The Skeleton Key: The brand-new unpredictable, tense and utterly gripping suspense from the million-copy bestselller

'Flawless ... [Kelly's] saga of sex, art, fame, money, egos and damaged children is intriguing, but it's the psychological thriller strand centred on Frank's daughter Nell that makes it moreish' SUNDAY TIMES
'A rich and fascinating puzzle' MAIL ON SUNDAY
'I completely lost myself to this book for a few days' LUCY FOLEY
'A deliciously involving page turner about ambition, toxic families and the perils of success, with meaty characters and long-kept secrets galore' GUARDIAN


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.

Inspired by the author's love for Masquerade, this is a taut, mesmerising novel of danger and obsession.

'The ultimate entertaining thriller' EVENING STANDARD
'With rich characterisation and intricate yet propulsive plotting, Kelly is at her considerable best as she mercilessly fillets monstrous egos and toxic relationships while ramping up the tension' GUARDIAN
'Kelly's deftly etched depiction of human relations shows how our nearest and dearest often spark in us the most intense of emotions' THE TIMES *THRILLER OF THE MONTH*
'Stands head and shoulders above the rest, for its originality, its ingenuity and its sumptuous realisation of an intensely problematic family ... A gorgeously intricate puzzle of a book' THE OBSERVER
'Pacy, brilliantly plotted, and full of complex characters and relationships' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
'A dark treasure hunt, family secrets and plot twists ... An excellent reminder of why we love reading' STYLIST ONLINE
'There's layer upon layer of mystery in this frankly brilliant read' BELFAST TELEGRAPH
'Moody, propulsive, and one of the most intriguing set ups I've read in years' GILLIAN McALLISTER
'A highly imaginative time-slip novel about vanity, arrogance, murder and deceit... an excellent psychological thriller' LITERARY REVIEW
'Unputdownable' HEAT
'Although this is the kind of dark and twisted thriller we've come to expect from Erin Kelly, The Skeleton Key is also a delicious deep dive into the secrets and grievances of one of the most dysfunctional families you're ever likely to meet' RED
'A richly imagined, multi-layered story' IRISH INDEPENDENT
'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
'Erin Kelly excels at twisted family dynamics and toxic, compelling characters, and this glorious slice of bohemian gothic showcases all her strengths' RUTH WARE
'Scary, eerie, moving and compelling: a beautifully-plotted, gorgeously-written triumph of a thriller' NICCI FRENCH
'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' JANE CASEY
'A twisted treasure hunt with a fatal family secret at its heart' SARAH HILARY
'A blisteringly good read. I simply couldn't put it down' LUCY DAWSON
'A unique storyteller; impossible to predict, impossible to put down' JOHN MARRS
'A gothic mystery and a twisty turny treat. Right up there with Kelly's bestselling debut The Poison Tree' SAM BAKER, THE SHIFT
'By turns a dysfunctional family drama and a deliciously sinister thriller' i ONLINE
'Erin Kelly is a key practitioner of rigorous psychological crime, and The Skeleton Key is well up to par... Kelly's customary aptitude with different time frames adds finesse to a forceful scenario' FINANCIAL TIMES
'A delight, particularly the descriptions of Nell's eccentric and utterly dysfunctional family' IRISH INDEPENDENT