Short Story Sunday: Snowflakes by Ruth Ware
Snowflakes
Series: Hush Collection
Hush, a collection of six stories, ranging from political mysteries to psychological thrillers, in which deception can be a matter of life and death. Each piece can be read or listened to in one truly chilling sitting.
Author: Ruth Ware
Published: July 30, 2020
Audiobook: 33 minute read/ 24 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: October 7, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Short Story Description:
Leah has spent her formative years isolated on a remote island with her family. But their quiet existence, far from the devastated mainland, is cracking. Father, sensing a coming threat, demands that a wall be built. As the stone blockade rises, Father’s paranoia escalates. So does Leah’s dread that the violence the family left behind has found its way to their sanctuary.
Jessica’s Review:
I adore Ruth Ware but Snowflakes did not work for me. It has a dystopian feel to it, but the short story devolves into a political message. There is a conclusion that gives a small bit of a shock to the reader. The short story does go in a way I did not expect, but this one was not for me.
I listened to the audiobook version which lasted for my commute home from work. Short stories can be a nice way to pass the time, provided the story itself works for you.
Book Review: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
The Turn of the Key
Author: Ruth Ware
Narrator: Imogene Church
Published: August 6, 2019
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: November 1-12, 2020
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine 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 herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.
Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unravelling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant.
It was everything.
She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.
Jessica’s Review:
The Turn of the Key is my favorite Ruth Ware novel! I hope she keeps writing novels like this one of the gothic suspense genre! This one had everything to love: a mysterious house with a past of its own that has been transformed into a ‘smart house’ that may also be haunted, someone accused of murder and telling their story, a picture perfect family that actually isn’t , and things that go creak and bump in the night! I started this one just after Halloween, but it would have been a perfect read to lead up to Halloween, especially with parts of Imogene Church’s narration. As mentioned in previous reviews, I adore Imogene Church’s narrations!!!
We start the novel with Rowan Caine in prison awaiting trial for the murder of one of the children. Rowan was the newest nanny, though the family has gone through four in the past year, Rowan had seen this as an opportunity to not pass by. Rowan is writing a letter to the man that she hopes will become her new lawyer as she is not happy with her current one. Rowan’s letter is the whole novel and she is telling the lawyer Mr. Wrexham her side of the story.
I did not know what to expect with this one. The hose was creepy in so many ways: its history and just being a ‘smart house’. I know after reading this novel I do NOT want to live in a smart house of any kind! I did not know what to really believe from Rowan, but had no idea how the story was going to end. And those last twists that happened: I NEVER would have seen coming!
This is a creepy, character driven thriller that will keep you involved in the story all the way to the ending!
The Turn of the Key is very highly recommended!!
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The Death of Mrs. Westaway
Author: Ruth Ware
Published: May 29, 2018
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: July 2-20, 2018
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Book Description:
On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.
Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the centre of it.
Jessica’s Review:
The premise of Mrs. Westaway had me intrigued and I could not wait to read it! I was able to get it on audio from my library. There is nothing wrong with Ware’s writing, in fact I love it, but I just did not connect with Hal. She is dealing with hard times financially and once she gets this letter she plans on conning the family as she is not the intended recipient of the inheritance. She shows up and then things just get out of hand. “Don’t Lie!” should be the moral here.
It is a character driven novel with a gothic feel to it. There are many mysteries occurring throughout the novel. What kept me reading was that I wanted to know what was going to ultimately happen. When the twists occurred, I didn’t really feel anything, due to my lack of connection with Hal. If I had connected with Hal I am sure I would have loved this novel. When it was over I did not really know how to feel: The mysteries were solved, but I still am not sure how I feel about the direction taken.
Imogene Church has narrated all of Ware’s novels and I love her! She narrates the novels wonderfully. My favorite Ware novel is The Woman in Cabin 10. All of her novels are character driven, so be prepared for a slow moving novel (Which I do not mean in a negative way) all the way up to the conclusion.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK