A review by taliatalksbooks
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

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. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings