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Jane Cassiopeia Darcy asked this question about The Turn of the Key:
A live-in nanny that spets into a nightmare and a child ends up dead, in this new book The Turn of The Key. Sorry. The Turn of the what now? The Screw?
Susanne It's an intentional homage to The Turn of the Screw. It's not really mentioned clearly anywhere, but I found an interview with Ware in which it's extr…moreIt's an intentional homage to The Turn of the Screw. It's not really mentioned clearly anywhere, but I found an interview with Ware in which it's extremely briefly touched upon here

"Well, as you may have guessed from the title, it's slightly Henry James-ish, in the sense that it's about a nanny who is… well, it starts off in prison."


So she was definitely inspired by Screw, and I think the title works in a similar way. Whereas in The Turn of the Screw the title's meaning is specifically stated (heightening tension), with The Turn of the Key it places some kind of expectation from the start. I'm about halfway through, I believe, and I am still waiting for that 'click' moment, either the literal sound of a key being turned when it should not, or the more symbolic reveal (turn of the key, door opening, something like that).

So a good homage and an interesting choice of title at the same time!(less)
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The Turn of the Key
by Ruth Ware (Goodreads Author)
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