The Turn of the Key

Rowan Caine answers an irresistible job ad and becomes the live‑in nanny at Heatherbrae House—a luxurious, smart‑technology fortress perched in the eerie Scottish Highlands. From the moment she arrives, it seems like a dream: immaculate rooms, attentive children, and modern conveniences at her fingertips. But the house soon reveals its dark underbelly: erratic lights, ominous footsteps, malfunctioning cameras, and commands echoing through hidden speakers. Alone and sleep‑deprived, Rowan faces sinister children, a hostile housekeeper, and a mysterious handyman—Jack. As the smart system overrides her reality, one child dies, and Rowan finds herself behind bars, writing desperate letters to her lawyer from prison, pleading innocence.

Yet throughout the narrative, subtle clues accumulate—a nightmarish poison garden, uncanny surveillance, and layers of betrayal—twisting perception until the penultimate page forcefully redefines everything the reader thought they understood. Ruth Ware reimagines gothic tradition through a twenty‑first‑century lens: it’s “The Turn of the Screw” distilled through smart home paranoia. This modern haunted‑house thriller will churn your nerves and haunt your thoughts, urging every reader to ask: who really holds the key?