The Secret Keeper

You've got a backdrop of war, then modern social media times. You've got a mother who might or might not be lying or be a killer. As you read the historical portions, you can't decide which of two girls is the one to believe. It keeps you going to the point you almost think they're both lying, but which is the most pertinent among all the confusion?

Above all the plot and story, the settings are among the most gorgeous and captivating as any I've ever read before. Morton can describe the simplest things in the most complex terms, but it still makes me yearn for more. I never think "ugh, she's completely overdone it," but there are times when I would be okay with a few less words if it's not ultimately important to the detail of the story.

If you've never read her work, this is a good one, but I'd start with The Forgotten Garden then come to this one. I've two more left to read of hers, then I'll probably have to wait a year for the next to be published. View all 14 comments. Sep 04, Yianna Yiannacou rated it it was amazing. I can't wait for this book! My favourite book by Kate is The Forgotten Garden.

If you haven't read it, stop reading this and go.. Kate Morton has done it again. This book kept me hooked the entire time. She has a way with words that enthralls you and keeps you wanting more and more. This book is about a young woman named Laurel and she wants to figure out her mothers past.

After seeing a horrific scene when she was younger, and her mother now on he I can't wait for this book! After seeing a horrific scene when she was younger, and her mother now on her death bed, she finds it more important that she figures out why her mother did what she did to protect her family. There were so many twist and turns and even more questions that I needed answered.

I love how Kate brings us into the past from her mothers perspective as well, so this book lets you look deep into both characters motives. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great family history mystery. These books are such an easy read that you will finish before you even realize it! Oct 04, Margitte rated it it was amazing Shelves: The plot - a huge surprise.

The characters - endearing. The ending - prima. The mystery - thrilling! As historical fiction - as atmospheric as it can get, with an ambiance of mystery and a light thriller touch. Five stars indeed, although some dragging took place, the narrative jumped around, resulting in some confusion, and the ending just would not come. But when it did, it was mind-blowing. What an intriguing journey it was for the reader.

The clues were all there, and all missed. It left me thrilled to be wrong! In the end I wanted to rate it five stars for the way this book made me feel. One of the best books I have read so far this year. View all 19 comments. Oct 07, Karen rated it really liked it. Everything she knows about her mother and her family is turned upside down. Her mother is celebrating her 90th birthday and Laurel is searching for answers to family secrets from so long ago. This story was a real slow burner that took me quite a while to feel engaged in.

I did enjoy it even though I never really felt connected to the characters. It seemed like I was watching from the outside rather than feeling the empathy I wanted, but the last third of the book definitely kept me reading. When I began, I only read a chapter or two each time and it was difficult to keep the facts straight when I picked the book up again. There is a lot going on in this story and even minor details sometimes turn out to be significant later on. So my advice—set aside a chunk of time for reading and the story will flow much better.

In regards to historical fiction, I felt the author did her homework about London during the blitz. I really appreciated understanding this event in history a little better. Morton has such a talent of being able to immerse the reader in the setting and make it feel completely authentic especially as it was shown to us through the eyes, heart, and lenses of Jimmy Metcalfe. I also liked the fact that at the beginning of the book we form opinions about the characters and as the story progresses, new layers are peeled away and our whole perspective changes and things are not what they seemed.

These new revelations kept me interested and made the characters much more human and flawed. We all make mistakes and I liked how the story makes you contemplate how you might react in such difficult circumstances. I began formulating my own ideas about how it would come together, but I was wrong…Again! Kate Morton knows people and how to write them.

I was captured once again by the way she describes feelings about family—the little nuances that we can all relate tothe warmth and security of belonging and being loved. Was it a happy ending? View all 5 comments. Oct 27, Jane C. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A Kate Morton book that I didn't want to keep reading?! How could that be? She's one of my favorite authors, and I really enjoyed her earlier three. They had a simmering, ellusive mystery, with the suggestion of something magical.

