I struggled with this a little, there were a lot of characters and I found it a little tricky to remember who everyone was.

That said, what an interesting premise, a totally original story and a great thriller. It was a real page turner.

Some of you may remember a book called Masquerade by Kit Williams - every page had a picture of a tiny hare in it - and clues in the book led to a beautiful jewelled hare (a beautiful book in itself although always a disappointment to me that the hare had been found before I got the book - and that I couldn't fathom the clues anyway). The Skeleton Key takes as its premise that the famous Sir Frank Churcher writes a similarly clever book - based on a folk story about the Lady Elinore who dies but can be resurrected if her bones (in the book tiny gold bones scattered across England) are found and put back together. In The Skeleton Key one bone remains, however, the pelvis. 'Bonehunters', a group of people who some 50 years after the book's publication are still wanting to put Lady Elinore back together, are still keen to find it. When Sir Frank Churcher's family meet on the 50th anniversary of the book's publication the idea is that the tiny gold pelvis will be revealed - but in fact the gold bone disappears, to be replaced by a real bone. Who swapped them and why? This is what the story eventually reveals - shedding light on the less than savoury past of Frank Churcher and his family. I thought it was a great read and pulled together well to explain everything in the end - but I can't say I liked the people in this book and whilst I did like I wouldn't say I loved it

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.

What a great twisted read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

I’ve been reading Erin Kelly since The Burning Air and she’s pretty much unbeatable in her ability to grip the reader and immerse them in her world of domestic noir. This was read in a very enjoyable weekend with Alice Feeney’s Daisy Darker so I was knee deep in my favourite territory - arty, bohemian families, with big rambling houses, full of eccentricities and dark secrets. I was ready for skeletons to start tumbling out of closets and that was almost literally the case here. The Churcher’s and the Lally’s have a history that goes back decades and now they live in each other’s pockets, in two adjoining houses on Hampstead Heath, smelling of oil paint and weed. Back in the the 1970’s, when their friendships and marriages began, artist Frank used some old folk verses to create a picture book full of clues to hidden treasure. The story is macabre, as a young woman named Elinore is suspected of infidelity and murdered by her husband. He then scatters her bones in sites across the British Isles. The verses in the book, The Golden Bones, contain clues to the whereabouts of hidden treasure - a one off, tiny gold skeleton with a jewel set in it’s pelvis. When the book caught the public imagination, a group calling themselves The Bonehunters emerged and with the birth of the internet hunters and enthusiasts could solve clues together, pass on information and stoke rumours. Unfortunately, for some it became an obsession and twenty years later, Frank’s daughter - also named Eleanor- is attacked outside her school by a knife-wielding woman who is certain the final piece of treasure - the pelvis - resides within her actual body.

It’s no surprise that as the book reaches it’s fiftieth anniversary, speculation and concern from some parts of the family, has reached fever pitch. With the help of son Dom, the book has been re-issued in a Golden Anniversary edition, complete with locations for people to check in online. The families come together at the houses on the heath, to film for a television special about the book, including a secret unveiling that Frank’s been planning. As he gives a speech, under a tree on the heath, to everyone assembled and on camera, it’s clear he’s planned a publicity stunt. Could this be the final piece of treasure? However, even Frank is shocked when one of his grandchildren climbs the tree and instead of treasure pulls free a woman’s pelvis. The book follows the aftermath of this gruesome discovery, how it affects both families and starts a police investigation. Everyone is under suspicion. The author takes us back into the past, shows us events from different characters point of view, and turns the reader into a Bonehunter of sorts, trying to work out who this woman was and how her pelvis ended up buried in a tree on the heath.

