid turnover of nannies and suggestions that the house is haunted. Her second mistake was staying. Ware is skilled at developing suspense, particularly when it points at supernatural sources.
The atmosphere is charged with the anticipation of ill-will, so every little malfunction, unexplained noise or errant behaviour takes on malevolence This is perfect reading for Autumn or Winter; dark nights lend additional atmosphere to an already claustrophobic, paranoiac setting, where modern conveniences take on an air of menace and the away from it all setting transforms into a place of emotional and physical isolation.
Submitted by Lorna