But this one started right of with a slasher murder. I didn't quite buy Laurel's fabrication when questioned by the police; pretty slick for a teenager wasn't she just 16 years old? The flash back to WW2 and the bombing - it was supposed to be terrifying but somehow A Kate Morton book that I didn't want to keep reading?! The flash back to WW2 and the bombing - it was supposed to be terrifying but somehow the author didn't tell me enough about Vivien and Jimmy's disappearance to have the scene grab my interest.

A next passage, Dorothy and her impossibly dull family. Then present day Laurel, a lukewarm character and some kind of actress. I began to look at the book on my reading table and felt no interest in spending any more time with it. I jumped to the end to find out what happened, and am not sorry I didn't keep reading.

View all 25 comments. Nov 04, Jackie rated it it was ok. I so looked forward to this book - Ms.

Morton has been one of my favorite authors. Alas, this was a bit of a disappointment. Even though it is difficult for me to be succinct, I shall try. This was hard for me to "get into". It seemed to take forever for things to develop, making me understand those reviewers who gave up early on. Even though the bulk of the plot took place in the early 's, the set up was for Laurel and her siblings to figure out the mystery from I would, perhaps, have enjoyed fewer characters in the book, but more fully developed characters.

It was difficult for me to feel much sympathy or concern for most of the characters. There was little redeeming about any of them, particularly Dolly. I found her deceit a little too convenient, or plotted might be the better term. She was unlikeable at best. And after spending more time than I wanted, reading a book that was longer than the plot or characters justified, and feeling somewhat manipulated by the obviously calculated "twists and turns" I feel a bit cheated. Morton has proved that she can do so much more.

And can do so in fewer pages! I actually did make note of several passages that I wanted to remember because the words were so lovely. But when I got to the end, decided that they were so few in comparison to the sheer number of words in the book it wasn't worth the bother. I'll look forward to Ms. Morton's next book, but most likely won't be so anxious to get it in my hands.

I was that excited. Sixteen-year-old Laurel, the oldest, sneaks away for a moment of peace to her tree house.

While perched in her aerie, she sees a mysterious man walk up the road and approach her mother and baby brother. She watches, horrified, as her mother takes the cake knife and violently stabs the intruder. Mysteriously, once the police leave the family farm, her parents never speak of this event again. Now it is , and Laurel returns from London to visit her elderly mother. She determines to discover exactly what happened on that fateful summer day in before her mom passes away. Who was the mysterious man? The ending was very satisfying and the resonating tone was one of peace, not despair.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys reading historical suspense with richly developed characters. Nov 01, Debbie "DJ" rated it really liked it Shelves: This could easily be a five star book if it weren't for the length. Over pages is a little too much, and I felt the story could have been easily trimmed down.

Although this is historical fiction during WW2, I didn't feel the gravity of the times these characters were living through. The main story, however, was outstanding. A mystery of a little girl who witnesses her mother kill a man. The rest of the book shifts from past to present, as the little girl who has grown up tries to uncover w This could easily be a five star book if it weren't for the length.

The rest of the book shifts from past to present, as the little girl who has grown up tries to uncover what really happened. I loved the characters and the twists and turns. I never would have guessed the ending which is quite a shock, and wonderfully so. An excellent read if you've got the time! First time on Kindle, many apologies. View all 13 comments. The Secret Keeper is a beautifully written historical fiction novel.

It has a gripping and original plot with just enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested. The novel was also very well-researched. I thought the various time shifts in the novel were handed quite well and I found the story very easy to follow. Kate Morton has a tendency to go into too much detail at times. The novel is pages long but the story could have been written in under pages.

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There were a lot of unnece The Secret Keeper is a beautifully written historical fiction novel. There were a lot of unnecessary, long-winded details describing the various settings of the novel. I felt it slowed the story down in places, especially at the beginning. The characters were all interesting, vivid, realistic and well-developed. Some were likable, others were not. The big reveal at the end completely surprised me! I definitely wasn't expecting Vivien to end up where she did! There is one major flaw in the story that annoyed me though — near the end of the first chapter.