We meet Eleanor again, but this time as a woman and she prefers it when people call her Nell. She weirdly had my dress sense, although I might draw the line at dungarees from now on having read the criticisms about them on middle-aged women! Anything to do with the book raises Nell’s blood pressure and it’s hardly surprising. It has influenced how she lives, as anonymously as possible on a narrow boat that she moves every so often on the London waterways. She claims this is to avoid mooring rates, but it also feels part of her PTSD, the need to keep moving and be hyper-vigilant. She has more than one reason to stay safe these days, because her step-daughter from a previous relationship is living with her. Unbeknown to social services her father left a long time ago. Nell hasn’t had much luck with friends or relationships and she blames the book for this too. She feels she can’t trust anyone since she fell in love with Richard when she was a teenager and he turned out to be an investigator, hunting the final bone on behalf of a rich Bonehunter. His protestations that he loved her anyway fell on deaf ears and she was left heartbroken. Now she’s more paranoid than ever and terrified that the police investigation will bring social services back into their lives.

I was fascinated with the dynamics of these two families living on top of each other in a way that was almost like a commune. The children would flit between houses, gravitating towards the parent who seemed most able to give that parental attention that they needed. Their friendship starts in the 1970’s as they shared ideas, drugs and a desire to create art. The families are so close that when Frank’s son Dom and Lal’s daughter Rose are found kissing it almost feels incestuous. Now there are shared grandchildren, linking them through blood. Where once there was equality, even if they were so poor there was nothing to share, now it seems like everyone functions for Frank. He is the successful artist and his whims should be accommodated. He felt like a law unto himself to me: working when he wants; neglecting his family; indulging his sexual appetites wherever he can. His mercurial temperament is excused because of his talent, but some family members already find him unbearable. Lal’s drinking seems to distract everyone from Frank’s bad behaviour and his decline has been very useful. It eliminates him as artistic competition too. We travel back to one particular night several times from different viewpoints. Wanting to break away from The Golden Bones Frank has created a collection of beautiful nude paintings. However, unable to let them show on their own merits, Frank has let it be known that every model in the show is one of his conquests. The tongues start to wag and by opening night it’s at fever pitch. I can’t work out whether he underestimates the family, or whether it’s a deliberate attempt to humiliate and dominate, but one of the models seems familiar. If Frank’s suggestion is true, he has betrayed everyone close to him. To make things worse he’s openly flirting with a waitress, in front of his wife and children. Luckily, Lal gets predictably drunk, drawing the attention and concern elsewhere.

In the present day both Lal and Frank are arrested, leaving the family scrabbling for the truth. Will it pull them all together or apart? The psychological interplay between family members is brilliantly done. Nell and Dom mean everything to each other, working as each other’s stability since both parents are absent when consumed by their work or drink and drugs. Dom and Rose’s relationship is borne out of the same impulse, desperately seeking stability and being steadfast in providing it for their own children. Nell has to decide whether this family is healthy for her and her daughter. The dynamic between Frank and his family becomes clearer as the novel goes on, with a wife seemingly dependent on medication to cope and Dom desperately trying to protect her. Frank is like a puppet master, in a strange echo of his role in the book, he’s choreographing events and controlling how they act, using distraction to hide what he doesn’t want them to see. He uses friend Lal as a whipping boy, in a terribly destructive dynamic. Frank can do what he wants as long as Lal is drinking and flying into rages, alienating his family. I felt there was a rivalry there and even a contempt for Lal, whose use is to be the comparison point - as long as Lal’s life and work is worse, then Frank is okay. Lal is, quite simply, a scapegoat. Even so, it is Nell’s character arc that I loved because she has to confront a lot of her past and start to build a better future as a family of two. Her strength is shown in the real quest of the book, not for golden bones, but for the truth. However messy, unexpected and inconvenient that might be.

The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
Publishers Hodder & Stoughton
Published in 1/9/22

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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 down. The twists kept coming and I did not predict the ultimately satisfying conclusion.
And I loved Eleanor and Billie.

Highly recommended.

I’d like to thank the author, publishers and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I

This book touched me in many ways. It has everything I need from a story: a wonderful, twisted plot, interesting characters and dozens of little things I as a reader can identify with. I just love treasure hunts but I wouldn’t go so far as the Bonehunters in this story and become a stalker or let this hunt ruin my marriage. It’s absolutely fascinating to read, very cleverly done and beautifully written. I’m sure I will read more of Erin Kelly’s books.

