Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton, for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

From the very first page, this was a story that kept me interested. This story is the first I have read of its kind, and I am craving more! The story keeps unfolding itself in new and intricate ways, as it reveals new layers of the secret that is central to the story: The Golden Bones. The pace of the story is slow enough for details that add a ton to the story and fast enough to keep me engaged in the story; Erin has done that beautifully so. The dark themes in the book are handled with the uttermost grace. This book will have my thoughts captured for some time and not let me go. Go read this book!

Fifty years after the release of The Golden Bones, the bestselling book with a treasure hunt hidden in its pages, the anniversary holds the fans in its grips as it did all those years ago. Nell, a recluse after her childhood events, decides to attend this anniversary for her parents. But this anniversary does not happen without consequences.

Nell has been persuade most of her life because of a book her father wrote about a treasure hunt.
Now on the fiftieth anniversary of that book being published she is in the spotlight again.
I am usually hooked on books by this author but unfortunately this one didn’t grip me, maybe because I’m not a fan of treasure hunts.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Golden Bones is going to follow me around for the rest of my life. How can I trust anyone? It all leads back to you!

Nell didn't want to go to the reunion to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Golden Bones. She'd had no benefit from it - in fact, it had made her life precarious and unbelievably challenging. I'd better explain. The Golden Bones was a treasure quest book painted and written by Frank and Cora Churcher. The story revolved around murdered Elinore whose golden and bejewelled bones were hidden around the country. The clues - some of them quite tortuous - were disguised in the words and pictures of the book - and all the parts were discovered except for the pelvis. As with such quests, some people were obsessive and the theories became more and more outlandish.

One theory which gathered enough believers to make it dangerous for Nell was that her pelvis was actually Elinore's pelvis and Ingrid Morrison attacked her with a knife. You could argue that it was Nell's fault: the family knew of the threat and she was delivered to and picked up from school every day by Ahmed. One day she decided that she'd go out with her friends - and Ingrid attacked her on her way home. Since then she's lived her life trying to stay away from the spotlight.

Nell has fifteen-year-old Billie to take into account. Billie's actually the daughter of a former boyfriend and she matters to Nell. They live on Nell's houseboat, Seren, which has to be moved regularly. It's a bit of a nuisance but it does limit the chances of Nell being found by the Bonehunters. The book made Frank (now Sir Frank) a rich man but it wasn't only Nell who suffered. Marriages broke down, homes were lost and a man was killed. Frank doesn't seem worried - in fact he craves the publicity - and hopes that it will help to sell his real work, the portraits of the women he's slept with. Some of them are far too close to home.

I did wonder if I was going to enjoy the book: treasure quests are not really my thing but Bookbag has reviewed a few of Erin Kelly's books and some respected reviewers have been blown away. I suspected I was missing something, so I started to read about a treasure quest...

... and I couldn't put it down. In the first few pages you'll wonder if you're going to have to come to terms with a cast of thousands, but relax - you're in safe hands. Every one of these characters will come to life as you read. Some - Nell and Billie - you'll be rooting for. Others - Frank Churcher, we're looking at you - will be despised. After you've turned the final page, you'll wonder how they're all doing.

I'd have read this book just for the joy of the characters but you also get one of the best plots I've encountered in a long time. It's like a jigsaw, which comes together piece by piece as you come to the inevitable - but totally unexpected - conclusion. It's an absolute cracker of a book and the brilliant thing is that there's a back catalogue to be explored. I'm going to start with The Poison Tree.

The book starts slowly with background information for the reader. A couple of times, I thought "why am I reading this?" as the recollections of Eleanore grew with no story to knit them together . Then it started. Like trying to read a kaleidoscope, the reader is bounced from year to year, person to person in a dizzying flickerboard and the story emerges, each revelation laying uncomfortably on the other. Growing up in a family with a famous author for a father and discovering the treacherous path taken by family members and friends could lead you to a life of quiet solitude and carefully chosen companions.

This isn't a book I would usually pick up since it looks and sounds like nothing like a fantasy YA novel but I was pleasantly surprised by how wrong I was.