Don't click on this spoiler until you've finished reading the novel because it will definitely spoil the whole ending for you: That did not make sense! I could understand him calling her "Dorothy" if other people where around just to intimate her, but, since he thought they were alone together, he would have logically called her by the name he knew her as! And how did Laurel and her siblings not recognise their mother's handwriting in that Peter Pan novel? I know my own mother's handwriting a mile off! Everyone knows their own mother's writing! Jun 30, Iryna semi-hiatus Book and Sword rated it liked it.

Vivien and the twist at the end. If not for that I was fully prepared to give this book 2 stars and be done with it. For starters, pages is way too long for a mystery novel. Even if this is a historical fiction mystery although there was't nearly as much history in it as I'd have liked for I love myself a good war story! This would have worked out so much better just as a war time story about love and jealousy - not a mystery, because surprisingly the way the mystery was solved was the most annoying component in this book.

For starters Laurel was an immersive bore of a character and I couldn't wait to get on other people's points of view. For so many pages given to the character development she wasn't developed at all - so much time was spent on her but she was merely a tool for the mystery solving and a not very good one at that.

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The way the clues came to her ohhh look all of those people kept journals and they still exist, how convenient and how she kept guessing correctly every time about how the story went all of those years ago - I couldn't help but roll my eyes, it was so not believable! She's not a detective, and she's definitely no Sherlock Holmes so having her just guess and piece all of the things together was very cheesy and quite frankly, annoying.

When reading pages set in I kept thinking "hurry up hurry up" for I just wanted to get on with the plot but Laurel kept rambling on and on about nothing at all. That said I loved all of the parts set in - Vivien, Jimmy and Doll and also their childhood stories were very well put together and I enjoyed every page of it. It almost feels like and were written by different people.

Despite Doll being the most horrible human being on earth, and Jimmy not being the brightest at times when it counted, and despite the long wait to actually uncover the whole of Vivien's story it was still so enjoyable. I only wish there was more scenery to it, because the war wasn't depicted very much in this - just bombings here and there, food rationing and orphans in the hospital - there just wasn't enough of a war atmosphere for me. Because unless it's epic fantasy I honestly don't have time for books that big. Kate Morton is an Australian writer of meaty gothic mysteries, usually based on the uncovering of family secrets over several generations.

Her novels are meticulously plotted and wonderfully imagined, with English settings that often feature a mysterious garden or old house. Within just a few years, Morton has become an internationally bestselling writer, much loved by her devoted readers. Her new novel, The Secret Keeper, begins in the s with teenage Laurel, hiding in a tree house, witnessin Kate Morton is an Australian writer of meaty gothic mysteries, usually based on the uncovering of family secrets over several generations.

Her new novel, The Secret Keeper, begins in the s with teenage Laurel, hiding in a tree house, witnessing an act of shocking violence. We move quickly to the present day, and a mature Laurel, now a successful actress, facing the terminal illness of her mother, Dorothy. The Secret Keeper had me reading deep into the night. It evokes the mood of London during the Blitz brilliantly, but keeps the focus on the characters, never over-loading the story with period detail.

This will appeal to anyone who enjoys well-crafted historical fiction with a touch of the gothic. Nov 10, Y. I will not hold back on my 5 stars for this book. The first chapter brings you back to the life of year old Laurel who had witnessed her mother from a faraway treehouse, seemingly stabbing a strange man in the premises of their very own home. Laurel was then coaxed by both her parents in I will not hold back on my 5 stars for this book. Laurel was then coaxed by both her parents into keeping the event a secret from her other siblings.

Almost 50 years later, as her mother lies on her deathbed, Laurel naturally finds herself wondering who that man was, and what had compelled her mother to commit such an act of murder. What secrets did her mother keep? Dorothy's past is slowly uncovered as the Author writes of Dorothy's life as a teenager -- how she had met Jimmy Metcalfe and their passionate young love for each other; Dorothy as a young adult during the World War and her friendship with Vivien -- a beautiful, rich socialite who lived the life that Dorothy wanted; how Dorothy's relationship with Jimmy were on the rocks before Dorothy came up with the plan that changed everything; and finally Vivien's life during the war, and all the secrets she had kept from everyone else but herself.

