“You’ll talk about this book with everyone you meet. It’s that exciting.”–Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box For fans of Shirley Jackson, Sarah Waters and Daphne du Maurier, an electrifying debut about a boy left alone in his family’s English estate with a housekeeper he suspects has murdered his mother Nine-year-old Samuel lives alone in a once-great estate in Surrey with the family’s … the family’s housekeeper, Ruth. His father is dead and his mother has been abroad for months, purportedly tending to her late husband’s faltering business. She left in a hurry one night while Samuel was sleeping and did not say goodbye.
Beyond her sporadic postcards, Samuel hears nothing from his mother. He misses her dearly and maps her journey in an atlas he finds in her study. Samuel’s life is otherwise regulated by Ruth, who runs the house with an iron fist. Only she and Samuel know how brutally she enforces order.
As rumors in town begin to swirl, Samuel wonders whether something more sinister is afoot. Perhaps his mother did not leave but was murdered–by Ruth.
Artful, haunting and hurtling toward a psychological showdown, The Boy at the Keyhole is an incandescent debut about the precarious dance between truth and perception, and the shocking acts that occur behind closed doors.
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A fiendishly efficient, gorgeously written, nasty little thrill ride of a psychological thriller. I couldn’t put it down, and it’s entirely possible that I’ll never sleep again. A true tour-de-force of a debut novel.
Equal parts pastoral and piqued, The Boy at the Keyhole is a story that rises above its own devices and transcends the sum of its parts. The characters sink through the cracks of your mind, straight to your soul. And the questions herein will burn you to bits. You’ll talk about this book with everyone you meet. It’s that exciting.
It’s an smazing book (for hortor lovers).
First, the good: the writing was fine, I imagine writing from the POV of a child is difficult and the author did that well – so kudos for that. The first half of the book was interesting, with a good building of tension.
But the second half turned into repetitions of actions taken again and again. And the story lost its mysterious edge. The final two chapters left me a bit confused. Not in a good-plot-twist way, but more like “Huh?” The conclusion was a disappointment after a good beginning.
Very interesting book. The ending came to no conclusion, although the writing and story line was enough to keep me reading.. If there is or were to be a sequel I would question myself as to whether to avail myself of it or not
Favorite Quotes:
Ruth could do that. Make a decree, like a queen or something, that certain topics had reached their end and that would be that.
Now that he stood on the precipice of this wrongdoing, he felt the fluttering in his chest that made every breath sound as if he were sitting on a rattling train.
The same wine his mother said made his father prone to unsettling fits of national pride and falling asleep midsentence.
Part of the reason Samuel was sent to the local school and not somewhere more distinguished, like his father and uncle had, was because his mother didn’t want him turning out like his uncle Felix, who she said was a pompous buffoon wrapped in tweed, dipped in gin and rolled in horsehair.
Samuel saw the lies easily enough; they practically leached from her skin like poisonous gas. She twisted everything, turning the truth in on itself until it looked like something else.
My Review:
I am in quite a pique over the ending, or lack thereof, so rating this skillfully crafted book puts me in a quandary. The story didn’t seem anywhere near a stopping point, yet it ended. Gah – I am infuriated as I was riveted to my Kindle while reading and hissed in complaint at any interruption. Needless to say, adulting did not happen today, as evidenced by my profane and childish reaction to hitting the last page. Yet, I cannot deny that Stephen Giles is a master storyteller who is extremely gifted with the word voodoo. His writing was mesmerizing and laced with observant details and massive insightfulness into the mind of a child. His characters were compelling and deftly written, I was eager to learn every little nuance I could wring from the narrative. His storylines were tautly written and adroitly textured, I was on edge and keenly interested through. I couldn’t settle on a theory and developed and cast off several while reading. The housekeeper was vile and monstrous, harsh on a good day; the mother was absent, irresponsible, and self-absorbed; and the child – oh, he squeezed my heart, I ached for him. But that ending – he really left me hanging, would it have killed him to have kept going just a few more pages? It rankles, but I have to give him his due. Sigh, 5-Stars. This would make an excellent movie.
This is an interesting suspense novel that takes place within a manor house in England. Samuel’s father is dead and his mother has been gone for 113 days. She left him in the care of the housekeeper, Ruth. Samuel doesn’t understand why his mother left without saying goodbye and why he has only gotten several postcards from her sent from different locations in America. Ruth tells him that his mom is trying to get investors for the family business but Samuel doesn’t understand and wants his beloved mother home again. The relationship between Samuel and Ruth is poor at best – she is a strict disciplinarian and he is a typical 9 year old boy. After so many days without his mother, Samuel has decided that his mother would never leave him so long and she must have been murdered by Ruth and he sets out to prove his theory.
As I was reading this dark novel, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Samuel. He had no relatives who cared about him except for his mom – and if she really cared about him why had she been gone so long? He only had one friend at school and spends most of his time alone – why wouldn’t his imagination come up with bizarre reasons for his mother’s absence. I found this psychological drama to be an interesting read.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.