A review by yeats_motel
The Key In The Lock by Beth Underdown

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Beth Underdown’s debut novel The Witchfinder’s Sister is one of my all time favorite books, so I was super excited to read her follow up—I even ordered direct from the UK since it’s not out yet in the US!

I’m glad I did, because this book was fantastic. It’s a mystery in dual timelines (1888 and 1918), which I thought was very well done, especially considering how tricky that kind of thing can be to pull off. I really loved the narrator, Ivy, who isn’t always sympathetic but is very complex and layered, which is something I personally value more than a conventionally cool or likable narrator. The story drips gothic atmosphere in the vein of a du Maurier novel.

Between this and Underdown’s previous novel, I did slightly prefer The Witchfinder’s Sister, but mostly because the Essex witch hunts which it’s centered on are a pet fascination of mine. Objectively, I think The Key in the Lock is maybe a little bit better written and structured. I whole-heartedly recommend both novels.