This book pulled me me in immediately with the suspense and intrigue. 9 year old British boy, Samuel, is being cared for by his very strict housekeeper after his mom disappears suddenly to America to handle some financial affairs. As days and months go by, Samuel keeps waiting anxiously for his mother to return.
I read the book in 4 hours. I was hooked as each page was filled with more and more suspense from one page to the next. However, I must say, the ending left me feeling a mix of emotions, from confusion to feeling incomplete. I definitely am at a loss about the ending.

4.5 stars. I seem to be on a roll with reading great gothic mysteries over the last month. This is my fourth one during that time frame and each of them have warranted 4 or 5 stars from me.

The Boy at the Keyhole is likely to be one that people are either going to love or hate. I LOVED it. It had shades of Stephen King's Misery to it, where instead of a writer and his Number One fan, this tale is of a young boy, Samuel, and his family's housekeeper, Ruth. It takes place in a manor house in England, where the boy has been left alone with the housekeeper for over 4 months while his mother supposedly is on an extended business trip to America. The only communication he gets from his mom are sporadic post cards.

Ruth's controlling nature and micro-attention to every move Samuel makes combined with lack of needed parental affection creates a palpable claustrophobic atmosphere. Ruth is a mind-twister, turning every worry Samuel has into something that makes it seem he is crazy. She exudes no warmth, just a sense of duty and sometimes outright cruelty. With his sense of neglect growing, and with the aide of the power of suggestion of a friend, Samuel begins to imagine worse and worse scenarios with Ruth in the role of chief villain.

Is his imagination running away with him, or is there something to it?

I read this book in less than a day and loved every moment of it. I'll put a trigger warning in this post regarding some child-abuse, both physical and mental. The ONLY reason I knocked off one star was that the ending was too abrupt to be fully satisfying. Also, like Misery, I think this would make and excellent movie.

Thanks to Stephen Giles, Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for an advanced ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin/Hanover Press for the advance copy of this tension filled novel of psychological suspense. I found myself riveted to each page from its beginning to the startling conclusion. I would have liked a short aftermath, but found it more compelling than other mysteries I have read lately. There is a small cast of characters in a deteriorating manor with little physical action but lots of mental stress and strain.

Samuel is a nine year old boy living in an impoverished mansion in England. He is under the care of Ruth who is assigned to look after Samuel and the home. His father has recently died. His adored mother has left for America to find financing to settle the late father’s debts on the estate and business. She has been gone for more than four months. The upset, lonely Samuel counts each day of her absence, marking her journey on his father’s atlas. Ruth is a strict, harsh and cold caregiver.

Samuel begins to worry that his mother never left the country despite eight postcards he has received from various cities in the USA and Canada. He starts to believe that Ruth has murdered his beloved mother in order to take over the home. He even feels his life is in danger.

Ruth keeps various rooms locked, items of value have slowly gone missing and he has observed Ruth trying on one of his mother’s most beautiful dresses. Ruth insists she has no information on how to contact his mother or when she will return home. Samuel is determined to find out why his mother would leave him for such a long period of time. He searches the cellar and outbuildings for her body. As he sneaks into forbidden rooms in search of clues, Ruth becomes increasingly stressed and angry at the boy’s speculations.

Comparison with early 1950’s writers like D. du Maurier and S. Jackson I felt to be valid. The readers’ beliefs keep switching back and forth from Samuel’s fear that his mother was murdered by a cruel caretaker to wondering if this belief is a runaway fantasy of a damaged child separated from a parent for too long. A compulsive read. Recommended for those who enjoy a psychological mystery over an action packed one .My review is on Goodreads already and will be on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com at time of publication.

Clever book. I wasn't sure if I'd like it since the main character is a kid but it worked. Very British mystery-y which I always enjoy. Nothing terribly surprising but a good solid mystery.

Samuel is left in the care of the housekeeper Ruth while his mother is away for 100+ days and counting. He becomes convinced that Ruth has actually killed his mother. I'm only giving this one 2 stars, but that is more because this type of book is just not my thing rather than anything wrong with the book, which was actually really gripping. I read it very quickly to see what would happen between Samuel and Ruth, alternately believing Ruth and agreeing with Samuel. The problem for me, though, is that I don't like these "slow burn" stories. It's compared to Shirley Jackson and Daphne du Maurier, neither of whom I really enjoy. (Then why did I want to read this? I don't know...) I always feel the slow buildup of tension should end with a bang, a screaming conclusion, but it always seems a little anticlimactic when things are merely implied or left unsaid. I couldn't put it down but felt unsatisfied at the end, like I'd raced through for nothing. Again, more my personal taste than story quality makes this only 2 stars for me.

Push pins on an atlas are the only way nine year old Samuel Clay can track his mother's trip to America. That, and eight postcards sent from various locales. Mrs. Clay was seeking a large investment to jump start the sagging business she runs since the death of her husband. Samuel aches for his mother but also resents her. Why has she been gone one hundred thirteen days? Why did she abruptly leave in the middle of the night without saying goodbye? After school, Samuel races home hoping to find his mom back from her trip.

The family estate in Cornwall is crumbling. Many household items and heirlooms have been sold to pay bills incurred by Mr. Clay. Samuel is being cared for by trusted housekeeper, Ruth Tupper. Always having been treated as family, she has a bedroom down the hall from Samuel. Ruth runs the household with an iron fist. She appears stiff and bothered, constantly critical of Samuel. If he could choose, he would opt for freedom like his pet rabbit, Robin Hood and do as he pleased.

Samuel's best friend, Joseph floats a scenario about Mrs. Clay's departure. Samuel's thoughts run wild especially since Ruth informs him that he cannot write or phone his mother. Why has Ruth locked all of the upstairs rooms?

"The Boy at the Keyhole: A Novel" by Stephen Giles is a slow-burning psychological thriller. The tension builds and builds. A taut, unputdownable read!

Thank you Harlequin, Hanover Square Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Boy at the Keyhole".

A captivating suspense story - I couldn't put it down! Not my go-to genre, but it was a welcome break in the pace.

Samuel is nine years old, and he lives on his family’s decrepit British estate with only the housekeeper for company. His father is dead and his mother disappeared in the middle of the night. She has gone to America to look after his father’s business, supposedly, but it’s been five months now and she never even told him goodbye. Ruth, the housekeeper, makes Mrs. Danvers look like Mrs. Doubtfire, she presides over the house and handles Samuel with brutal efficiency. The boy’s only solace is tracing his mother’s route in an old atlas. And as time goes by without his mother returning, Samuel begins to wonder if she really ever left. This is a deliciously creepy Gothic with all the elements, broken down old country home, deranged housekeeper and child in jeopardy.