This is a fascinating and gripping tale of a treasure hunt book that became a worldwide sensation. The story spans from the creation of the book to the fifty year anniversary, and follows two best friends, their lives and intertwined families, and the repercussions their 'competitive nature' has on the people around them.

The characters and relationships are complex and compelling. The reveals are well laid and paced, making a book that's difficult to put down. Overall, it's a great mystery novel that I highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book - so descriptive, meticulously researched and plotted and also really enjoyed the nod to the book Masquerade - such a brilliant idea. I've loved all of Erin's books since The Poison Tree and this one certainly didn't disappoint - highly recommended.

Chilling tale of secrets and lies. It was at times, difficult to read because of the callousness of the main villain. I felt for the family as a whole.

I loved the cover and this attracted me to the book. An intriguing book covering multiple genres, mystery, timeliness and suspense. I enjoyed the back and forth of the timeliness and the way it was portrayed, a treasure hunt, lasting over the period of time

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion

Told over three interlocking timelines we learn the story of the Churcher family whose armchair adventure book The Golden Bones took off on a global scale, giving them plenty of financial success, but leaving deep scars running throughout their lives. What should have been an innocent treasure hunt turned sinister as the obsessive ‘Bonehunters’ crossed the line into a dangerous mentality, believing that Nell (the daughter of the book’s author) was the key to unlocking the final piece of the puzzle, putting her life in immediate danger.

Gothic details are littered throughout the story despite it not having an actual supernatural element. Skeletons, blood, roses, a creaky old attic, candles and stained glass combined with a decades old secret which carries a dark undertone through every page.

The Skeleton Key is an incredibly detailed and immersive story, I was completely swept away with very real crimes that were haunting the Churcher family, but also drawn into the fantasy world of the die-hard treasure hunters who took their search for the truth to the extreme. The building momentum as each of the strands began to wind together made the book impossible to put down and left me exhausted from such a rollercoaster of emotional revelations.

This book was fascinating. It told the story of a treasure hunt on an epic scale. The hunt lasted over fifty years and became of worldwide interest and a phenomena in its own right. The story is mostly told through the eyes of Nell whose father had created a 'fairy' story about a woman named Elinor, she was murdered and her bones were scattered around England. Clues lead people to seven sites. where jewels (different parts of Elinor's skeleton) are discovered. The book was a sensation at the time but it had an impact on the family and fifty years on there is a reunion, with hopes of a possible conclusion to the treasure hunt.
This is one of those books you have to finish to find out what happened, both with the treasure hunt and with the family members. I found it a long book but that seemed part of the chase. I think this book would appeal to many people young and old.
I look forward to reading more by this author.

First of all, thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for this ARC! This review was voluntarily written by me.

Truthfully, it is not easy to write this review because of the complexity of this story. In my opinion, this story is a mix of genres (family saga plus suspense and mystery) in which it is told with a lot of issues but combined with mystery and suspense. The story explains a lot about characters’ backstory plus focusing on the mystery part of the treasure hunting and murder mystery. There’s quite a number of flashbacks because the timeline of the story starts in the late 1960’s until 2021 which is more than 50 years of events and people that need to be remembered. Even though I do like the mystery-solving part, I don't really feel the suspense sometimes. I keep on reading this because I want to know about the story development, especially the mystery-solving part and the end of the story. For the plot and writing, it is good for me because it makes me understand the story easier and the ending didn't disappoint me. For the main characters (family members), I don’t really like any of them but I do understand why they become like that. There’s quite a number of strong words in the book but understandable with situations faced by characters. For me, the story really shows how an achievement affects the person who achieved it and the people around them negatively and how addiction to something can lead to craziness or make people’s lives miserable. Lastly, I think I can understand the title better after finishing the story, like, the title is the answer to the mystery and the families’ fate. For anyone that likes mystery that involves families, this book is maybe for you.

Fifty years ago Frank Churcher wrote The Golden Bones, a book containing a treasure hunt about Elinore. Elinore was murdered and her bones scattered all over England. Clues hidden in the pages would reveal the location of the bones and led to people finding all but one, the pelvis.

