Last night, I woke up at 3:30 with a warm flush (being a middle aged woman is aces, y’all) and as I was fanning myself on the sofa, I grabbed my book for the usual 20 minutes or so until my temperature made sense again. I’d been reading this for a couple of days, and I was liking it but I didn’t think it’s be a problem to set it back down and so I could finish getting my night’s sleep. Reader, I’m sure you know what happened next. And why I’m having more coffee after 11am, I thing I can’t really do any more (again, being a middle aged woman is ACES). Oh the cycle of sleeplessness that is a reader’s life!
So, what is this book? The Skeleton Key has a lot going on, it’s a mystery and a family drama and a tale of art and obsession and secrets. Nell’s father published a book before she was born that some people became dangerously obsessed with and subsequently endangered her life. Now she’s in her forties and her father is reviving the furor around the book, which leads to new dangers and old secrets. That doesn’t in any way capture the complexity of the story, but there were so many twists and turns that I don’t really want to give more than that.
Not all of the twists were shocking, and I think that was partly purposeful. I spent a good portion of the middle feeling smug and annoyed I’d figured it out. Which, I did. But there was so much more going on than I’d realized, each subsequent reveal landed like a punch. I will say that if you love books about messy, terrible families full of unlikeable assholes, grab this beauty. It’s not generally a draw for me, but it worked here.
Erin Kelly really wove this story together perfectly. New reveals immediately shift everything you’ve believed up to that moment, the suspense is steady but not monotonous, the danger feels real and shifts constantly, leaving the reader just as disoriented as Nell. Kelly also utilizes varied perspective in certain sections, never giving a full picture all at once.
This was an engrossing read for me and one I’m very glad I grabbed. I’m not sure I could say it was fun, but I enjoyed it. 4.25 out of 5 stars, do recommend, may make your own family seem wonderful.