Reviews with content warning for Death - The Turn of the Key

I've watched a few movies based on the original novella, and I was really excited to pick this up. Surprisingly enough, I haven't read the original novella yet and I really need to! I liked this book, and I ended up reading it in one sitting. It was a wild read with an interesting twist. Some of the characters had me ticked off. A couple of the kids were spoiled little brats that should have been disciplined and the men in this book were trash. Overall, I liked this book but I didn’t love it and I really wanted to love it.

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enzopudge's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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achristi's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I CRIED

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nataliacdd's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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greatexpectations77's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was quite creepy, and I appreciated all of the tension and mystery that Ms. Ware built up over the course of the book. But I didn't feel like the resolution was fully satisfying. It was like a friend telling you how incredibly delicious a restaurant is for lots of hours, and then you show up there and all they have is toast. Like, does this technically fulfill the need? Yeah, but you feel disappointed that the build-up didn't lead to a huge ending.

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seforana's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The Turn Of The Key by Ruth Ware didn’t live up to her other books, but was still suspenseful and thrilling throughout. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I love Ware’s books, and though this one isn’t necessarily an exception, it certainly wasn’t my favorite of hers. This was mainly to do with the format and conclusion of the novel. While I liked the twisty turns this took, I definitely would have liked a more robust conclusion. The last few letters felt a little lacking in detail when compared to the rest of the story, and I think that some of the emotion that (having read the end) should have been present, didn’t come through in the format of the letters as it might have in a more first hand (rather than reflexive) narration. While I did like the story, and the way it unfolded, this felt like it fell more into the “withholding information to surprise the reader”category than it did into the “skillfully placed clues until the big reveal” category. Usually I find Ware’s books to fall into the second category, and while there were a few breadcrumbs, I didn’t feel like the clues were obvious enough throughout to help have the ah-ha moment at the twist. All that being said, Ware is still one of my favorite suspense writers, and I’m looking forward to my next Ruth Ware read.

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pershie13's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Let me start off by saying this: Oh. My. Gosh. I read The Woman in Cabin 10 a few years ago and still remember some of the uneasy feelings it gave me as a read, but this book took that to another level. I was questioning everyone and everything along with the main character, and I felt such deep emotions of unease and confusion as I tried to solve the mystery as I was reading. I don't think I have ever read a book that stirred up so many different emotions from start to finish, and I am not in the least bit surprised by how much I liked this book. The creepiness of the tech and surveillance was relatable as someone who tends to be afraid of the dark side of technology, and I found myself telling the main character to get the heck out of there pretty much from the start. The plot twist in the last hundred pages was truly shocking, and I love how Ruth Ware brought the whole book together in the end. The last couple pages definitely left me asking questions, and I did not expect the book to end the way it did. This is one of the best books I have read this year - or even ever - and definitely one of the most thrilling! An automatic 5-star read!

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