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The Skeleton Key
- Narrated by: Helen Keeley
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
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The Skeleton Key
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Summary
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. 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.
From the best-selling author of He Said/She Said and Watch Her Fall, this is a taut, mesmerising novel about a daughter haunted by her father's legacy....
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Critic reviews
"An intricately plotted thriller, full of detail and invention, with impeccably realised settings and characters as monstrous as they are believable. Above all, it is a completely addictive story of two families destroyed by success. Erin Kelly is a genius." (Jane Casey)
"Moody, propulsive and one of the most intriguing set ups I've read in years. Erin Kelly doesn't put a foot wrong in this atmospheric, original thriller." (Gillian McAllister)
"A feat of real ambition and imagination—original, suspenseful and with complex characters that spring irresistibly to life on the page, this is Erin Kelly at her finest." (Louise Candlish)
What listeners say about The Skeleton Key
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Helen Chater
- 07-03-24
Incredible!
Absolutely brilliant! Can’t recommend enough. I was hooked from the first chapter and told everyone who’d listen to download it. Such a clever story and read so beautifully.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- V. O'Regan
- 11-09-22
Brilliant storytelling
Erin Kelly knows how to create a compelling tale and I found this amazing. A story of family and lies and mystery
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M Boyle
- 04-10-23
Captivating
I couldn’t stop listening. Brilliantly performed, a fantastic story, full of intrigue, and devilment, tempered by heart.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fiona Campbell
- 26-04-24
brilliant could not put down
hooked from the beginning to the end, couldn't put it down. full of unexpected twists and turns. very good narration
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Booktok Bookclub
- 21-02-23
Original
Really enjoyable. I was leaning towards 4.5/5, but I think it is more close to a 4/5 the first 1/3 was amazing, the rest was still great but not quite the same. It’s quite an original plot which is one of the reasons I liked it so much… the ending was good but I wanted something a little bit more, ingrid, the bone hunters, Eleanors bones reunited something felt slightly unresolved. I’d definitely recommend it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 09-09-23
Book of the year!
Just WOW. couldn't stop listening. All the bits you want, added to the suspense you need, covered in heart and the idea of family. Gripped from the beginning and enthralled until the end.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Johnny
- 01-01-23
Great 5* listen
What a great listen and first five star listen of 2023. Erin Kelly’s best novel by far.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ms. E. K. Hazlewood
- 25-03-23
Utterly gripping portrait of a complicated family
A gripping tale of obsession, ego, art, and love that is intertwined with hate. I have been totally absorbed in this book's twists and turns, while at the same time feeling very relieved that my own family is nothing like Nell's! This book has reminded me how much longevity selfishness can have, its tentacles reaching across the decades and generations. I shall certainly be looking out for more by Erin Kelly.
I note that another reviewer had commented on the references to social media, lockdown etc. and implied that these references would make the book go out of date quickly. I would like to say that I disagree- the Covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on people's lives both in the UK (where the book is set) and worldwide. I personally think it would be stranger not to reference a period of upheaval of such a magnitude. You wouldn't write a book set in 1940 and fail to mention the second world war.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ms. S. Kearney
- 27-09-23
Intriguing story and well read
There are so many twists and turns to this story based in North West London. The characters are well developed and complicated. Difficult to pause.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kat P
- 12-10-23
Good book
I found this book hard to read, so I switched to audible so much easier. Good book and I didn’t see that ending coming.
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