The Bone Key is actually a series of short stories, all about Kyle Murchison Booth (nobody calls him Kyle) and his encounters with the paranormal. He traces them back to a necromantic rite he foolishly helped a friend perform, which seems to have made him more receptive to strange things.In her introduction, Sarah Monette says she was inspired by M. R. James and Lovecraft. It shows, mostly in the atmosphere. I was not at all surprised to discover that she had a story published in the anthology Lovecraft Unbound, which is just a little further down my To Read list.
Our hero, Booth, will not be to every reader's taste. He is painfully shy, socially awkward, reserved almost to the point of being a hermit, and very academic. He's also gay, which plays prominently in two of the stories but otherwise simply forms a backdrop to his character. I actually loved Booth, being painfully shy, etc. myself.
The stories could have used a bit more punch, though. My spine tingled in a few places, but overall I was not left checking over my shoulder as I read. The one image that will haunt me is the wrenching ending of Elegy for a Demon Lover. But scared? Not so much. This is a minor issue, because I wasn't exactly expecting to be scared witless, and the stories are good enough that I just didn't care.
There is apparently a (sort of?) sequal which prints four more Booth stories. I'll be trying to get my hands on it, too.