Skeleton’s Key

A wonderful mystery set in the sultry and steamy Mississippi south! I live in Mississippi and have toured MANY of the homes which are on the register of historical places, so Skeleton Key, by author Stacy Green was a fabulous find! Put together antebellum mansions, bones in the cellar, and a new Yankee girl in town and you get a mix of trouble. I could hardly wait for Dani to find that secret set of stairs, room. or…. You must read the book to find out! Enjoy!

The author has gone into great detail of restoration of ancient mansions with an interesting murder plot and a surprise ending. The plot is very skillfully developed and keeps your interest throughout.

This is the first book I’ve read by Stacy Green, but it won’t be the last.

The two main characters are Cage Foster and Dani Evans. Cage is the caretaker of a beautiful Antebellum mansion,The discovery of a skeleton and two fresh bodies buried on the grounds makes Cage a suspicious enemy of everyone in the small town.

Dani Evans is a restoration specialist who bought Ironwood plantation to restore it to its former glory Death, hidden treasure, and falling for a murder suspect were not part of her plan. Dani is convinced the legend of hidden treasure at Ironwood and the murders are tied together, but she has to find the truth before Cage is arrested. And if she’s not careful, she might become the next victim.

Fast paced, good storyline
Romance parts a little too dramatic but good mystery

Interesting story especially for any one who has lived in the rural south. We have an abandoned place in Alabama and I could relate.

I love mysteries and this one keeps you guessing until the end. Good storyline and holds your interest.

I liked the premise of the story, but the writing needed some work. As a good mystery, it just failed. There is a huge narrative information dump at the very end that pretty much solves the case and explains the whole story. It would have been much more interesting if this information was weaved into the story little by little and the reader was along for the ride. In this case the reader is blind sided by “who done it” without even a few bread crumbs. The dialogue throughout the book kept going in circles with repetitious discussions of suspicions, warnings, accusations, threats or whatever, followed next by stream of consciousness analysis of what was just said. It didn’t move the story along and seemed pointless. As a reader, I felt like the author thought the reader couldn’t follow the plot or discern the obvious connections and therefore she needed to repeat everything each time there was a conversation. Then every time there was a scene change or a new topic of discussion the focused character always seemed to experience some emotionally charged physical symptom like nausea, dizziness, sweating, chills, chest tightness, heart pounding, or breathlessness. It was too much. The story concept was good—A northern yankee purchases a dilapidated Mississippi antebellum Plantation House. She is an expert on renovating historic homes and has always dreamed of owning and renovating her own southern mansion, but she is a classic outsider in the deep south. Shorty after she arrives to begin the work, two bodies and some old bones are found buried in the basement of her old mansion—and so the story begins.There were interesting tidbits about renovations and antiques intertwined into the story and the history of the southern mansion was intriguing. The north/south animosity was a tired cliche. The characters were likable, but the writing and the story development were disappointing.

Love reading about the old antebellum homes. This book grabbed me and didn’t let go. I liked it so much I went out and bought the other two in the series. I would definitely recommend it.

From wonderful, real characters to a plot that kept you guess, Stacy Green captured my attention and held it.

Kept my attention