The Skeleton Key

Paperback Published on: 31/08/2023
Price: £10.99
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Bookseller Reviews

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The Skeleton Key
A Family Affair Like No Other!!!
The Skeleton Key is a spell binding family drama like no other and is built upon mystery after mystery that will have you hooked from the very first page. ... READ MORE
Steven at Bluewater
The Skeleton Key
Truly intriguing and puzzling
What a brilliant plot. Could this really happen and would people really gamble everything on the chance to win the prize. This book is so brilliantly plo... READ MORE
Linda@{Livingston]
The Skeleton Key
Intriguing and Delightful
Like many booksellers I adore a book about books so The Skeleton Key was an absolute treat to read. A treasure hunt inspired by a children's picture book t... READ MORE
Poppy Flaxman
The Skeleton Key
An enthralling and addictive read
For anyone even remotely interested in the idea of The Skelton Key book, be assured that it is wonderfully entertaining. With a cast of characters that are... READ MORE
Phill - Waterstones Bookseller
The Skeleton Key
A dark and delightful page turner
Like Erin Kelly, I loved the children’s book Masquerade, published in 1979 - a lavishly illustrated puzzle book that was also a treasure hunt to find a gol... READ MORE
Beth at Chesterfield
The Skeleton Key
Fantastic thriller
This is the most gripped by a crime read I've been in a very long time which is especially impressive given its length. Short chapters, multiple POVs and a... READ MORE
Rowan Maddock
The Skeleton Key
Twisty and addictive
Does anyone remember Maskerade by Kit Williams? A treasure hunt phenomenon, readers had to solve the puzzle which led to the discovery of a tiny golden har... READ MORE
Sarah at Torquay
The Skeleton Key
The best kind of literary thriller
Impels you to read just one, two, three more chapters, piling mystery upon mystery upon mystery. Erin Kelly has created a brilliantly dysfunctional family... READ MORE
Aaron Myles
The Skeleton Key
A true treasure
To start the premise is something exciting, playing with the idea of a treasure hunt like the secret that took over American is ingenious and Erin Kelly ha... READ MORE
Spencer  Tyler
The Skeleton Key
Compulsive reading!
This is a brilliantly plotted mystery and a bit of a roller-coaster ride, as all kinds of family secrets and lies emerge. The characters all feel real, wit... READ MORE
Mary at Lancaster Cornmarket
The Skeleton Key
So compelling!
I loved the concept of this book. The interweaving of two separate timelines and the continual jumping back to one point in time to reveal more layers of t... READ MORE
Libby Low

Synopsis

This reunion will tear a family apart...

Summer, 2021. Nell has come home at her family's insistence to celebrate an anniversary. Fifty years ago, her father wrote The Golden Bones. Part picture book, part treasure hunt, Sir Frank Churcher created a fairy story about Elinore, a murdered woman whose skeleton was scattered all over England. Clues and puzzles in the pages of The Golden Bones led readers to seven sites where jewels were buried - gold and precious stones, each a different part of a skeleton. One by one, the tiny golden bones were dug up until only Elinore's pelvis remained hidden.

The book was a sensation. A community of treasure hunters called the Bonehunters formed, in frenzied competition, obsessed to a dangerous degree. People sold their homes to travel to England and search for Elinore. Marriages broke down as the quest consumed people. A man died. The book made Frank a rich man. Stalked by fans who could not tell fantasy from reality, his daughter, Nell, became a recluse.

But now the Churchers must be reunited. The book is being reissued along with a new treasure hunt and a documentary crew are charting everything that follows. Nell is appalled, and terrified. During the filming, Frank finally reveals the whereabouts of the missing golden bone. And then all hell breaks loose.

