The turn of the key by Ruth Ware

Vintage Publishing, 2019. ISBN: 9781787300446.
(Age: 16+) Recommended. Wow! What a compulsive read this was. From the first page the reader was drawn into the life of Rowan Caine, writing to her lawyer from prison. She had been a nanny in a luxurious house in the Scottish Highlands and thought she had the perfect job, but instead finds herself in prison accused of murdering one of the children in her care. Her letters reveal gradually reveal her life as a nanny as she tries to describe to her lawyer just what happened to bring about the death of a child.
Rowan is an unreliable narrator and the reader is left trying to unravel all of the events that had happened. Who was making the weird sounds that had frightened away so many of the previous nannies? What was the significance of the Poison Garden? Why wasn't the death recorded by the smart house that kept everything on constant surveillance? Who was Jack Grant the quiet handyman?
Needless to say, all these twists and turns kept me glued to the last page, and the conclusion is one that will have readers discussing it in fine detail. This was a compelling thriller, written by an author whose books I will be picking up from now on.
Pat Pledger