by Kate Morton
Rating: 5 out of 5
Genre: Historical Romance
Kate Morton never disappoints me! Her style of writing immediately draws me in and I am let down when I have to turn that final page. Kate always has a great twist to the end of her novels. Always something one doesn’t expect. I was sad when I was forced to close the book.
At the age of sixteen, Laurel witnesses a life-altering event at the home she has grown up in–Greenacres farm. She carries this throughout her life, never speaking of it to anyone. Laurel leaves home to fulfill her life’s dream of being an actress. She becomes a famous thespian which makes her recognizable wherever she goes in her native England. Returning home to her ailing widowed mother for her ninetiety birthday, Greenacres conjures up all of the old memories of that fatefilled day in the early 1960’s. Clues begin to emerge.
Laurel is driven to investigate her mother, Dorothy’s past, especially now that her life is nearing the end. Dorothy’s rambles about the past include World War II. She speaks of friends that Laurel has never heard of. Determined to know what led to the event she witnessed the summer of her sixteenth year, Laurel starts digging into the glimpses of the past.
The Secret Keeper travels alternately from past to present, telling the stories of Laurel, Dorothy and Vivien. The history of war-torn London during WWII is riveting and gives you a sense of what the citizens of this amazing city went through. Laurel’s life growing up on Greenacres with a loving family is felt with each description Kate Morton portrays.
Ever the faithful boyfriend, Jimmy Metcalf follows Dorothy throughout London’s chaos with bombs dropping around them. Vivien is a woman of wealth who is married to Henry, a well-known author, years her senior. Through Kate Morton’s special talent of writing, she weaves these lives together so masterfully, you simply cannot stop reading until you know how it plays out.
Recommendation: Anything by Kate Morton. My favorite of hers is The Forgotten Garden. Susanna Kearsley is another favorite author of mine. Her book, The Winter Sea, is a fantastic plunge into history and its secrets as well.
Can't wait to read this one! 🙂 Great book review! Kate Morton is a great writer.