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
  • ISBN: 9781473680920
  • Number of pages: 512
  • Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 42 mm
  • Weight: 360g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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The Skeleton Key
Intriguing family drama
I was really intrigued by the synopsis of this book; A mystery book written in the 70s is still causing repercussions for the family and friends of the aut... READ MORE
Gemsiek
The Skeleton Key
Beautifully written, full of seriously flawed characters and lots of toxicity, this book is both riveting and unmissable.
Erin Kelly is one of my ‘go to’ authors when I am looking for compelling, intelligent story telling that leaves a lasting impression. The Skeleton Key does... READ MORE
Mary Picken
The Skeleton Key
A Family Drama
The Skeleton Key is a story about a treasure hunt mystery but also about a very dysfunctional family .The Golden Bones was written 50 years ago and set off... READ MORE
Chrissie Mortimer
The Skeleton Key
A fabulous gothic thriller masterpiece
The Skeleton Key is a fabulous gothic thriller perfect for the autumn season approaching. A wonderful, addictive and entertaining puzzle that was intriguin... READ MORE
Emma at Waterstones Blackburn
The Skeleton Key
Very clever
In the summer of 2021, Nell returns to her family home to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Golden Bones, written by her father. In part a treasure hu... READ MORE
Joanne McWilliam
The Skeleton Key
A tedious slog...
I have no idea how or why this book has received such good reviews - the plot is dull and moves at a glacial pace. The characters are self-centred and diff... READ MORE
Gordon Heskett
The Skeleton Key
Beautifully written hugely compelling
Another stunning piece of literature from the pen of Erin Kelly. One rich, dysfunctional family, one violent treasure hunt and a whole host of secrets sit ... READ MORE
Elizabeth Wilkins
The Skeleton Key
Twisty turny familial threads
Elements of this book sparkled with perfection - I loved Nell’s relationship with Billie and the love between them. I loved how the worldwide mystery domin... READ MORE
Victoria Standen
The Skeleton Key
GREAT READ!
This book was sooo good. The reason for the 4 star and not a 5 was i found some parts dragged on in unnecessary parts. But the twists of this book had me G... READ MORE
Jess
The Skeleton Key
Outstanding and glorious in every way
Where to begin to describe The Skeleton Key….a multi-faceted trip through the lives of two families and a book that seems always to threaten to tear them a... READ MORE
Nicola
The Skeleton Key
Loved it!!
Fifty years ago Sir Frank Churcher, artist & author wrote a book that captured world-wide attention. Part picture book, part treasure hunt the idea was to ... READ MORE
Maggie Macdonald
The Skeleton Key
Gripping, suspenseful and gothic
Engaging from the first chapter. What an amazing book and a great follow up from Watch Her Fall which gave sinister Black Swan meets Shutter Island feels. ... READ MORE
Beverley
The Skeleton Key
The Skeleton Key
Wow! This book took me all round the houses and back again... I was shattered when I eventually finished! Not that it was hard work, don't get me wrong. Ju... READ MORE
Ashrae
The Skeleton Key
Fantastic reading!
In the summer of 2021 the Churcher family gather for a television programme and a 50th anniversary relaunch of “The Golden Bones“ which is based on an old ... READ MORE
Celia Short
The Skeleton Key
Long winded
It’s Summer 2021 and also the 50th anniversary of the book “the Golden Bones” written by Frank Churcher. The book consists of pictures, part story and also... READ MORE
Michellle De Alwis
The Skeleton Key
Intricately plotted, extremely gripping - loved it!
Excellent reading! Put your morals to the test - superb tale based on a 'treasure hunt' type book such as Masquerade by Kit Williams in the late 70s. 3 fri... READ MORE
GL
The Skeleton Key
Three and a half stars - well written
I feel quite conflicted by this story, told mainly from the point of view of Nell whose life has been difficult because of a book/treasure hunt/mystery wri... READ MORE
Dana Farren
The Skeleton Key
Assembling a small gold skeleton exposes large skeletons in various closets
In May 1992, sixteen-year-old Eleanor Churcher gave her bodyguard the slip. Ingrid her stalker, intent on removing her pelvis, attacked her with a knife. ... READ MORE
Denis
The Skeleton Key
Loved my time in the world of The Skeleton Key
I found myself wholly wrapped up in the family dysfunction and The Golden Bones quest at the heart of The Skeleton Key. It served as the perfect distractio... READ MORE
KimG9
The Skeleton Key
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly is an absorbing story of Treasure Hunts and picture books, and the celebration of fifty years of the book which was publishe... READ MORE
Christine Rennie
The Skeleton Key
Fresh and original
No spoilers Original and intriguing, I was gripped from the outset. The detail was such that it portrayed a vivid picture without ever getting bogged d... READ MORE
Maria  Hall
The Skeleton Key
Family Relationships...
This is the first Erin Kelly book I've read and I found it an intriguing read! Treasure hunt, family relationships, cult... Very cleverly plotted - but y... READ MORE
Fiona Sharp
The Skeleton Key
Not for me.
Hooked by the link to Masquerade, our book group of 50+ ladies chose this. I regret it disappointed to extent I gave up, preposterous story line about the ... READ MORE
Jackie Raja
The Skeleton Key
Family dynamics
I loved this book, whilst the story has its twists and turns, the basis is family … you can’t live with them and you can’t live without them ! The story of... READ MORE
Sarah Harper
The Skeleton Key
Hard read
I was initially pulled in by the stunning cover and the synopsis, but I struggled engaging with it and lacked the motivation to read the book (got 1/4 into... READ MORE
Jess
The Skeleton Key
The Skeleton Key
Well what a strange but fab story this is. The Churcher family are dysfunctional to say the least. They share their home (adjoined properties) with their... READ MORE
Monica Hanna
The Skeleton Key
Dark,compulsive mystery thriller
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly We delve into two dysfunctional families whose lives are closely intertwined past and present because of a famous picture ... READ MORE
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