Over the years people became obsessed with finding the missing pelvis and a group called The Bonehunters formed, containing people who dedicated their lives to the quest. As a result, Frank’s daughter Nell became a target and spent her life looking over her shoulder.

Now the book is being reissued for its fiftieth anniversary along with a new treasure hunt. The Churchers are gathered together to film the announcement when Frank finally reveals the whereabouts of the missing bone. But in its place is a real pelvis belonging to a young woman. Who was she? And how is she connected to the Churchers?

This book was such a thrilling read and I had a really hard time putting it down. The characters were so real and complex and the relationships between them were dysfunctional to say the least. I loved how Erin Kelly slowly revealed parts of the mystery and in once instance, was so clever in how she worded things to throw you off the scent. It’s only when you go back you can see how your preconceptions can colour your judgement.

A fast paced book with so many twists and turns, morally grey characters and a touch of the gothic. What more could you want?

‘Flesh will spoil and blood will spill but true love never dies
Gather the lady’s bones with love to see the lady rise ‘ - ‘To Gather the Bones’.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Skeleton Key’ by Erin Kelly. I complemented my reading with its unabridged audiobook edition.

I have been reading Erin Kelly since her 2011 debut, ‘The Poison Tree’, and have always found her novels unique, fascinating reads. Her latest presents her readers with a literary puzzle. It completely wowed me from start to finish.

In her opening Author’s Note, Erin Kelly writes that the inspiration for ‘The Skeleton Key’ was her childhood favourite: “the 1979 treasure hunt phenomenon Masquerade by artist Kit Williams. On every page, riddles were posed, and intricate, dreamlike paintings depicted Jack Hare in his quest to deliver a jewel from the moon to the sun.”

At the heart of ‘The Skeleton Key’ is The Golden Bones, part picture book, part treasure hunt. Created in 1971 by Sir Frank Churcher, it is a dark fairy tale about Elinore, a murdered woman whose skeleton was scattered all over England. The pages of the book contained clues and puzzles intended to lead questers to seven sites where seven gold mounted jewels, each representing a different part of a tiny skeleton, were buried. The book was a global sensation and a community of treasure hunters known as the Bonehunters formed. Over the years six sites were discovered, leaving only Elinore's pelvis hidden.

In the summer of 2021 the bohemian Churcher family are gathering for the 50th anniversary reissue of the book along with the launch of a new Golden Bones online treasure hunt. A film crew is at their posh Hampstead home documenting each part of the process.

Frank’s daughter, Eleanor (Nell), is reluctantly attending as after being stalked by dangerously obsessed fans unable to tell fantasy from reality, she had become a recluse. What were her parents thinking giving her a name so close to their fictional character?

As might be expected given that this is a mystery/thriller, during the filming something goes very wrong. No further details to avoid spoilers.

Kelly’s narrative flows smoothly between the past and the novel’s present with the dates and locations clearly indicated in the chapter headings. Somewhat like a puzzle, this builds up a sense of the characters’ motivations revealing mysteries along the way.

Kelly explores a number of themes, including the power of myth and folklore, dysfunctional family dynamics, and how out of control some fans can become, especially when fuelled by conspiracy theories.

Overall, I found myself completely immersed in this intricately plotted Gothic mystery. I simply loved it.

Highly recommended.

