The Skeleton Key started out as a five-star read for me. I was completely drawn in by the mystery of the treasure hunt book 'The Golden Bones' and the weird cast of obsessed fans who couldn't tell fiction from reality. It reminded me a lot of Byron Preiss' The Secret, which still has obsessive treasure hunters pouring over the spectacular art by John Jude Palencar, and scouring the American Continent in search of hidden jewels.
But halfway through, The Skeleton Key changed its focus, and instead of the mystery and folklore that drew me in, it became a pretty generic family drama nested within a crime tale. 'The Golden Bones' ended up being all but irrelevant to the plot overall. It was a plot device that Kelly used for deflection to hide the true motives of her characters. And unfortunately, the crime and family drama elements were the parts I was least interested in.
The characters are well-developed, with unique personalities, who make frustrating decisions. But each of them felt true to how they'd been characterised. They were really well written. And Erin Kelly's prose is beautiful and descriptive. She really set the scene and painted a picture of privilege and dysfunction. The pacing, however, was a little off, and I did find that The Skeleton Key ended up outstaying its welcome by around page 300. It was long, and slow, which meant it just didn't keep me fully engaged to the end. As I neared the last few chapters, I was just ready for the book to be over; which felt especially disappointing given how absolutely engrossed I'd been at the book's beginning.
The Skeleton Key is a well-written book with an absolutely five-star concept. But ultimately, its slow pace and changing focus meant I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have.