Kate Morton has a knack for making her characters come to life. There was enough in just one chapter to make you relate to her characters in a way that you could relate to a close friend. I had found myself immersed in the characters that the author had cleverly weaved. They were simple, yet complex enough for them to be loathe in one chapter yet loved in the next, or vice versa.

In short, I had especially enjoyed Dorothy's wild nature and free spirit; Jimmy's loyalty and his love for Dorothy and his oh-so-kind heart; and Vivien who was stronger than any of them put together. Whatever it is, this book will not be short of twists in its storyline. I had caught myself speed-reading through the book several times as the plot thickened, or when Laurel was getting closer to an answer.

As a result, I was urgently flicking through the pages to re-read certain parts of the book after I had reached the last page. Hence, I have to warn you that it would be best to dwell a little longer with Laurel on any vague memories or thoughts that she had in her mind. Trust me, it will later be for your own benefit Morton is quick to hand out vague one-line giveaways that will only want to make you smack yourself for dismissing them pages after.

The author had jumped from one place in time to another, according to Laurel's present discovery of artefacts or new-found knowledge of her mother. Despite that, the book was easy to follow with only my tendency to speed-read to blame. It has a story line of a movie in the making with characters that can only be more engaging if given the right stage. Please correct me if I am wrong in any parts of my review, as I have written this out of pure memory: While Laurel was in the tree house unnoticed, she witnessed her mother commit a shockingly violent crime towards a stranger.

These violent images of this day, feeling of guilt, and the unknown truth never left Laurel. The once affectionate caring mother felt like a stranger, and it troubled Laurel through to her adult years. Coming to the realisation that her mother may not have long to live and it could be her last hope in obtaining answers, Laurel starts questioning and researching into her mothers past.

The Secret Keeper turned out to be far better then I anticipated but it took a long time before it got to this point. In first half of the book it delves into the life and mindset of one of the 3 that Laurel discovered. Tight and riveting moving plot of devastating, traumatising family secrets, unimaginable violence, deception and envy.

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It was a remarkable, faultless ending but I'm a bit wary of reading another Kate Morton book in the future. View all 6 comments. Kate Morton tells the most fantastic stories. This was my second book by her and I am officially a fan. Her ability to throw you, head first, into her tales is unrivaled. When she arrives she finds that certain memories are creeping back and begging to be reevaluated. You see, when Laurel was a girl she witnessed her mother kill a man. Who is this man? What could he have possibly said or done that warrante Kate Morton tells the most fantastic stories.

What could he have possibly said or done that warranted his death? These are the questions that Laurel needs answers to, among others. You will be travelling back in time while flipping through the pages. Morton once again crosses nearly a century of time in this story to ensure we, the readers, get the full story. I would love nothing more than to sit here and tell you all about this book and the characters within it.

BUT, anyone who has read a book by Kate Morton can tell you that it would only ruin the experience for me to tell you anything more than I have. Trying to figure out the mystery in the story is half the fun. I just had this one figured out where I never saw it coming with TFG. I strongly recommend not only this book, but The Forgotten Garden as well. I would also tell you to listen to them both on audio. They are truly wonderful tales that you will be completely immersed in. Let me say first of all that this is only my second book by Kate Morton.

I have changed my favorite book to "The Secret Keeper. Can you tell I loved this book? The plot never let me down - it just got more complicated in a good way by the minute. The characters were so real to me that I was happy to be an observer of their emotions a Let me say first of all that this is only my second book by Kate Morton. The characters were so real to me that I was happy to be an observer of their emotions and turmoil. The highs were so high and the lows were so low that I couldn't believe it. I will go back and read the authors other books soon!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who relishes a great story. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful book and publish an honest review. I actually listened to this book for book club. It was just as amazing as the first time! View all 3 comments. Jun 04, Bonnie rated it it was amazing Shelves: October 9th by Atria 'It was the liquid silver flash Laurel would always remember. The way sunlight caught the metal blade, and the moment was briefly beautiful.

