Keeper of the Keys

By Perri O'Shaughnessy

For ambitious, troubled architect Ray Jackson, the nightmare begins one sultry California night when his wife disappears. No phone call, no ransom note, no body, reveals whether Leigh is dead or alive.

Then, suddenly, a woman shows up on Ray’s doorstep demanding answers: Kathleen, an old friend of Leigh’s. Ray wants answers, too, but his questions seem strange and shady to Kat. Suspected by his wife’s friend and by the police, Ray launches a desperate and alarming search of his own. Using a collection of keys he has held on to since he was a boy–keys to homes he and his mother once lived in–Ray quietly yet boldly enters each house, one by one, hoping to unlock the secrets of his own past. As past and present collide, as a chilling mystery begins to unravel, Ray is suddenly confronted with the most agonizing decision of his life–to face his own violence-laden past, acting to prevent another horrendous act of violence, or not. His choice will leave nothing and no one the same.


From the Hardcover edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 31, 2006
• ISBN: 9780440336433

Perri O'Shaughnessy

Perri O'Shaughnessy is the pen name for two sisters, Pamela and Mary O'Shaughnessy. Together they have written twelve Nina Reilly legal thrillers, a stand-alone thriller, KEEPER OF THE KEYS, and one short story collection, SINISTER SHORTS. Pamela, a graduate of Harvard Law School, practiced law in Monterey, San Pablo, and South Lake Tahoe, California, for sixteen years. She lives in northern California. Mary worked as a multimedia editor for many years. She lives with her husband and children near San Francisco.

Reviews for Keeper of the Keys

[carl_alves_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was not a fan of this novel. It got off to a bad start in the opening chapters because the main character is so unlikeable. From that point forward, I didn't care one way or the other what happened to him. Ray Jackson is a self-absorbed architect, whose wife Leigh leaves him after a fight. There is nothing redeemable about the character, and none of the other characters were well developed. The plot was silly. For some reason, the reader is supposed to believe that Ray kept keys from his childhood houses and is breaking into them to find out the secrets of his past. I suppose the author didn't consider that most people change the locks when they move into a house. And despite Ray's wife cheating on him, everything is fine between them when they reunite. I would not recommend reading this book.Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity

[cherilove · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Very unpleasant characters; did not finish.