The characters, the families and the history behind the book-inside-the-book made it an engrossing adventure I had so much fun with. We get slowly introduced toe Nell's world, her family, her father's legacy and the impact all this has had on her life since she was a kid.

The plot is intricately woven with some amazing details in it that had me going back and forth among the pages to confirm things. This is a book that needs to be read and reread.

I'd recommend it for BOTM picks as it brings up some interesting questions on a lot of subjects (not giving anything away but let's just say I can't wait for a discussion on this).

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Hodder & Stougton for this amazing ebook. I cannot wait to explore more from Erin Kelley.

What an epic and original story!
I was immediately interested when I read the premise. A tale about a family, the treasure hunt they invented and the the far reaching consequences of it..
I was expecting more of an adventure, which is on me, and I did find it tricky to get into the characters and the story to start with. There are so many characters and attention is needed otherwise you can fall out of the story quite quickly.
Having said that, it is beautifully written and if you can pay close attention to the different timelines, it does pay off in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

I enjoyed the premise of this book but unfortunately the story pacing was a bit too slow for my liking and I struggled to maintain interest.

In the Prologue teen Nell gets stabbed but the action quickly moves to 2021 when the she returns home as an adult despite some reluctance. She finds a film crew barring her entry to her parents’ house because it is a special anniversary, 50 years since they wrote a treasure hunt book that became a sensation.

The book is about Elinore whose skeleton is scattered across England. To encourage sales, gold ‘bones’ are hidden across England to represent Elinore’s skeleton and to be found by solving clues in the book. Unfortunately for Nell/Eleanor, she has come to represent fictional Elinore for many of the hunters and one of the tiny gold bones her parents hid across many locations is still undiscovered after all this time.

This tale has many twists and turns and I found the timeline switches difficult at first when I was not sure what was happening. Also there is a large cast of characters, not all likeable, to keep track of. The writing is easy to read. For me, this reads like a book for Young Adults though some of the themes are strong.

I read a copy provided by NetGalley and the publishers. My opinions are my own.

I am pretty new to the books of Erin Kelly and was eager to read this book. I found it enjoyable, well-written and intriguing. I am sure it will be enjoyed by many other readers.

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 a treasure hunt for fans of the book. Nell has been told to come home and celebrate with the family. And also, the launch of an app to coincide with the book and help them in a quest find the last of the missing bones.
The story is told in Eleanor’s point of view who is the daughter of Fank Churcher, and she is also a victim of an obsessive fan and lives as a recluse because of what happened to her. The story continues with the treasure hunt of the bones and the jewels that are linked with them. The story also tells of the problems the family face due to the popularity of the book.
Thank you, Hodder and Stoughton, for a copy of “The skeleton Key” by Erin Kelly. I was intrigued by the premise of the story and the title but in halfway through it changed direction and the storyline wasn’t what I was expecting. This was more about a dysfunctional family more than the mystery I found out this too be. And that and also how long winded the story was that I started losing interest. This is not a bad book it but not a bad book it just wasn’t for me. 3 stars from me.

I grew up with the Masquerade book this story inspired, it's vivid drawings revealing something new keach time you looked at it. My sister and I spent hours pouring over it.

Naturally, I was delighted to hear about this book and thrilled to get an ARC from Netgalley. Thank you.

There's a lot going on. It flips between timelines, retells tlimelines from different perspectives and it would have been easy for the story to get as lost as the treasure on which the story is based. But it doesn't. Erin skillfully weaves a tale about family - the ups, downs and absolute horrors that sometimes occur. The characters are flawed, weak but that's what makes them real. Some you will hate, some you will love.

It's a puzzle in literary form, that leaves you guessing till the very end.

I was a huge fan of Masquerade as a child, so I absolutely tore through this page-turning family-noir by Erin Kelly. I've loved all her books, but this is easily her best yet. Flitting between present day and flashbacks to the 1970s, 80s and 90s, this book is as evocative of time and place as it is gripping. What I loved best about this novel is the location it's set - the Vale of Health and the family houses - or house really - are as much a character as any human in the story. Atmospheric and moving, I really enjoyed this read!

