Member Reviews

Thank you for the arc.

There are a lot of moving parts in this lovely story of family dysfunction and love. I loved Nell's bond with Billie.
She's just being a mom in the way that she is and trying to untangle the mess her family made too.
This was twisty and complex and I loved it.

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I expected this to be one of my favorite books based on the review quotes given. It’s not the best book I’ve read but I really did enjoy it. I liked the characters and the way the mystery unfolded and developed. I wasn’t shocked by anything so if you’re looking for the incredible twists mentioned in some reviews you’ll be disappointed. I really liked the ‘twists’ even if they weren’t a surprise. I do recommend the book - just know it won’t make your top ten list of the year.

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The ARC copy was hard to read on my kindle. But, I was so intrigued and engrossed in the story that I purchased the published version and am so happy I did! Such a great read!

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Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

Uhh.. I think I've been catfished by a book?? This was horrible. I don't think I've read a cast of characters so unlikeable, the drama droned on, the details were overly complicated, and when all that wasn't going on it was BORING. Full transparency: I DNF'd at 20% and I absolutely refuse to read further. It's so sad because the synopsis sounded amazing and you get...not that.

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2.5 stars

This sounded so interesting and I was so excited to get an arc. However, it was overly complicated and felt like too much work and not really the story that was advertised. It had a lot more drama and than I was expecting.
That being said, I think this book is just not for me personally as a reader. I do think it will have an audience that loves it.

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The Skeleton Key had a beautiful cover and a synopsis that drew me in. Unfortunately, this was not at all what I expected. I loved the idea of this treasure hunt of a picture book that gets out a hand. I was so excited to read this and the first chapter really brought me in. But the rest was all family drama that I was not at all interested in.

I was pulled out of the story quite a bit with the time jumps and it was very hard to be in the mind of the main character. I really struggled to want to continue reading from her.

I think there were some very interesting twists that made me want to keep reading but I kept losing interest when it was overshadowed by other plot lines.

Thank you for netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

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This is a gritty family drama built on a real life mystery book/treasure hunt. The characters were very unlikeable and it was a lot more dramatic and drama centered than I thought it would be. A bit disappointing but very well-written and as long as you know you’re getting a family drama instead of an adventure mystery you’ll probably enjoy this.

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A twisted mystery surrounding The Golden Bones, a treasure hunt picture book, that leads to a skeleton and the two intwined families involved. The Golden Bones was written by Frank and Cora Churcher and had a cult following with readers trying to locate the golden skeleton mentioned in the book, but led to the death of a treasure hunter and the stalking and stabbing of their daughter. Then, on the 50th anniversary of the book's publishing, a human pelvis is discovered and past secrets start to come out. The book unfolds in multiple timelines with multiple characters and with multiple viewpoints. At times it's a bit confusing trying to keep track of who did what and most of the characters are not very likeable or their actions are inexcusable, which will lose some readers. It starts off a slow, but the last quarter of the book really speeds up the pace and a lot of information is given to tie up all the plotlines.

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DNF @ 10%
It took me forever to get where I did. Even though the whole thing felt like an info dump, I still don't really know what the book is about. It seems like an interesting concept but didn't pull me in. I read a lot of great reviews for the book and really want to be one of them. But I can't get myself to continue reading it right now.

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This was a really fun enjoyable read. The chapters jump around in time, leaving the reader unsettled and never knowing what’s coming next. I loved the plot about the treasure hunt and the two families behind it all. This was a unique thriller and I recommend it.

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Had a hard time following the time jumps in the beginning but I stuck with it and I’m glad I did. I loved how it was all woven together and really loved the SM feeds!

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Very unique plot line which I thought was refreshing! Aren’t all families messed up? Yes, some more than others.

I loved the gothic suspense vibes from this book. Erin Kelly is one I haven’t read before but will be checking out her other work, too. From the beautiful and intriguing cover to the different time lines, it all flowed. The characters were not always likable but I like that was where Kelly was going with it.

