The Secret Keeper

  

                                 The Secret Keeper
                                 Kate Morton
                                 Atria Books
                                 October 2012 


Kate Morton has long been on my "to be read" list and when I received a galley copy from Atria Books, it looked like something that would be right up my alley. I have always enjoyed books that switch back and forth in time, showing how actions taken in one era can reverberate and affect later generations. 

Laurel Nicholson is a successful actress living in London and her family of three sisters and one brother is gathering to celebrate the 90th birthday of their much-loved, vivacious mother Dorothy. Dorothy is fading quickly and it is clear to all that this will be her last birthday. Laurel's thoughts turn to the summer of 1961 on the day of another family birthday, when Laurel witnesses her mother committing an awful crime. Laurel backs up her mother's story and Dorothy is never charged with the crime. Dorothy and Laurel never discuss it again and Laurel knows she must find out what happened.

As Laurel begins to piece the story together the viewpoints switch back and forth from 2011 to 1941 during the blitz. We get pieces of the story from Dorothy's viewpoint, her friend Vivien Jenkins and Dorothy's then boyfriend, Jimmy. As Laurel learns more and more, she begins to be afraid that she never knew her mother at all. I really don't want to get too specific as this story has twists layered on twists and I don't want to drop any "spoilers"!  

I will say that it was an emotional roller-coaster for me. Much of the book came from the viewpoint of a narcissistic, manipulative person who lives in a fantasy world and spreads destruction to all in her orbit. There were several times that I got so angry that I had to remind myself that she was only a fictional character. The characters in THE SECRET KEEPER are so vivid and the descriptions of wartime Britain so believable I could almost hear the air raid sirens. I became so involved in the story I found it hard to put down and I was afraid that all would be lost for these characters. Thankfully, all comes to a very romantic and satisfactory ending. I never saw it coming though!

THE SECRET KEEPER was a great read and one that I am not likely to forget. I will be reading more from Kate Morton.

RATING- 5 Stars