Taking the Golden Hare, a treasure hunt book, as inspiration, Erin Kelly weaves a story around the lives of the family of an author/artist who has written such a book. The fallout is catastrophic in particular for the, Eleanor, the daughter named after the hidden artefact.
The concept is clever, and and the human issues developed are intriguing. The heroine, Eleanor, is too self absorbed, and the plotting is lazy. She doesn't act rationally with the information as it's presented, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to believe that she was irrational for emotional reasons, or if it was just lazy. I found it very frustrating,
Generally. however, a very unexpected plot development.

Packed with mystery, an undulating tension and characters who were not always likeable, let alone trustworthy, it captured my imagination and my attention from the very opening scenes and did not let go. I loved the suspense that fed through this book, the constant feeling of the truth being just out of reach. The depiction of the kinds of obsession and addiction, both healthy and otherwise, that fed the long term readers and fans of the book, as well as those at the heart of its creation, had a real ring of authenticity.

I really enjoyed this book! There is a lot going on at points but I think it was really well written so you didn’t get lost in the story! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nell has come home at her family's insistence to celebrate an anniversary. Fifty years ago, Sir Frank Churcher wrote The Golden Bones. A picture book that was also a treasure hunt. A fairy story about a murdered woman Elinore whose skeleton bones were scattered all over England. The treasure hunt involved finding seven tiny golden bones hidden around the country.

The book was a sensation, creating a community of treasure hunters known as Bonehunters. Leading to competition, obsessive fans and dangerous situations. Frank became very wealthy from the book, but his family suffered. When only one bone remained missing, an obsessed Bonehunter attacked Frank's daughter, Nell. The stalker is convinced Nell's pelvis bone was the missing part of Elinore's skeleton.

Nell lived as a recluse, estranged from her family, not waiting for any part of their wealth. But now, on the 50th anniversary of the book's release, The Golden Bones is republished. To celebrate, members of the Churcher family reunited, and Nell must return home.

This book, moves between several timelines, 1969 when Frank devised the idea for The Golden Bones. Nell's attacked in the 1990s, and 2021 the celebration of the book's release. Each timeline is intertwined to lay out the mystery. This story is filled with puzzles as you get to know the disfunctional Churcher family, you discover each of them has their own secrets and mysteries.

A family inextricably tied to a treasure hunt in a book - a tale of fair Elinore, murdered and her skeleton scattered throughout England, with clues in the book leading to where tiny golden bones were buried across the country. However, it also led to a community of fanatic treasure hunters called Bonehunters, many of whom could not separate fact from fiction, and who put our protagonist, Nell Churcher, at risk.

I found the switching between years and dates rather difficult to follow - it jumped around a lot, though I can recognise the value in additional context between chapters. I thought the story was less thriller than family drama, but I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it (I do love a bit of gossip!) and while the narrative was adventurous, it was not beyond the realm of possibility - with Nell's daily life and its setting on the canals in London evidently well researched and 'very normal'.

I would recommend this book, but at 728 pages it is a definite undertaking, something that isn't always evident on an e-reader! I'm going to give it 3.5 stars, rounded to 4. If the timeline had been easier to follow it would have been 4 straight up - however, this is obviously just my opinion!

My thanks to NetGalley, Erin Kelly and Hodder for the e-copy of The Skeleton Key in exchange for an honest review.

This book started out so well. I thought we were going to be immersed in a journey to find the missing bone. That we were going to journey around the world looking for the missing bone, but no, the plot took a different turn and the Skeleton Key became the sub-plot to a totally different book.

Not sure this one was for me but if you like twisty family drama and lies and deceit, this would be the book for you.

Did not finish.

I was really excited about the premise of this book, but the plot was so slow.
I feel the book could have been have the size and not lost any of the suspension/buils up.

The story was more about the dynamics between the two families, than the quest for Elinore's skeleton.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. An interesting premise and well written. This was a very enjoyable read.