"Less than a fortnight ago, I thought that the greatest derailment of my life - the before-and-after everyone has - was when Ingrid took a blade to my skin...Right now, that moment, and all the others...seem little more than a kink in the tracks. This is the moment my life slides off the lines entirely. This is the impact, this is the wreck."

Present day London and Eleanor (Nell) Churcher, in her forties, is attending a family anniversary at their insistence. Nell is nervous. She brings with her informally adoptive daughter, teenager, Billie. The Churcher family, including eccentric and arrogant, Sir Frank Churcher, bohemian mum Cora and immediate neighbours and long-time friends, The Lallys (including Frank's best friend, Lal) are all in attendance. It's fifty years since Frank, released 'The Golden Bones', a beautiful, lyrical book with an 'olde English' folklore tale of lost love accompanied by beautiful and complex images. The book was a treasure hunt, encouraging readers to locate the separate parts of a miniature golden skeleton of 'Elinor', buried about the UK. Avid fans, The Bonehunters, become obsessed with finding the final piece, the pelvis. Some became unhinged and fixated on the book's namesake, Elinor / Eleanor, AKA Nell, putting her life in danger over the decades, to the extent that she has been living under the radar on a house-boat. At the anniversary celebrations, the Bonehunters are kept outside by security whilst a documentary team record the republication of the book with a new digital treasure hunt and app, designed by Dominic, Nell's brother. As Frank swans about being the centre of attention, he doesn't know that the past is about to catch up with him. Within a couple of week, the families' lives will never be the same again as truths are devastatingly revealed.

This is an outstanding, character-driven saga about the secrets and lies of two eccentric and dysfunctional British families, spanning from the 1970s to present day. The concept of The Golden Bones (inspired by Masquerade) is fascinating, but it's engaging protagonist Nell who is the heart of the novel, trying to create a safe and loving world for herself and Billie. The quest to find the golden bones brings out strong emotions, having led to arguments, fights, marriage breakdowns, injury and even death. Unpredictable, intricate and tense, I struggled to put this down as the shocking twists were revealed and Nell showed her strength and determination.

Love this authors books and did enjoy this one,up to a point,it was a t times log winded and some of the flashbacks were confusing,the writing though as always was wonderful and I am sure many people will fall in love with this book

I have to say this has to be my second favourite of erin’s books, the first being the burning air. All I can say is wow! What a masterful plot, it had me gripped from the very first page until the last. I’m so excited for the next one already.

I love Erin Kelly's books, and this one was no exception. It is an intriguing and absorbing blend of a mystery/murder/family saga. A bit slow at times, but the writing is so gorgeous that I was happy to swim along for the ride.

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 a cult .The Churcher Family are meeting together again to celebrate the success of the book but there is discord and mystery ,a story of families destroyed by success .I did find this a very slow read it is a very long book but it is beautifully written and I did enjoy it .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

I was intrigued by the premise of this novel as I remember the Masquerade picture book and the treasure hunt that linked to it. This was in the days before the internet and social media so I can totally imagine the scenarios that Erin conjectures where the treasure hunters, or Bonehunters in this case, become wrapped up in conspiracy theories and share clues anonymously on forums. I thought it might be interesting to compare it with The Twyford Code, which has a similar starting point of a book containing code to a treasure and a league of treasure seekers, but the likeness ends there as the murder plot develops.
I did find the pacing in the middle a bit slow but the dynamics of the two families of Frank and Lal were intriguing, with so many faults and secrets that this kept my interest.

I loved ‘The Poison Tree’ and He Said, She Said’, so I was delighted when I was approved to read an ARC copy Of The Skeleton Key’. I was intrigued at first by the complex dynamic between the two families and the fractured relationship Nell has with her parents. I loved the premise of The Golden Bones book that was at the heart of the dysfunctional family relationships. However, I was a bit disappointed by the end - I was expecting more and it just fizzled out. However, still a great book.

What an incredible read! It had me on the edge of my seat, second guessing what i thought I knew. Highly unpredictable and highly satisfying. It is so intelligently written, which makes it impossible to put down!

Writing aside, i fell in LOVE with the cover. The vibrant colours really draw the eye! It will take centre stage on my shelf! The blurb doesnt give too much away, but perfectly sets up the story, and is intriguing enough to make you read it straight away!