I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review:

"The Key" by Kathryn Hughes is a deeply engrossing and emotional novel that will tug at your heartstrings while keeping you hooked from beginning to end. The dual timeline structure adds an intriguing depth to the story, blending the past and present in a way that pulls the reader through multiple layers of mystery and emotion. The subject matter, which revolves around an old secret and the impact it has on two generations, is incredibly compelling and thought-provoking. Hughes has a remarkable ability to create characters that feel real, and the way she weaves their stories together is nothing short of brilliant. There’s a perfect balance of happiness and sadness that gives the book an emotional resonance that lingers long after you've finished reading. If you're a fan of dual timelines and love stories with heart, this book will be a must-read for you. Highly recommended!

As a journalist I read this for Cosmopolitan in 2018 but the editor declined to print a review.

At the time I didn't realise I also had to post a review on here - apologies!

I really enjoyed reading this book. Loved the plot and the characters. Would probably buy and read again

Quite simply a wonderful read.

I love a timeshift novel, and this one really delivered. Ambergate feels entirely believable in both periods, and the mystery that unfolds through the book is both haunting and emotional. The harrowing story of a womans incarceration in a mental hospital in the 1950s combines with a present day tale of anothers fascination with the derelict, abandoned building left behind when the asylum closed to weave a plot which tugs at the heartstrings and evokes a lot of "if only..."

There are twists and turns throughout the book - more than enough to keep me reading long after I should have been asleep! Highly recommended.

This was such a sad and gripping read, it really doesn't disappoint the reader. It is a harrowing tale about how mental patients were treated in the past. Recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it quickly. Sarah Ambigate has decided to write a book about the history of an old derelict hospital. She finds a room full of suitcases containing the belongings of the old patients. One case in particular attracts her so she starts to investigate.
The story is told in two time frames and POV. Ellen a newly qualified nurse in 1956 and Ellen in 2006. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and will definately have the author on my read pile.
Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for an ARC
#TheKey #NetGalley

Every once in a while I like to pick up a book thats outside my comfort zone, a book that takes me away from serial killers, murders and mayhem, and when I read the book description for The Key I knew it was one I had to read. I’ve always been intrigued by asylums, I put that down to spending so many years working as a psychiatric nurse. When I think of asylums I conjure up images of wrong doings, barbaric treatments and an environment that was definitely not therapeutic to those living within the walls of such a place. Despite this Katherine Hughes has written a book that’s beautifully told, and has a very moving storyline that pulls at the heart strings.

The Key has a dual timeline, alternating between the 1950s and present day. Sarah, historian, finds a stash of old suitcases whilst going through the ruins of the old asylum. She is drawn to one suitcase in particular that contains a 50-year-old secret about the tragic life of Amy, a former patient. Katherine Hughes manages to convey the attitudes of the staff and the treatment of patients in Ambergate County Lunatic Asylum with such conviction that some readers may find this book an uncomfortable and upsetting read at times. There is no doubt The Key makes for a heartbreaking read, and more so because of the cruelty of such asylums, the author also highlights the shocking and unbelievable reasons patients found themselves incarcerated.

The author has done a magnificent job in creating characters that are so well drawn that you can’t help but invest in their story, especially Amy’s it’s a heartbreaking one and all the more upsetting because it’s a very credible one. It’s easy to imagine Amy’s confusion, her feeling of helplessness, but mostly you can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of injustice at the way Amy was treated in Ambergate. This could have been a depressing read, but the author manages to add some heartwarming moments of friendship, hope and love within its pages. Katherine Hughes has written a novel that made for a compelling read, at times I found myself quite emotional which is a testament to the author’s writing skills, by the time I reached the last page I felt like I had been alongside Amy in her life journey, a path filled with heartbreak, fear and isolation. The Key is a wonderful told story of rejection, pain, loss, and love, truth, and redemption. A disturbing yet captivating read that I would highly recommend to readers of historical fiction.

This review maybe altered slightly and edited prior to publication on my blog

This is a book I requested from NetGalley because I liked the blurb. There are a lot of possibilities in a story when it is centered around a mental institution around fifty plus years ago in England. The flimsy excuses given at the time for committing people (especially women) are scary to think consider. There is such a fine line between being accepted and being banished into a void. 

The story is of two women. One in the present who is looking into the past of the local mental health institution. The place is currently in ruins and her exploring into its history seems to be making her father uncomfortable. We are also given a parallel look into something that happened fifty years ago. What we are unaware of is whose story it actually is ( with regards to the second woman). The clever part of the tale ( and I suggest you go with the suggestions for maximum effect) is that we are given too many indications pointing to a tie up with the past, but we are unaware of who the players actually are. The women in the institution are helpless in their own way and that is part of the focus. The tale itself was good, the storyline not too predictable but I felt like is was more the case of telling than showing. If I got to make my own judgements on people's reactions based on the description instead of being told where they stand, I would have definitely enjoyed the story more. I know this is a more personal opinion since a majority of the reviews indicate they did not have the same problem that I did. I would like to try more of the author's books in the future.

A well written story taking place in 1956 when Ambergate County Lunatic Asylum is open, full to capacity and Ellen is starting out as a student nurse and in 2006 when the hospital is closed, derelict and Sarah is exploring it in order to write a pamphlet about it. Sarah finds an old suitcase and is driven to find out who it belonged to and so the story weaves between the past and the present.