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Nell, the daughter of a man who wrote a book with clues to a treasure hunt that lead to pieces of a jeweled skeleton throughout Great Britain which became a phenomena and obsession to many, returns home to reunite with her family 50 years after the book has been published. There is about to be a relaunch of the book with a tie-in online game and Sir Frank Churcher promises to reveal the location of the last missing piece of the skeleton people have tried to uncover for years. Nell, who was attacked by a rabid fan, carries the physical and psychological scars of her father's legacy. But so do the others in her family and the next-door-family who was integral to the book's success. During the filming of the documentary around the relaunch, secrets are revealed and two families must reevaluate who they are and what their relationship to each other is.

This a psychological thriller told with some flash backs from different pov. It has so many twists that kept me guessing to the very end. These are two dysfunctional families that don't appear that way at first, but as the story goes on it is revealed. The author does a great job of creating very different characters and the reader has to reinterpret how the events happened as things are revealed from different pov. I was very impressed.

I thought Nell was a little naïve at the end thinking that people were really going to risk their futures and possibly go to jail just to uphold the ideal of justice. Particularly when the person to be cleared was not a very nice person. But that is the sign of the writer being able to craft very different personalities that all ring true.

I would definitely recommend people to read this. A good mystery with twists that keep you guessing and a very well written psychological study of the impacts of fame. two dysfunctional families and the pursuits of a legacy.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.

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50 years ago the most popular picture book/treasure hunt source, "The Golden Bones," was written by Sir Frank Churcher and a sensation ensued. A community of obsession was formed called The Bone Hunters and only one piece of the puzzle is missing before the treasure is found. Now 2021 the Churcher family gathers back together for a documentary and to launch a video game to help everyone find that final puzzle piece. But on the day of filming, the piece goes missing. Instead of a golden bone piece, a real human pelvis is found and now instead of a treasure, there's a murder mystery on our hands.
One of the things I liked about this novel is that it's not clear who the bad guy or the villian is - at least for a while. Over time as you get to know the Churchers and their close friends the Lallys, it becomes clearer and clearer who the villain is. It might not be who you think.
I also enjoyed the emotion this book evokes. I think a good book makes you feel - from the plot line or from the characters. There were characters I felt scared for, others I wanted to slap, and others I very much disliked. There were some I felt disappointed with and others glad for. I remember covering my mouth in shock for a few scenes too.
My only disappointment was that I thought this was a book about the treasure hunt, but it isn't really. It's a book about a whole different kind of competition - one between characters. It's a story behind the ones who made the book possible and their families.
I would recommend this book for those who like obsession, betrayal, secrets, and a little insanity. You don't have to like treasure hunting to like this one.

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Erin Kelly's The Skeleton Key focuses on a hunt. With plenty of gothic elements, the story is full of dark twists and turns.

The story was interesting, but moved very slowly for a novel focused on something so fast paced.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

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Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book! I absolutely loved this engaging, twisty novel. I was constantly guessing (and almost never got it right) and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a gripping, fast-paced read.

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Messy and complicated..overly so. I made it 50% and just gave up caring what happened.. I have read other books by Erin Kelly and very much enjoyed them. I won't let this one off stop me from reading more of her work in the future.

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There’s a lot going on in this book: Upcoming 50th anniversary of a sensational child book containing a special treasure hunt, obsessed treasure hunters called Bonehunters, a bunch fanatics harassing the book author’s family, a huge media coverage, two interwoven dysfunctional families and their so messed up members!

This book is ultra complex, messy, intelligent reading requests your entire focus and attention because you keep moving back and forth between different timelines to collect entire pieces of puzzle for truly understanding the bigger picture!

There are so many characters and so much is going at the same time. Don’t get stressed out because of long pages! Pacing is quite fast and intriguing! You don’t have time for getting bored but you get exhausted after trying to absorb so much details about events and huge bunch of characters including their interesting back stories. You don’t want to miss anything because any detail the author has implicated is important!