The story flashes back and forth between and present day. There is so much that can be said but shouldn't for fear of ruining the story. Definitely one that truly needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated. Suffice it to say, it was an incredible mystery with intriguing and amazingly well-developed characters; a definite treat. The immensity of the revelation at the end truly took my breath away. That moment when all is revealed and all the unanswered questions are finally given resolution and you finally see it all in its finality?

This book made me feel so much and it was intense, amazing, bittersweet and so poignant. Reading something with such intricate detailing, intersecting storylines that blended beautifully, and an ending I never could have possibly imagined… this was a real gem. Feb 08, Lisa rated it really liked it. Laurel witnesses a crime involving her mother when she is 16 - fast forward in time and Laurel is a successful actress whose mother is dying.

Laurel remembers what happened in the past and feels it's time to unravel the mystery of her mother's past. Beautifully constructed to reach a satisfying conclusion, this book is a very enjoyable read. It's maybe a little slow in places and I had more questions about Laurel when really the focus is on Dorothy but overall a fab read I would recommend.

Aug 27, Liviu rated it it was amazing Shelves: Actually there is some resemblance between Stone's fall and The Secret Keeper in the way that you have to read the book at le the Secret Keeper is a book that catapults Kate Morton from the rank of top historical fiction writers of today to my very short list of huge favorite writers period of active authors who write historical fiction, Steven Saylor, Iain Pears and Christian Cameron are there, though of course Colleen McCullough would be there too if she were to write more historical fiction.

Actually there is some resemblance between Stone's fall and The Secret Keeper in the way that you have to read the book at least twice, once before you know and once after you know know what, well that would be telling She closed her eyes, and his name sketched itself with cursive flair across the blackened lids. Her skin prickled, and she flipped the Spangle so its hollow center balanced on the tip of her tongue.

The way he stared at her over the top of his black sunglasses, the jagged lopsided smile, his dark teddy-boy hair. She and Shirley had stepped off the bus five Saturdays ago to find Billy and his friends smoking cigarettes on the dance-hall steps. She sat up but made no further move to leave her hiding spot. Laurel knew very well that the cake knife lay forgotten on the kitchen table, missed amid the earlier chaos as the family gathered picnic baskets, rugs, fizzy lemonade, swimming towels, and the new transistor, and burst, stream-bound, from the house.

Ergo, until someone was dispatched to retrieve the knife, Laurel knew she was free. Today, especially, she needed time to herself. Laurel had known immediately who it was from. The effort of obfuscation was lost on Rose, whose attention, unreliable at best, had already shifted to a butterfly resting on the fence post. A small book wrapped in tissue had dropped into her lap. Laurel had been unable to keep from squealing.

Not the most comfortable arrangement, but she liked to keep it close. She needed to keep it close. Laurel took his letter from inside the book and read it again. Laurel checked her wristwatch. Less than two hours to go. Hodgkins needed her for some extra hours in the salon, sweeping and cleaning. Laurel turned from the mirror and nibbled a snag of fingernail. Hodgkins—but what choice did she have? How could she ever explain it to her mother and father?

She knew quite certainly that her parents had never felt love, no matter the stories they liked to tell about the way they met. It was safe to say that neither had ever known the other sort of love, the sort with fireworks and racing hearts and physical—she blushed—desires. Not just the local paper, either—the article had been syndicated in the London press, in a big special about regional happenings.

No, she was proud of her extra-long runner beans, really proud, and that was just the sort of thing that Laurel meant. She spat out a fine shard of fingernail. In some indescribable way it seemed kinder to deceive a person who took pride in runner beans than it was to force her to accept the fact that the world had changed. They were a close family—all of her friends remarked upon it. To her face and, she knew, behind her back. As far as outsiders were concerned, the Nicolsons had committed the deeply suspicious sin of seeming genuinely to like one another. But lately things had been different.