The characters are well developed and the reader is kept riveted to the pages by this wonderful story of loss, tragedy, hope, love and forgiveness.

I received a copy of this novel from the Publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Very rarely do I give a book my top rating of five stars, but crikey The Key by Kathryn Hughes definitely deserves five stars. It is a compelling story with flawed and very real characters, but it is more than that. The Key is an important read, reminding us how far we've come regarding attitudes and treatment to mental health and vulnerable people, but also how little has changed.

Mainly set in the mid 1950s, The Key focuses on Ambergate Asylum, a fictional psychiatric institute. Hughes was inspired to write the poignant novel when she heard about the true discovery in 1995 of four hundred suitcases forgotten in an attic at the Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane. Stored between 1910 and 1960, the suitcases belonged to former patients who gave them up along with their personal belongings when they were admitted. The average stay for a patient at Willard was thirty years, with many patients never leaving.

This heartbreaking truth is vividly reflected in The Key as Hughes intimately shares with us the experiences of Ellen, a student nurse at Ambergate and Amy, a 19-year-old patient. Through the point of view of both characters, we find out how a patient is left to rot in Ambergate following her surviving the Titanic disaster while her newly married husband drowned; and another patient being sent by her sexually abusive father to the asylum once she outgrew her girlhood.

Central to The Key is a brilliantly constructed story that had me hooked. I'm actually really reticent to write anymore about this as I don't want to spoil the story for anyone, but there is a shocking twist involved. All I will say is that it is heartbreaking, tender and had me in tears at the end.

The Key is a tragic read that also portrays the power of human resolve and kindness. It exposes the dismissive, ignorant and sometimes cruel attitude to vulnerable people and mental health in our society's history which sadly, was actually not so long ago.

I really want to thank NetGalley and Headline Publishing for sending me an advance copy of The Key in return for my honest review. Thank you also for introducing me to Kathryn Hughes, I will definitely be reading more of her books.

Most importantly, thank you to Kathryn Hughes. The Key is such a poignant and important novel; it truly is brilliant.

The Key is available now. I urge you to go and get your copy now.

I have read and reviewed this book before for Netgalley. My review is below.
Beautiful story. The past and the present are brought together so cleverly. The description of the asylum and how patients were treated was so sad. Some of the staff were so cruel in their treatment of the patients. Some of the patients should never have been there at all. There is also a lot of love and compassion in this story. I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to reading the next book by this author.

This is my first book by this author.

Sarah has split from her husband and is temporarily living with her recently widowed father.
She decides to write a book about a now derelict lunatic asylum... her father has a connection to the asylum, but won't speak of it... she decides to investigate with the help of a friend, she visits the asylum and finds a cupboard full of patients suitcases... documenting the contents from each suitcase she's even more determined to write their story.

I love the way this author writes she draws you right into a story and makes you not want to leave.
The book is heart-breaking and more so because the cruelty of these asylums as well as the silly reasons that young women were admitted is well documented, and we know this story could belong to anyone of the people admitted or forced into these places.

A real page-turner... I didn't want to put it down.

Really enjoyed this book. It was a difficult and often heartbreaking read given the experiences of patients in the asylum but it was extremely well written and drew me in from the start.

A duel timeline story set in 1956 and 2006.

Sarah is writing a book about the now derelict Ambergate Hospital which was once described as a lunatic asylum. She manages to gain entry to the building and as she explores the rooms Sarah finds a door to a large cupboard full of suitcases. With the help of a friend she documents the contents of each suitcase. This makes her even more determined to write their story.

We then return to 1956 when nurse Ellen Crosby starts her first day working in the asylum. Through her eyes we find out the stories of the patients and follow one in particular.

Sarah's father is connected to the asylum and he could give her the answers to her questions but he refuses to speak about how he is connected or about anyone who belongs to the suitcases that his daughter found.

Kathryn Hughes has did it again,she has made me cry. I love the way this author writes she draws you right into a story and makes you not want to leave.
This book is heartbreaking and more so because the cruelty of these asylums as well as the silly reasons that young women were admitted is well documented, and we know this story could belong to anyone of the people admitted or forced into these places.
I read this book about a month ago and I still think about it. I found this to be a real page turner and didn't want to it it down, neither will you.

This story is about 38 year old librarian Sarah. She has recently split with her husband and is temporarily living with her recently widowed Father. She has decided to write a book about now derelict Ambergate Lunatic Asylum. We learn early on that her Father has a connection to the asylum and knows a lot of what happened within those walls but for some reason he is not interested in helping her. Sarah finds some suitcases belonging to former residents of the asylum. Through these belongings we follow the story of one of its residents.

I have previously read The Letter by Kathryn Hughes and really enjoyed it, so I was fairly certain I would enjoy this one too. It was heartbreaking reading what the residents went through whilst in the asylum for no good reason. Although this story is fiction I believe it is based on a real asylum. This story particularly hit home for me as my great grandmother was sent to an asylum after suffering from what we know now as post natal depression. I would definitely read more books written by this author.

Excellent story. Wonderful characters and plot line. I really enjoyed it. I would recommend this book.

An absolute page turner. A derelict hospital, hidden suitcases full of patients’ personal belongings and a quest to find a patient from decades earlier. Yes please. I was hooked immediately. My first read from this author and I’m about to download her others.