With ghosts, problematic technology and sinister histories used to mutilate the image of Heatherbrae House, secrecy thrives in this narrative. The book is clever in its use of the supernatural to disguise what’s actually happening. Is this book a bona fide ghost story? I wasn’t sure for ages. We see the characters unravel as they constantly look to fulfil both versions of themselves, and ultimately fail. With the public image seeking perfection, their true selves become more haggard and fractured as the novel develops. Everyone seems to have 2 identities in this house: a public image for the camera and then a more secretive ‘truer’ nature.

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

Whilst the plots overlap at points, The Turn of the Key is reliant on modern conveniences and leaves fewer questions unanswered. If you haven’t read that story, I recommend you do. If the title doesn’t give it away, the book draws from OG ghost story, Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. 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. 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. In her post she is looking after 2 young girls, a baby and their teen sister. 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 a world that combines tradition and modernity, we witness the breakdowns of convention and the unsettling emergence of human desperation. The Turn of the Key is a horror novel by Ruth Ware set in the rural countryside of Scotland.

The turn of the key