3.7 Stars
One Liner: Interesting but could have been much better

Nell arrives at her family home to celebrate the fifth anniversary of her father’s famous book, The Golden Bones. The book has become a cult favorite and eventually put Nell in danger. She still spends her life like a nomadic traveler. After all, the Bonehunters are still actively searching for the missing bone to revive Eleanor (from the book).
Frank Churcher, the author of The Golden Bone, is all set to reveal the location of the missing bone and launch the mobile app version of the puzzle. However, he unleashes the buried past on everyone in the Churcher and Lally family.
With secrets coming out one after another and threats mounting pile high, Nell has to choose between family, her life, and doing what’s right.
My Observations:
I’m glad I read it as a family drama rather than a mystery. I expected the story to be centered on the dysfunctional family and wasn’t disappointed (thanks to my brain that forgot the blurb).
The overall premise is excellent, and some scenes are very well-written. But the book feels a little heavy with many things happening and the constant shift between past and present.
The pacing is slow and uneven. The story has a loop within a loop that keeps the reader going in circles. It doesn’t help that the book is 500+ pages long (something I missed when I requested the ARC).
There are multiple POVs in different timelines. While I’m used to this, the ARC I had didn’t have proper formatting. It was hard to know which POV belonged to which character. The saving grace was that except for Nell’s first-person POV, the others are in the limited third-person.
The middle of the book was info heavy. Though it revealed more information, the process was laborious and long-winded. Sometimes, ‘telling’ works better. The book would have worked much better if it was 70-100 pages shorter.
The last 15% to 20% left me with mixed feelings. In fact, I should say it made me dislike Nell when I should have been supporting her. None of the characters were likable except Billie, but that wasn’t an issue. There weren’t supposed to be liked anyway.
What annoyed me was Nell’s holier-than-thou attitude in the climax. What Frank did was a greater crime than murder, in my books. I give this one 4 stars (despite my rants or because of them) for the ending.
I like how the book ended. Some families are clearly not meant to be together, and the author worked the plot to reach this stage. Nell’s actions gave the story the ending it needed. I dislike her character, but I like the story and its closure.
The epilogue is a master touch. It confirms my assessments of the characters. It actually makes me feel justified for siding with the family, lol. A definite plus.

To Summarize, The Skeleton Key is a cleverly plotted novel about unlikeable characters, dysfunctional families, and human fallacies. It would have worked a lot better if the plot was presented with more precision in fewer pages.
Thank you, NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

'The Skeleton Key' by Erin Kelly is quite a commitment at 120+ chapters. I enjoyed this but the themes are quite distressing. Strong similarities to 'The Ophelia Girls' and 'My Dark Vanessa'. Frank Churcher, a struggling artist, is famed for writing 'The Golden Bones' A realistically painted book with poems about the Lady Elanor. 'The Golden Bones' has both ruined and cost people their lives as fans took the book literally that the Golden Bones were real. The book becomes a physical treasure hunting guide as people work to reunite the jewelled bones.There are some really quite horrific themes as Nell tries to distance herself from her family and is subjected to physical harm after her namesake lets people believe she is the real Lady Eleanor. 'The Skeleton Key' is a modern reimagining of the book, Masquerade. There are some very difficult and uncomfortable themes throughout. I was especially shocked by the resolution and felt quite sickened by it. A great book pre-Halloween and a very visual novel that only adds to the horror.

I've not read any books by Erin Kelly before but the beautiful cover and intriguing blurb caught my eye. In her foreword, the author explains that the inspiration for this story was one of her favourite childhood books: Masquerade by Kit Williams, which contained clues for a treasure hunt - the prize being a jewelled hare. In this book the prize is the tiny gold skeleton of a woman, broken into pieces and buried at locations around the UK.

Fifty years ago, Frank Churcher had the idea to write and illustrate a folk tale about a poor farmer who has to find and reunite the bones of his lost love, Elinore. To accompany the story, Frank created a tiny gold skeleton, which he broke up, burying the various bones around the country, with the clues to their location hidden in the text of the book. This book, The Golden Bones, became a huge bestseller and made both his fortune and his name as an artist, but it ruined the life of his daughter Nell. For years she's been stalked by the fans of the book (who call themselves 'Bonehunters') who believe the story is real and that her father hid the last missing piece of the skeleton inside her body. She refuses to accept any of her father's money and now lives incognito on a narrow boat with her unofficially adopted daughter, Billie.

To celebrate the book's 50th anniversary, Frank is relaunching The Golden Bones with an app and a documentary, and is planning on finally revealing where that last piece is hidden. All his family will be there at his house, including Nell and Billie, along with a film crew. Meanwhile, outside the house (and in online forums) the Bonehunters are circling...

