Review: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Publisher: Atria
Pages: 496
Released: 2012
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5



Synopsis:

Sixteen year old Laurel was hiding in a tree house during her younger brother’s birthday party, hoping to escape and dream about a boy she would later meet. When a stranger walks up the path to their secluded home, Laurel watches as her mother, Dorothy greet the man, and moments later plunges a knife into him. Laurel does what she thinks is best and covers for her mother, the police believe a scuffle took place, and it was self-defense. It doesn’t take the police much convincing to believe the whole story. Laurel is the only child who remembers and everyone moves on, never mentioning the incident again. Years later, and now an adult, Laurel realizes her mother’s past is filled with many secrets that she needs to figure out. She wants to know who the man was, and what could he have possibly done to deserve his death. Laurel has been haunted for many years and with her mother on death’s doorstep, now is the time to figure everything out.



Review:

Kate Morton is an amazing storyteller. Her writing is spellbinding; the stories are filled with twists and turns, impeccable attention to details, and unique plot lines. Her characters are multidimensional and enthralling. Morton uses a past and present narrative to convey Dorothy’s story, her technique is very effective and keeps readers hanging on to her every word. Near the end, readers will be left shocked, thinking “What just happened!”

Readers are brought back to 1941 when Dorothy was a vivacious seventeen year old, living during air strikes and in love with a man she intended to marry. As Dorothy is hanging on to her last few days, Lauren pieces together her mother’s past. Laurel’s conflict about what happened has stayed with her for years. Her mother seemed to be the perfect, devoted mother who would never harm anyone. She took care of her children and family first, and seemed to be perfect in every way. When Laurel begins to uncover her mother’s secrets, and hears her unconscious rumblings about people she doesn’t know, Laurel knows she is running out of time and she needs to find out what really happened that day.

I highly recommend The Secret Keeper. It’s sure to please readers. I have also read and loved The Forgotten Garden. I really need to get to The House of Riverton and The Distant Hours. Kate Morton’s writing is amazing! While her books seem long, you really don’t want to put them down.