The Golden Bones was published in 1971 and it was the most ambitious, expensive picture book ever made. One night an art student who lost his way and was about to get enlisted, stopping by the room of another art student he has been fancied for a long time. The lost man’s name was Frank and his beautiful muse was Cora. At that very same night, Cora played him a record called “ Gather the Bones” which gave him inspiration to create the entire book, artwork and riddle game based on the song lyrics which were also based on a true story of a woman named Elinore. That very same woman lived in English countryside unhappily married heroine took a lover, Tam; upon discovering the affair, Elinore's husband murdered her and scattered her bones throughout the countryside. A passing witch casted a spell allowing Tam to resurrect Elinore if he could piece her skeleton back together to prove his love. Tam spent the next seven years gathering his dead lover's bones and arranging them on his bed.

After the treasure hunt game which was based on Elinore’s story became a huge sensation, hopeless art student Frank turns into Sir Frank Churcher leading his readers to seven sites where jewels were buried: one by one, tiny golden bones were dug up until only Elinore’s pelvis remained hidden.

For 50 years nobody has found where Elinore’s pelvis hidden.

Frank and Cora got married and Cora gave birth to their daughter Eleanor who preferred to be called Nell. Poor girl was attacked by paranoid schizophrenic fan of the treasure hunt named Ingrid who thought by tearing Eleanor’s pelvis apart with a knife would help her to resuscitate Elinore! Terrorized young Eleanor barely survived from the attack and Ingrid got institutionalized but there were still her devoted followers ( one of them is Stuart) kept harassing Eleanor to mess with her life.

Now that very dysfunctional family: the adulterer Frank, very narcissistic Cora, their next door neighbors/ long time friends/ also in laws ( their children were married with each other) and their children, grandchildren gather all together at family estate where the documentary crew filming their entire celebration. Frank and Cora’s son Dom is about to lunch the application of treasure hunt he’s been working during pandemic ( it nearly took 3 years of work) And Frank plans to reveal the whereabouts of the missing golden bone!

Eleanor doesn’t want to get involved in Golden Bones business, rejecting the money her family can provide her, turning into a recluse, reluctantly joining the family gathering with her 15 years adopted daughter. But she sees Stuart lurking around, a mysterious person starts dropping clues on fan boards about her secrets. And it seems like there are serious problems about application’s lunching. Eleanor/ Nell has every right to get frighten because all hell breaks loose and things get out of control!

Overall: it was smart, well developed mystery! It’s worth to get exhausted!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Book Group/ Hodder & Stoughton for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

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I really just thought this book was a lot of fun. A treasure hunt? Stained glass artistry? Found family? Topical awful old men? Consent issues? Narrowboats? Online communities? Count me in: it sounded like a lot and it was but it sort of worked and I didn’t think there were any loose threads.

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I feel like I'm about to write a Dear John letter. Like, "Dear book...it's not you, it's me."

My favorite part of this book was the whole idea of the hunt. I actually wished there was more about the actual hunt itself.

But holy hells, there are SO many timelines. I had so much trouble telling when we were in the book. And SO many characters. Aside from our messy, messy family, there are cops and boyfriends and children of boyfriends and treasure hunters and stalkers and crazies and waitresses and every single one of them appears to be somewhat important to the story. I got so that I didn't really know who belonged to the family and who didn't. It also didn't help that there was Eleanor who was sometimes Nell who was sometimes a child and sometimes not (depending on timeline) and there was Elinore who is NOT Eleanor and who is sometimes a fictional character and sometimes a golden skeleton. There are also 3 unimportant children, one of whom (very young) is only memorable because he loves to run around naked.

And as I said above, the family is messy. Messy and toxic and precious and pretentious and each and ever one of them needed to go.

I liked Eleanor (Nell) not Elinore enough that I was interested in her story and I mostly loved Billie, but the story was messy enough that I honestly was more confused than anything.

3 stars because I liked the idea of it and a couple characters, but I'm not so sure I'd try the author again.

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