The very privileged little girls, Petra, Maddy and Elli Ellenscourt, ages toddler through 8, have a new nanny – our 1st person protagonist, Rowen.  They live with their traveling parents in a large technologically advanced home. They hate it when their parents leave and they act out with R as their victim.  Sad to say one of them ends up dead and Rowen is in jail for the murder.  The book opens with Rowen writing to a potential lawyer explaining her predicament and then goes into her story as it unfolded. 

*******
The Turn of the Key
by Ruth Ware
2020 / 2019
Read by Imogen Church – 8h 13m
rating: B / crime suspense
*******

I’ve read only one of Ruth Ware’s books prior to this one and I wasn’t too impressed. So, since I decided to try borrowing audio books from the library and this was available and sounded okay. I got it.  It’s a kind of updated version of Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw,” one of the best English language short stories and I understood that before reading it anywhere (I mean the title plus a nanny?  Duh.) But Ruth Ware is no Henry James and 2019 is not 1898. Don’t get your hopes up.

Okay so it’s high suspense, but sometimes there are just too many words. Rowan thinks and thinks and thinks. 

I was disappointed in the ending – I won’t say why. Just a difficulty with a certain plot twist which, imo, was stupid and clichéd.