The Skeleton Key is a beautifully written psychological suspense/domestic thriller with larger-than-life characters - Frank, in particular, is a complete monster - gothic overtones and a jaw-dropping finish. As well as Frank and his wife Cora, there is Frank's friend the alcoholic but talented Lal (with whom he always seems to be in competition), plus Lal's wife Bridget, and their children and grandchildren. The story moves back and forth between 1971 and the present day, until we're all caught up with every family secret and every betrayal. You soon appreciate that Nell did exactly the right thing by distancing herself from these horrible people!

The past and present timelines knitted seamlessly together, the treasure hunt was great fun, and the parts with the skeleton were inspired! And I shall never look at detergent in quite the same way again! Including the legend of Elinore at the end of the book was a nice touch.

The Skeleton Key is a fabulous story, recommended for fans of Lisa Jewell and Alice Feeney.


Thank you to Erin Kelly and Hodder and Stoughton for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

I adored this book and the twisted mystery that the author had woven into it. The basic premise of the story is one that the author explains at the beginning. She refers to the Kit Williams book, Masquerade. The idea of this book was that the reader had to solve clues to discover the location of a golden hare. The book was published in 1979 and I do have a copy of it, I never worked out locations but I adore the artwork.

Frank and Lal have known each other for years. The Golden Bones is a book that Frank is credited with coming up with, but there is more to it than that. The idea is that there are 7 jewels that when found will form a miniature skeleton of Elinore. The book is made up of clues, puzzles, equations and various other brain teasers that lead the treasure hunters to the locations of each of the bones. It has been 50 years since the publication of the book and as interest has dwindled, what better time to spark a resurgence? The final bone is stillmissing.

The story focuses not so much on the treasure hunt but on how the book has affected the families of Frank and Lal. Both men have had their highs and lows and the author does show these within this timeslip story. She also looks in detail at Nell's story, she is the daughter of Frank and someone that has been on the negative side of the publicity that the book has had.

The families live side by side, and their children have grown up together and known each other all their lives. But Nell is one that has become more of an outsider, she moves constantly and is always looking over her shoulder. The reasons for this are made apparent in the story.

The author has woven a very twisted and mysterious tale around the book and the families. Things really come to a head when a grand unveiling does not go to plan and old secrets finally start to come out. This is when you finally realise how twisted the older generations in the families are willing to go, and little others are thought about.

This is a glimpse into two very dysfunctional families, based on secrets, fear and control. I really found this to be an addictive read and it was great to be able to see differences of opinion, and how things changed over the years as the author flits back and forth over timelines.

This was a fabulous read and one that I soon found myself very much wrapped up in. It is devious, sneaky and riveting. The pages just disappeared and I didn't realise how long this book was until I came to write my review, it is 500+ pages and it took me two sittings. Brilliant book and one I would definitely recommend.

Absolutely recommend this book. The writing is crisp and modern; Nell's voice is strong - even when she herself is feeling weak; and the two families - the Churchers and the Lallys - are well-drawn. There are sub-plots involving Nell - her fight for Billie, a girl with a feckless father, and her strained relationship with Richard.

The intricacies of the main plot are astonishing. We are on shifting ground and never quite know what the main characters are capable of. There's Frank Churcher, artist with an eye for the ladies, and Cora, his wife, who drifts about in a dope-induced haze; there's Lal, Frank's best friend, also an artist, and an alcoholic, and his wife, Bridget, who keeps him under control.

Nell and her brother Dom are the Churcher children, grown up now, having survived a disturbing childhood incident. Dom is married to the Lally's daughter, Rose, so the families, - who are next-door neighbours - are closely entwined. They all know each other inside out - except for the secrets which slowly come to light.

Set against all this are the mad and sometimes dangerous Bonehunters - avid aficionados of Frank's illustrated book which sets puzzles and provides clues to the whereabouts of the various bones of the Golden Skeleton.

A marvellous mixture of dysfunctional family life and the search for treasure, The Skeleton Key is one of the best books I've read this year.