The Key House

Very nice story. Well written. Will keep you in suspense, making you want to read on. "Just one more chapter." ;) And I love that the author incorporates Christian themes in a realistic way. How Christ works in us to mold us and make us more like Him. And how He loves us and draws us to Himself. Very good! I will definitely be recommending this book to friends who have young kids. (But it's also good for adults too, like me. ;)) I also like that the parents in the story are not perfect, yet they try to be encouraging to their kids and to guide them and teach them. A good model for parents. I look forward to reading the next one. :)

Our family loves these books! I have two 10 year old boys who struggle to get into reading. They have been glued to the story as we read the pages together as a family. As a christian mom, I love how the 12 year old character is thinking through his thoughts about Christ and his dad's guidance of how to apply Christ's teachings to his situation. He processes his own 12 year old desire for popularity and to be a baseball star at any cost versus a relationship with Christ that will transform him into a more caring and selfless person. This book is so well written and is a wonderful mystery/adventure!

Fans of the Hardy Boys mysteries will enjoy this enthralling mystery, although the author takes the adventure deeper into spiritual truths and trials as well. Wasn't sure what to think of the book at first blush. Was it going to be "cheesy Christian literature" that delivers a great message, but not a great story? I was pleasantly surprised to discover the story was as compelling as the message. The parents do come off a bit as Ward and June Cleaver, but is that so bad? Is a healthy home life bad? Are decent and caring parents bad? The boys come off as two boys in a family would, with the likely stresses, tensions, and affections. The adventure is exciting, and the enemies are good and worrisome. But at the end, it is the redemption that carries the day. A great read. Highly recommend. Any middle grade reader (or in so many cases, adult readers who love middle grade fiction) will enjoy this.

Great book for a pre-teen.

It was entertaining and engaging. Characters you cared about in an adventure. It had life lessons relating to problems tweens and teens face in an ordinary day. Their decisions and the consequences were worked into the story with out halting the progression of the story. Lessons in faith did not seem "stuck in" but were woven into the story and relevant to the plot. Might be to tame for the bloody video gamers but exciting enough for less blood thirsty children.

I’m a teacher and bought this for a student. I didn’t realize it was faith based, so I spoke with the parents and they were happy about it. As a teacher I normally would steer clear of giving this to a student but worked out in this case. The student really liked the book.

This is a fantastic book for your ELA middle school class. We recently read this book in my 7th-grade ELA class, and I had the students create some wonderful book projects. I'm anxious to have them read the other three books. I love how the author incorporated God into this book while still adding mystery and adventure. It's a fun family book.

The Key House: Book 1 absolutely pulled me in from the very first chapter. The atmosphere was haunting, the characters felt real, and the mystery unraveled at just the right pace. I loved how it blended supernatural suspense with deep emotional undercurrents.

Book is great. Read it, like the story and morals imbedded in the story. My daughter like the series already asking for Book 2 already. I guess I will eventually buy the entire series for her😄.

Inappropriate content for 10 year olds. Mentions prostitutes, which could involve awkward questions between parents and kids. There were some daft situations as well. Such as when the kids go into next door's garden and throw a rock at the dog's head and hurt it. In reality, the neighbour would be knocking on the door going mad at his neighbour. But nothing happens. He just accepts this. Later on a snake appears in the tunnel. How it survived there all those years without any food is anyone's guess. Plot it way too close to the Goonies. Overall the execution was poor and I gave up after about 140 pages.