She frowned slightly as the summer breeze dragged strands of hair across her cheek. At night, when they sat around the dinner table and her father made his sweet, unfunny jokes and they all laughed anyway, she felt as if she were on the outside looking in, as if the others were on a train carriage, sharing the same old family rhythms, and she alone stood at the station watching as they pulled away. Except that it was she who would be leaving them, and soon. What, she wondered, would her parents say when she told them she wanted to leave?

Below her, the washing shrugged wetly on the line. Laurel slid her white-rimmed sunglasses onto her nose and slumped against the tree-house wall. The problem was the war. It had been over for sixteen years—all her life—and the world had moved on. Everything was different now; gas masks, uniforms, ration cards, and all the rest of it belonged only in the big old khaki trunk her father kept in the attic. Her thoughts had fallen instead to the evenings lately when she managed to creep away from her sisters, when she stepped out into the balmy dusk, transistor radio tucked beneath her blouse, and climbed with a racing heart into the tree house.

A new generation of people, all listening at the very same moment, who understood that life, the world, the future, were out there waiting for them. Laurel opened her eyes and the memory fled. Its warmth lingered, though, and with a satisfied stretch she followed the path of a rook casting across a graze of cloud. Fly, little birdie, fly.

THE SECRET KEEPER

That would be her, just as soon as she finished school. She continued to watch, allowing herself to blink only when the bird was a pinprick in the far-off blue, telling herself that if she managed this feat her parents would be made to see things her way and the future would unfurl cleanly. Her eyes watered triumphantly, and she let her gaze drop back towards the house: She would miss them when she went.

She would miss them. The certainty was swift and heavy. It sat in her stomach like a stone. They borrowed her clothes, broke her lipsticks, scratched her records, but she would miss them.

Secret Keeper

The noise and heat of them, the movement and squabbles and crushing joy. They were like a litter of puppies, tumbling together in their shared bedroom. They overwhelmed outsiders and this pleased them. Unholy terrors, as Grandma proclaimed after their holiday visits. She could hear the distant whoops and squeals now, the faraway, watery sounds of summer by the stream. Something inside her tightened as if a rope had been pulled. She could picture them, like a tableau from a long-ago painting.

Skirts tucked into the sides of their knickers, chasing one another through the shallows; Rose escaped to safety on the rocks, thin ankles dangling in the water as she sketched with a wet stick; Iris, drenched somehow and furious about it; Daphne, with her corkscrew ringlets, doubled over laughing. The plaid picnic rug would be laid out flat on the grassy bank, and their mother would be standing nearby, knee-deep in the bend where the water ran fastest, setting her latest boat to sail.

Daddy would be watching from the side, trousers rolled up and a cigarette balanced on his lip. Light of all their lives. He had a name, of course, it was Gerald, but no one ever called him that. It was a grown-up name, and he was just such a baby. Two years old today, but his face was still round and rich with dimples, his eyes shone with mischief, and then there were those deliciously fat white legs.

Sometimes it was all Laurel could do not to squeeze them too hard. They all fought to be his favorite, and they all claimed victory, but Laurel knew his face lit up most for her. Unthinkable, then, that she should miss even a second of his birthday party. What had she been playing at, hiding in the tree house so long, particularly when she planned to sneak away with Billy later? Laurel frowned and weathered a hot wave of recriminations that cooled quickly to resolution. She would make amends: If she completed the task before her wristwatch ticked away ten minutes, she would accrue bonus points on the imagined score sheet she carried inside her always.

The breeze blew warm against her bare, sun-browned foot as she stepped quickly onto the top rung. Later Laurel would wonder if it all might have turned out differently had she gone a little more slowly. If, perhaps, the whole terrible thing might even have been averted had she taken greater care. She was rushing, and thus she would always blame herself in some way for what followed. It had been happening this way a lot lately. She was like the weather vane on the peak of the Greenacres roof, her emotions swinging suddenly from one direction to the other at the whim of the wind.

It was strange, and frightening at times, but also somehow thrilling. Like being on a lurching ride at the seaside. In this instance, it was injurious, too.