The Turn of The Key

Each chapter is part of a long letter written in the first-person by the main character Rowan Caine—whose name is not revealed until Chapter 4. The first letter is dated September 7, 2017, and comes after five attempts to write the letter over the four preceding days. It is in two parts. In the first, Rowan explains to the letter recipient, Mr. Wrexham, that she prefers not to give away her identity because she’s been in the papers for a high-profile murder in which her guilt has been presumed. She assumes that Mr. Wrexham might ignore her if he knows who she is. She explains that she’s awaiting trial in Scotland and insists that she’s innocent. Her main purpose in writing the letter is to ask Mr. Wrexham to be her lawyer for her trial. Although she knows her appointed solicitor, Mr. Gates, is supposed to choose the trial advocate, she does not trust him and blames him for her current situation. She explains that he would not let her speak, nor would he listen to her, making her look “much more guilty” (7) in the process. She apologizes for crying and leaving tear stains on the letter, but she tells Mr.