The Turn of the Key, by Ruth Ware

 

Characters
Rowan Caine/Rachel Gerhardt   Bill Elincourt – Rowan’s real father, affairs with previous nannies Sandra Elincourt Rhianna – 14, at boarding school Maddie – 8 Ellie – 5 Petra – 18 months   Jack Grant – driver   Jean McKenzie - housekeeper	Previous Nannies: #1 – Holly 3 years #2 – Lauren 8 months #3 – 1 week #4 – Maja – 1 night #5 – Katya – left note for next nanny, unfinished   Mr. Gates – court-appointed lawyer   Mr. Wrexham – barrister, letters addressed to him   Dr. Kenwick Grant – previous owner of house Elspeth – daughter, died in poison garden

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: The page numbers are from the 2019 paperback edition.

1.       As you were reading, what clues did you pick up that something wasn’t right? 

2.       Did the author leave any red herrings (false clues)?

3.       Was it realistic that the parents would leave the children with a new nanny the first day she started?  Did this bother you? 

4.       Were there other things in the novel that did not seem right or that you wished had been addressed?  For example, why would the parents leave the poison garden in tact?

5.       In an early letter to Mr. Wrexham, Rowan said that her “instinct is always to aim low, save myself some pain” (page 18).  How was this important to the story, if at all?

6.       Did you have any idea about the ending as you were reading?

7.       Were you surprised that Rowan/Rachel apparently did not give Ellie’s letter to the police in order to prove her innocence?

8.       Why did Maddie keep terrorizing the nannies so they would leave?  Why did she warn Rowan?

9.       What did you think of the ending?  Was the book a satisfying reading experience?

10.   Would you want to live in a house totally wired with cameras and electronics like the Elincourt house?  Were the cameras in the bedrooms a matter of safety or an invasion of privacy?

11.   What other scary or spooky books have you read?  Did you like this genre?