3.5 stars

After absolutely loving Watch her fall, I was looking forward to another book by Erin Kelly. This one, althought very well written, sadly fell short of my expectations.

It is classed as a thriller, but I'm not sure that's how I would describe it. It's more of a historical family drama with hints of mystery here and there, but it isn't a read that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is quite slow in unfolding the story and quite tedious in some parts. I think the downside for me was the length, with not much happening I really just wanted it to wrap it up, to understand what was all about.

That said, I think Kelly is a very skilled writer and I will be reading more from her; unfortunately this didn't quite do it for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced reading copy.

The Skeleton Key is such an eclectic mix of amazing styles, stories and mysteries. It's a contemporary thriller, but with so many layers that echo the literary greats. I felt ghosts of AS Byatt and John Fowles rubbing shoulders with Lisa Jewell and Janice Hallett. Highly recommended!

Wow what a fantastic book with twists and turns all over the place such a good book I would definitely recommend it

Well written and structured, this novel was not quite what I expected. I was drawn in by the cover, and the promise of a historical mystery centered around a book, but stayed for the rich description of a dysfunctional family. If you're interested in unconventional upbringings, this novel may be for you, If you're looking for a book, in love with books, you may disappointed as the narrators dislike (artfully) bleeds through. I finished the novel, primarily for the subplot, but deeply appreciative of the deftly handled time-transitions.

I wanted to like this book, but I found it quite hard to get into the story. . A clever concept around missing treasure, loosely aligned to Masquerade. The story has lots of twists, some wonderfully complex characters, and two very dysfunctional families . I could really understand how fanatical some people can become around hidden treasures, the hunt and how far some people will go.

It took a while to get into this one and I found it a bit far fetched at times, not a believable mystery in many ways.

One of my favourite reads of the year! I throughly enjoyed this book so much so that at 13% through I ordered a physical copy of the book. Erin Kelly is an auto buy author for me now. I couldn’t read this book quick enough and looked forward to picking it back up.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a wild ride. The premise of this story intrigued me, but I was in no way prepared for what this book dealt. It had everything that made a mystery great, one shocking twist after the other and by the end my eyebrows were so high into my hairline and my jaw so far on the ground, that it took me ages to get my face back to normal.

I loved the whole story within a story and how it all unfolded. This book revealed how fans could go above and beyond and sometimes a little too far in their interpretations of the artists' work. Sometimes they're nuts. And it made for good entertainment in this book.

This story was gripping and rich with originality. It did, however, feel draggy at times but that worked itself out and rewarded the reader with such an explosive conclusion. I felt for Nell a lot more in the end, as opposed to in the beginning when I thought she was being far too self-involvled. This, I'd later discover, was a consequence of her family. Everyone truly only cared about themselves, especially Frank. Kelly did such a great job painting Frank Churcher as the ultimate villian, you feel sorry for him at the end.

A mystery worth every one of the 728 pages. Highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and Hodderpub for this one.

This was an entertaining read, but it took me some time to get into the book. The beginning was rather confusing and the to-and-fro took some getting used to. Overall, this was a good book.

Erin Kelly is a fantastic writer and dreamer of amazing plot lines! The Skeleton Key is no exception. Weaving a tale of treasure, toxic family relationships, murder and more is no mean feat yet the author is so adept at this. This is an unputdownable book that readers will not forget. Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for the eARC.

This is a gripping tale from start to finish. Not just offering unique insights into the whole frenetic hunt for hidden treasure but also the need for celebrity and what it does to relationships

I love Erin Kelly's writing and the wonderful characters she creates. I was able to immerse myself in this book and really 'be' there with the characters, which is always great.

One thing I find a problem with her books is that the plots and motivations are often not believable (and I say this as someone who can suspend disbelieve very readily). This one suffered more than most from this flaw (in particular, the degree of obsession with 'Elinore' shown by a lot of the characters is ludicrous), and I don't think it's a book I would recommend to friends for this reason.