Rating: 
Summary: Okay characters, virtually no action
Review: As a devout fan of Elizabeth George and P.D. James, I figured this would be great company while I caught a few rays. Unfortunately, such was not to be the case. The plot, such as it is, is static, and the prose overwrought with stodgy vegetal descriptions (oh, the English and their gardens!) and infinitesimal minutiae on London geography.It was a chore slogging through it, to say the least. I will try one of her other "genres," the Wexler stream, which promise more action.
Rating: 
Summary: a beautifully written, captivating, and tragic tale
Review: I don't understand how other reviewers could say the ending was unimaginative or 'pat"--I usually figure mysteries out and was totally shocked by this one, though it made sense in the end. I loved the different characters and was so involved in their stories, parts of which were almost too real and painful to read. Rendell touches on the scarey parts of life--the unpredictable tragedies and betrayals and losses, and how nothing is ever quite what it seems-- yet even in the midst of this pain there is love and goodness and redemption of a sort. There is also wonderful humor and such skilled, evocative writing in spots it almost takes the breath away. Her descriptions of love and passion are among the best I've ever read, as is the way she portrays pain and loss. I thought about this book a long time after I finished reading and was very affected by it. It is not the escapist or realistic reading many mystery lovers want, but it evokes emotion and is so beatifully written and says something mythic (and almost surreal) about people and life. To say Rendell does not understand young characters misses the point. Much of the criticism here seems to be is faulting literature for not being a far lesser thing. Rendell's world is not the real world but a fictional world that tells real truths. Some of the ending plot details bothered me, but the fictional dream of most of it swept me away and compelled me to keep reading.
Rating: 
Summary: More eerie goings on in Rendells london
Review: I have always thoight that Rendells books are way better than her books written under the alias Barbara Vine. Those books are just filled with characters getting killed off every other page and sometimes people are introduced only to get killed off after a paragraph or two. Rendell's book the "keys to the street " seems to hint that she is erasing the fine lines between her Vine and her Rendell books unfortunately. The" Keys to the Street" describes murderers and drug dealers going about their evil ways for no apparent purpose other than to create an eerie effect whihc in the end has nothing to do with the actual story and the way it ends. Very annoying !
Rating: 
Summary: The Keys to the Street
Review: I have been a fan of Ruth Rendell (and her other self, Barbara Vine) for many years. Among my favorites are The House of Stairs, A Dark-Adapted Eye, and Shake Hands Forever (a Wexford mystery). The Keys to the Street had all the local atmosphere one usually finds in a Rendell novel, but I found the main character, Mary Jago, totally unrealistic for a young woman of the 1990s in London (with which, by the way, I am familiar). She was too naive for someone of her background and frankly I thought that she should have kicked Alistair down a flight of stairs before the story opened. This is one of the quarrels I've had with many recent Rendell/Vine efforts. The author seems completely unfamiliar with young people of the second half of the twentieth century. Her young characters are even childish in comparison to myself in my 20s, which was thirty years ago. I liked the character of Roman very much and was glad he got off the street, but it was all a little too pat in the end. All the good, middle-class people live happily ever after and all the poor people die or go to prison. A little too Thatcherite for me. At least when Rendell writes about Wexford, who is a cop with an actress daughter, she portrays working people with more sympathy. Although I give this one a 7, I look forward to new works by this author.
Rating:
Summary: Ruth Rendell at her best
Review: I thought this book was marvelous. I have read all of Rendell's books and this has got to be one of the best. Her characters are vivid and real, and the plotline was amazing, I could not wait to find out who Carl really was. Usually Rendell gives us charactes that don't command much caring, but I really felt for the girl. A must read for mystery fans.
Rating:
Summary: Great book ruined by a pat ending
Review: I thought this was one of Rendell's best books until the ending which was completely pat, absolutely no surprise. The characterizations were the best I've ever read in a Rendell novel. I agree with another reviewer that this novel is more 'Barbara Vine' than Ruth Rendell, but since I read both, I wasn't put off by this.
Rating:
Summary: Keys? What Keys?
Review: I'm quickly becoming an avid Ruth Rendell fan and after a slow beginning, gradually got into this book. But, I have to ask: What the heck does the title mean? And who was the killer? Am I dense? How was he able to hoist his victims onto the spikes? These are questions I simply must have the answers to so I can sleep at night... if someone out there can supply them, please do! I do agree with another reviewer that her attention to "geographical minutae" gets a bit laborious at times and I did skip through several paragraphs of tedious description. Perhaps I missed a vital clue as to the identity of the killer? My favorite Rendell novel so far is A Sight for Sore Eyes. Check it out for purely venomous, evil characters! I've never read a better comeuppance in my life.
Rating:
Summary: An OK Read
Review: Keys To The Street seemed more like a Barbara Vine book than a Ruth Rendell: less emphasis on the crime and its solution and more attention to nuances of character and setting. The heroine's passivity was a hump to get over, and the ending wasn't very imaginative. Nevertheless, Rendell writes clear sentences and in this day and age that's an accomplishment. The main plot device, a bone marrow donor trying to extricate herself from an abusive relationship and becoming involved with the recipient was intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: Ruth Rendell has done it again. I got out my map of London to pinpoint the location as she described the streets around Regent's Park. I was there some years ago, but had forgotten just how it is laid out. Her characters were wonderfully complicated as usual. They weren't quite what they seemed. Mary was rather naive and sheltered, but believable. I was happy she could defy her boyfriend, Alstair, who came across as a control freak. I liked the way Roman and his reasons for being on the streets were explained not all at once, but gradually. If only we knew the stories behind those we see on the streets we might feel compassion towards them. Mr. Bean, the dog walker, was great as a snobbish ex-servant. He was just eccentric enough to make you wonder how many more are there like him?
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: Ruth Rendell has done it again. I got out my map of London to pinpoint the location as she described the streets around Regent's Park. I was there some years ago, but had forgotten just how it is laid out. Her characters were wonderfully complicated as usual. They weren't quite what they seemed. Mary was rather naive and sheltered, but believable. I was happy she could defy her boyfriend, Alstair, who came across as a control freak. I liked the way Roman and his reasons for being on the streets were explained not all at once, but gradually. If only we knew the stories behind those we see on the streets we might feel compassion towards them. Mr. Bean, the dog walker, was great as a snobbish ex-servant. He was just eccentric enough to make you wonder how many more are there like him?
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