Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
Published: August 2019 (Paperback 2 April 2020)
Their dream house will become her worst nightmare…
When she stumbles across the advert, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss: a live-in nanny position, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten by the luxurious ‘smart’ home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.
What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare – one that will end with a child dead and her in a cell awaiting trial for murder. She knows she’s made mistakes. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty – at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.
The Review
I love author Ruth Ware - she is the absolute master at crafting a disturbing, sinister atmosphere. This one was quite similar to one of her other books 'The Death of Mrs Westaway' with a large, isolated, old house providing the perfect ghostly setting for unexplained noises and things that go bump in the night. The mood created is so realistic that main character, Rowan, wasn't the only one lying awake at night - I too was terrified to sleep. Not to self don't read Ruth Ware alone in the house at night.
The premise of this book was a nanny in prison awaiting trial for the murder of one of the four children she'd been employed to look after. In fact the entire book was one (very long) letter from Rowan to a potential solicitor pleading them to take her case and trying to convince him of her innocence by describing the events leading up to the child's death. However, refreshingly for a main character, Rowan is not always likeable - she's a nanny who doesn't like children and therefore has an ulterior motive for accepting the job.
Aside from the haunted house and ghostly going-ons this was full of creepy elements. The house might have been old but fascinatingly it was also a 'smart house with the parents able to watch the children (and nanny) via the cameras installed in every room of the house, turn lights on and off remotely, and control things via their voice or phone. And, it wasn't just Rowan who less than perfect, most of the characters were dark and mysterious - none more so than second child Maddie who seemed possessed at times.
But, it is these elements and the skilful telling that made this completely compulsive. I was completely hooked from start to finish. With the author's clever telling throughout you're just focused on reading a gripping narrative and it's only afterwards that you realise that in fact every detail and word is completely relevant to the plot.
Some have criticised the ending. For me it worked but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. Not that I guessed it - because I didn't - but that it was fairly straightforward and slightly unimaginative. It felt like the easy option rather than the dramatic expose I was expecting from the author. To be honest I also didn't completely understand it, not the reveal but more the epilogue, as it was a bit ambiguous.
The ending didn't detract from my enjoyment of this. Once again its another 5 stars from me for this latest offering by one of my favourite authors.
The author
Follow @RuthWareWriter or find out more at ruthware.com
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