The Skeleton Key – Tags: bones, family, family dynamic, family history, family secrets, golden bones, Kit Williams, Masquerade, murder, psychological, psychological thriller, puzzle book, skeleton, Thriller, treasure hunt
Book Review: A treasure hunt, a complicated friendship, two families completely entwined, and then there is murder… Welcome to an intriguing page-turner that draws you into its fascinating story and makes you wish you could read on and on.
- Category: Fiction
- Genre: Thriller, Psychological
As a true bibliophile, any story that involves books captures my attention. No wonder the premise of The Skeleton Key, with a creative idea for a book that, upon having been published, changes the lives of not only those involved forever, immediately grabbed me.
I love that the author was inspired by a childhood favourite, Masquerade by Kit Williams. A treasure hunt picture book. To me, as a reader who’d never heard of this type of book, I was enthralled. And Erin Kelly didn’t let me down.
You know, that’s actually not what The Skeleton Key is about. The novel is much more than an intriguing book with a puzzle and a prize; it’s about friendship and family, about love and trust, about being recognised for who you are, and especially about devastating secrets and skeletons in the cupboard. All in one book, spanning a lifetime.
As “The Golden Bones” nears its fiftieth anniversary, Frank Churcher celebrates big with an updated edition of the book, and a new treasure hunt for the last remaining golden bone. Tensions rise high as fans of “The Golden Bones” assemble and demand answers. Old theories and dangerous conspiracy plots surface around the bones that together form a skeleton – and then there’s the murder…
Slowly but surely, threads are unravelled and revealed, impact upon impact of the book on the lives of two families, the Churchers and Lallys. Not only on them but also of all those, such as the huge online community and fanatic fans, who have been swayed by the book that gave Frank Churcher his financial freedom. If only his paintings were considered this famous!
Rather than diving into the lifelong friendship and frustrations between Frank Churcher and Gerard Lally and their families, I’d like you to explore and get drawn into it. But I have to mention Eleanor (Nell) Churcher. She’s fierce and vulnerable, protective of who she loves. Her father’s project has changed her life the most: people have been chasing her believing it’s Nell’s bone that completes the skeleton and will bring the book’s protagonist back to life. Nell lives with the consequences daily. Her moral compass is great. She’s the kind of person you’d strive to be; her flaws are completely comprehensible, making her a wonderful human being.
Like “The Golden Bones”, The Skeleton Key is a puzzle book in which the reader solves clues, deciphers the hints, and is tricked into thinking they know everything before the next shocking twist.
I loved the book, and the intriguing author’s intro made me curious and tempted me to turn page after page, wanting to know everything, to understand the whole dynamic between and in the two families. Highly recommended!
THE SKELETON KEY is available at (local) bookshops and on Amazon*.
Thanks for reading!
Jon & Caz Cole
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This article has also been posted on Medium.