The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
I listened to the audible version of this book and constantly found myself sitting in my car after reaching my destination in order to listen until the end of the chapter.
My first Kate Morton book was “The Forgotten Garden” which I really enjoyed, so I added this one to my to-read list and was entertained once more.
Kate Morton has this great way of storytelling, especially since she focuses on using flashbacks in order to slowly give you the full picture. The shifting perspectives of various characters in The Secret Keeper (Laurel, her mother Dorothy or Dolly, Vivien and Jimmy) from 1941 to 1961 to 2011 allow for a wide view of the plot across the different decades in time that impact the story. Morton seamlessly transitions between the perspectives and merges all of the characters’ individual story lines into this one wonderful novel.
Morton also has this talent of subtle hints and foreshadowing, giving you these little cliffhangers, thus making you need to read two more chapters in order to get back to that specific character’s point of view and find out what happens next.
All of the characters are well written so you can truly tell the difference between the personalities and voices which assists in the transitions of each characters’ story line. I had a soft spot for Jimmy and wanted to reach through my speakers and smack Dolly upside the head, which shows you just how well written they are.
I would definitely suggest this book as well as Kate Morton’s other novels for readers who enjoy a historical romance but that also includes a good amount of intrigue, secrets and ‘what really happened here?’.
Synopsis: During a summer party at the family farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson has escaped to her childhood tree house and is happily dreaming of the future. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and watches as her mother speaks to him. Before the afternoon is over, Laurel will witness a shocking crime. A crime that challenges everything she knows about her family and especially her mother, Dorothy—her vivacious, loving, nearly perfect mother. Now, fifty years later, Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress living in London. The family is gathering at Greenacres farm for Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday. Realizing that this may be her last chance, Laurel searches for answers to the questions that still haunt her from that long-ago day, answers that can only be found in Dorothy’s past.