Skeleton Keys: The Unimaginary Friend: 1 (Skeleton Keys (1))

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The positives are mostly with the characterisation. These two families are immensely entwined, kind of like a bunch of Christmas lights you can’t seem to untangle. The parents have been friends for decades, the son of one family is married to the daughter of the other family. There is a lot of history here, decisions that were made for the good of the two families, secrets that are being kept hidden for the same reason. But all is about to fall apart. 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! Erin Kelly’s latest is an absorbing treasure-hunt mystery that’s also a murder story, a family saga, and also significantly about ageing, particularly how it affects men and women differently. Nell is the semi-estranged daughter of artist Frank Churcher, whose masterpiece The Golden Bones – a picture book containing clues to the location of, yes, bones made of solid gold – became a worldwide phenomenon in the 1970s. Now, on the 50th anniversary of its publication, a revival is planned, but the ‘big reveal’ goes drastically wrong and soon the entire Churcher family is embroiled in a murder investigation. The Skeleton Key is a sprawling story with subplots galore and a smart perspective switch somewhere in the middle. With so much happening, it doesn’t quite keep the same momentum throughout (I found a few of the aforementioned subplots a bit tiresome, and found myself furiously disagreeing with Nell’s moral standpoint towards the end!), but it’s good at being a story about a lot of things. For me it was most effective in its portrayal of a monstrous, powerful figure casting a shadow across far too many people; I suspect it’s one of those books in which different readers will find different meanings. The Skeleton Key has a unique plot, keeping aside the central theme of dysfunctional families, the story has an author whose picture book The Golden Bones has clues for a real treasure hunt and the frenzy the release of the book creates for him and his family. Being named after the central character in a fictional book written by your father has not given Eleanor Churcher an easy life. Stalked, stabbed and threatened by the crazy treasure hunters called Bonehunters, Nell stays away from her family as much as possible to escape the madness that has the bone hunters making her life a miserable hell. What drew me in to The Skeleton Key were a) the cover of the book, which seemed to promise both magic and ordinary life and b) the fact that it was built around a book. In this case, a treasure hunt book that's now 50 years old, involves a quest to re-assemble a skeleton, has a world-wide, obsessive fan base, and has shaped the lives of two close families—one the author/illustrator's, the other his best friend's.

Skeleton Key: A family reunion ends in murder; the Sunday The Skeleton Key: A family reunion ends in murder; the Sunday

Full disclosure: I read this book as part of my work, and listened to the audio book at the same time. The audio book gets 5 stars, and the text itself and illustrations get 4 stars from me. I enjoyed this book! It was fun even for me as an adult.Brian Switek writes with remarkable grace about the natural world. In Skeleton Keys, he looks inward, making us keenly aware of the marvels of the bones that give us the scaffolding we need to survive. Every chapter has some surprise, told in elegant tales, that you will repeat to your friends.”—Carl Zimmer, author of She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity MY THOUGHTS: I became fully immersed in the story of the Churcher and Lally families to the detriment of everything else I was currently reading. The extended family dynamics enthralled me. I became obsessed by their machinations, and their relationships, which are almost incestuous. The story of the Churcher and Lally families is one I will remember for a long time. The layering of details was flawless. There was so much to absorb. The Skeleton Key is a deliciously slower-building story that takes its time in its richness. I absolutely adored it and highly recommend it to longer-book-patient readers who are looking for a simmering, bold, fresh thriller. But when Nell's life, and by extension young Billie's life, is threatened by Frank's desperate need to always be in the spotlight, the centre of attention, the Churcher and Lally clans circle the wagons in an attempt to control the frenzy Frank has unleashed upon them, with unforeseen consequences.

Skeleton Keys: The Night of the Nobody: 4 (Skeleton Keys, 4) Skeleton Keys: The Night of the Nobody: 4 (Skeleton Keys, 4)

While the mystery is great, it's the characters that make this book. Actions that start out with good intentions become derailed and disastrous making it an unpredictable and rewarding read. The story inside is every bit as stunning, intricate and enticing as the cover art. The Skeleton Key is a dark, compelling tale that takes you into the lives of two families, Churcher and Lally, who have been tied together over the last fifty years by the successful publication of the treasure quest book, The Golden Bones. A book, whose success is now being honoured with a documentary film and a special edition release which has prompted the resurgence of all the crazed obsessive fans, also known as the “bone hunters” who are determined to discover all of the bones scattered across England, led to all the family members being reunited under one roof in a very long time, and caused all the secrets and skeletons that have been buried under lies and deception for many years to finally be unearthed and uncovered. Ben Bunsen conjures up his imaginary friend (a friendly little ball of fur) so well that it becomes an "unimaginary". But rambunctious Mr Skeleton Keys is adamant that Gorblimey is dangerous, and wants to banish him to oblivion using one of his five key-fingers that open doors to otherworldly domains. Erin Kelly is an author who always keeps you guessing. No novel of hers is anything like any other novel of hers, so you never quite know what you’re going to get. This is why I have a rather complicated relationship with her work, I think. I will adore one book, and feel rather meh about another one. ‘The Skeleton Key‘ lands somewhere in between the two for me.

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A provocative and entertaining magical mineral tour through the life and afterlife of bone.”— Wall Street Journal Overall, The Skeleton Key is another sophisticated, vivid, creepy tale by Kelly that does a fantastic job of delving into all the complex, dysfunctional dynamics that can occur between family members and reminds us just how toxic and evil, and yet somehow still loyal some of these relationships can truly be. A solid winner from Erin Kelly, The Skeleton Key is a perfect choice for all fans of the family saga with a mystery woven thru it.

Skeleton Key (novel) - Wikipedia Skeleton Key (novel) - Wikipedia

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. 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 article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. ( June 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Full of mystery and adventure, Skeleton Keys will stretch vocabularies and imaginations. Children will love the outlandish story with monster chases and ghoulish beheadings, which is ultimately about friendships, fitting in and being confident in yourself. The relationship between Nell and Dom and that of Billie and Nell are the highlights of the story, in fact, the arc of each and every character in the book was brilliantly done. Billie, however, is like a breath of fresh air in this dark family drama. It is not just about the mystery of a skeleton but Erin Kelly keeps the readers on their toes convoluting the plot with one reveal after another every step of the way and there are so many subplots running in the story that the momentum of the story also has its own pace, whereas some parts I could literally fly with it there were also some other parts which were very slow in its unraveling. Overall, this is a good homage to Masquerade by Kit Williams which is a much loved book of the author.

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DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Skeleton Key via Netgalley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. 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.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 online shit-stirring wold have been harmless if the jewel had been left in the tree. . . . Taking the jewels would have been harmless . . . without the online shit-stirring . . .’ The mystery of the missing golden bone is really secondary, and to be honest, for most of the book I wasn’t at all interested in its whereabouts. Even though the obsession with it runs like a thread through this story. However, this is definitely a character-driven novel with a focus on the many, mostly bad, decisions these characters have made throughout the years. Unfortunately for me, I found most of it a struggle. I didn’t particularly like the characters. I often couldn’t understand their behaviour or motivations, both in the past and present. They seemed to knowingly and stubbornly remain part of dysfunctional families and extremely toxic relationships for reasons that made no sense to me. It made me quite sad to realise their lives could have been so much different if they’d been in any way smart/brave/something enough to step away from the one they were living.