Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

13 reviews

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Child death, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Infidelity

pershie13's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Confinement, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abandonment, Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, Animal death, and Gore

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The futuristic gothic novel I didn’t know I needed. Every moment was infused with stress and dread, I could not put it down. The red herrings kept me guessing and I had no idea how it would end even up to the last page. This is my 5th Ruth Ware book and probably my favourite. All I can say is WOWEE and smart homes are an absolute no for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Sexual assault

ameliaflint's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Really good thriller! An excellent suspenseful read that had me on the edge of my seat. The only thing was, there were a few things that weren't quite explained in full about the happenings. I definitely couldn't have predicted the ending. A great one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Cursing

Minor: Sexual content, Murder, Self harm, Incest, and Child abuse

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Holy shit! So many twists and turns I did not anticipate. I like that the book is written in a series of letters and that the narrator is not necessarily reliable. This book definitely made me a bit jumpy and the ending brought tears to my eyes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

morganperks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Grief, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, Blood, Gaslighting, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Stalking

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Cursing, Bullying, and Alcohol

Minor: Stalking, Grief, Classism, Drug use, Sexual content, and Infidelity

inuyashaswife's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Spoiler

it’s not actually haunted

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Murder, and Incest

serendiptii's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.25

 So UNDERWHELMED by this book.

I heard of this book from a Haunted House thriller recommendation video on Youtube and the people of Goodreads seemed to rave about it, but boy, this is disappointing to say the least.
I have so many thoughts, but firstly, if this is a letter to her lawyer, why is it so freaking long. Is she trying to prove that she lived in that house by giving very detailed explanations? It is 44% and nothing has happened except annoying kids and few instances of creaky floorboards and AI powered kitchens?

It could’ve been divided into parts where she is writing a few pages to get the lawyer intrigued and once they meet Rowan, continued with the story. Could've made it more interesting for the reader.

The details just seem to go on and on and I have skipped/ scanned through a lot of paragraphs to get to the 44% mark.

Was hoping that the second half delivers, but wow, I was more let down by it.
By the end, I was just skipping more paragraphs, most of it was fluff, describing too many unnecessary things. I understand why the lawyer did not read this.
Coming to the lawyer, his name being mentioned TOO many times, really threw me off, even more so in the beginning. If this was meant to remind the reader that it was a letter to the lawyer, it should've been done more subtly.

There were more things I hated about this book than I liked. And the ending wasn't even that shocking. It fell flat and by the end of it, I was left wanting more, and NOT in a good way.

Considering all the other books I read this month were 4+ stars easy, this one was bland. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Death, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Abandonment, Infidelity, Vomit, and Emotional abuse

mallory10100's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

wow this was a great read. bought it because i love the haunting of bly manor and knew that it’s based on a book called the turn of the screw, and there were so many similarities with the show it was fun. so many great twists at the end that i definitely didn’t see coming!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Infidelity

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Self harm, Police brutality, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia

Minor: Bullying, Dementia, Excrement, Gore, Infidelity, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death

i loved this book homophobia TW is there bc the author uses the F slur for cigarettes because she’s british