This is the tale of Ivy, a doctor's daughter. The story flits between the 1880's, when she is a young girl, to 1918, when she is a middle aged woman. A story of intrigue, murder with a bit of romance thrown in.
The villian is not who you think it is.
A interesting book which I enjoyed reading.

Being Cornish, I liked the Cornish setting, the Cornish names, it definitely felt authentically Cornish. A real focus on grief over different people and I felt the war scenes/discussions were particularly poignant. I was however, left wanting a bit more.

4+ stars

There's something a bit special about this book I just can't put my finger on.
I can definitely agree on the Dumarier vibes.
It tells a story,and it tells it well.
A release of information at just the right pace,and little twists that took me by surprise .

I bought the witchfinders sister for a few people,I'll be buying this for a few more.

Is there any book lover who hasn’t heard of “The Key in the Lock”? It’s been everywhere and I was so excited to be given the chance to read an early copy of it.

This book wasn’t like anything I expected. For some reason, in my limited research of it beforehand, and what with the mysterious title, I assumed it was some kind of fantasy book, set in this wonderful make-believe place with fantasy creatures - definitely not the case.

I was a little confused at first with the flitting between 1888 and 1918 and figuring out how they linked, it that quickly became easy to understand and I was fully immersed in this multi-layered and heartbreaking story.

There’s no faffing about in this book - it opens with a whopper of a plot point and the narrative never lets up or disappoints.

The depictions of grief - in both 1888 and 1918 - is sensitively done. Grief can make devils of us and Beth shows the different stages of grief with each character. Whilst both time periods are interwoven written, I definitely found more of a personal interest in the goings-on of 1888.

It is a real eye opener as to what we would do for love, for hate, for friendship; what we are willing to sacrifice for what, and who, we think is right and that we think is wrong. Not everyone in this book is who they say they are, and you’re never given 100% of a person’s character. It is up to you to decide who you want to believe.

I don’t know the exact words to explain how beautifully this book is written; the pace, the choice of words, sentence structure, description - it’s all just magical, every word as perfect as the next. In the end, I think this may be a text studied by many future audiences.

2.5 stars

"The Key in the Lock" wasn't really for me: the protagonist wasn't all that likable, the relationships weren't developed enough to make me care, and some of the twists were rather obvious.

I loved the Witchfinders Sister and this was even better in my opinion. it was creepy and dark with terrifying undertones throughout the whole novel. The imagery was vivid and descriptions were amazing.

The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown

First time reading a book by this author. Set over two timelines , we follow Ivy Boscawen and her memories and loss of her son Tim.
I found this book had an almost dream like quality to it , and really enjoyed how the author described Ivy's life and experiences.

If you love historical fiction this is one not to be missed. So many twists and turns I was quite dizzy but a fabulous story with great characters. Told in two timelines 1888 until 1919 it follows the life and times of Ivy the doctors daughter in Cornwall. I thoroughly enjoyed Beth's previous book The Witchfinders Sister so had no doubt this would not disappoint. If you love drama and mystery all in one you will love this one.