Thank you Penguin Books Australia for this book in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:

An electrifying debut in the vein of Shirley Jackson and Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, about a British boy who, after his mother is abruptly called away to America, begins to suspect that perhaps she did not leave, but was murdered—by the housekeeper who cares for him in the family’s isolated country estate.
Nine-year-old Samuel lives alone in a once great estate in Surrey with the family’s housekeeper, Ruth. His father is dead and his mother has been abroad for five 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 rumours in town begin to swirl, Samuel wonders whether something more sinister is afoot. Perhaps his mother did not leave, but was murdered—by Ruth.

Review:

I am really torn about this book. I really enjoyed the story and the characters and the determination to find out what happened. But on the other hand the 261 paged book did drag on and the build-up for the ending wasn’t as high and fascinating as I would have hoped.

The Boy at the Keyhole is definitely a book that is up my ally and generally my go to pick me up kind of book, yet it could have been shorter?

Ruth, the house keeper is a suspicious character from the get go, there isn’t a great deal of history to the character and she is well guarded. At times she shows respect and care for Samuel and yet at other times you wonder how she even began to work with children in the first place. The house is run by an iron fist and no room for negotiating, no dust in site and everything has their place, even if it is kept behind a locked door and away from Samuel’s prying eyes.

Samuel is the kind of kid where you instantly take pity on him and want to keep him under your wing and protect him. Not only is Samuel in a tough situation with his father dead and his mother off traveling America with no end of her travels insight; Samuel has also faced the wrath of Ruth. Both physically and mentally. Ruth constantly hovers over the young boy leaving him barely a chance to go anywhere in the house without her checking in on him, let alone give him space to breath or carry out a chore without her stern voice in his ear.

However on the other hand, due to the lack of parents you see Ruth take on a parental role of Samuel, feeding him, ushering him to complete his homework and engages with the child. It is almost a blurred line between the abuse and the parent role?

The Boy at the Keyhole was a slow burn. You see the fire coming but you just don’t rush to get there, you watch it slowly draw closer until you taste the flicker of flames. That is pretty much how this book was to me. You can see hints of the fire, danger and potential for a flaming ending, but it only creeps along until you are finally standing in the flame. Basically, I need more of a build up between Ruth and Samuel and less idle chit chat.

Other than the slow burn, I loved the characters and the general plot of the book. Stephen Giles also captures the true essence of writing from the view of a young boy and I couldn’t fault anything from that point of view, and the writing was simplistic and yet brilliant with little descriptions that weren’t needed.

Overall, I enjoyed The Boy at the Keyhole, all aspects of it besides how drawn out it was. If you are after a nice and spine tingle read than this is for you.

Rating: 4/5

Publisher: Penguin Random House

ISBN: 9780143790631