The Clockmaker's Daughter (Kate Morton)

I've been singing the praises of Kate Morton for a long time now, and I'm happy to say that now when I recommend her, people no longer say "Who? Never heard of her!". She's finally getting the recognition she deserves for her mesmerizing second-to-none prose. While I had a few issues with her latest, The Clockmaker's Daughter, it still told a terrific story.

A word of warning -- if you're looking for an easy-breezy read where you don't have to think too much, this one isn't for you. Morton uses multiple time periods and many characters to create her puzzle, so you're definitely going to want to turn off the TV and get the kids out of the room before you dive in. In 1862, a group of artists, led by Edward Radcliffe, turn Birchwood Manor into a retreat of creativity. Before the summer is through, however, one of them will be shot dead, and Lily Millington (AKA The Clockmaker's Daughter and Edward's love and muse) will have disappeared. This is just one facet of Morton's novel; she weaves back and forth in time until finally, at the end, we have our answer as to what really happened that summer.

Here, Morton stays true to her sophisticated, smart writing. However, while at times I was on the edge of my seat, in other instances, it was difficult to keep all the stories and time periods straight. I also thought the entire book could have been trimmed at least 100 pages. So while not my favorite Morton book, it's still a great addition to her collection.

MY RATING - 3.5

The Lake House (Kate Morton)

I’ve been a huge Kate Morton fan for a long time and have introduced quite a lot of people to her books.  I always look forward to her novels, as they’re perfect for cozying up to a fire with a cup of tea and just getting lost in the stories.  While her latest book, The Lake House, wasn’t my favorite and had quite the unrealistic ending, it definitely had a lot of steam getting to that point.

Due to overstepping her bounds, Sadie Sparrow, a detective in the police force, has been forced into taking a little “vacation” in Cornwall, England.  It is here during a run that she comes across an old estate.  The reader learns that during World War I, this house was the home of the Edavanes; Alice Edavane is a well-known author now in her eighties who is looking for answers into the long-ago disappearance of her little brother, Theo.  During a midsummer party, Theo vanished, never to be seen or heard from again.  What happened to him?  Were their parents, Eleanor and Anthony Edavane, somehow involved in his disappearance?

One of the things that make Kate Morton’s books so interesting is that their large houses can almost be seen as major characters.  Little Theo seemingly vanished in one of these houses, and Morton goes back and forth in time to tell his story.  Unfortunately, this doesn’t always work as well in The Lake House as it did in her other novels; some parts seem slow, and I kept hoping for Morton to pick up the pace a bit.  When she does, the plot races to the end quickly, and all the puzzle pieces fit together nicely.  However, the ending is a bit implausible and a little disappointing after all that work reading the book.  Don’t let that deter you from reading The Lake House – but if you’ve never read Kate Morton, you might want to start with one of her earlier, and in my opinion, better books.

MY RATING - 3

The Secret Keeper (Kate Morton)

I wholeheartedly and without reservation recommend Kate Morton’s The Secret Keeper as the best book of 2012 (so far).  Not many people I know are familiar with the Australian’s work, and I wouldn’t have been either if I had not gone looking for similar books to Diane Setterfeld’s The Thirteenth Tale.  The Distant Hours, The Forgotten Garden, and The House at Riverton all received a well-deserved 5 from me for their unbelievable depth and layering.  Even though The Secret Keeper is not Morton’s usual “Gothic English mystery” genre, it’s still historical fiction and absolutely jam packed with breathtaking suspense.

Weaving effortlessly and seamlessly between present day and World War II England, The Secret Keeper is the story of secrets, betrayals, and utter heartbreak.  It begins in the early 1960s with teenage Laurel lazing the day away in a treehouse.  While the rest of her family is a little ways away having a birthday party, Laurel sees Dorothy, her mother, who is carrying Laurel’s baby brother, stab and kill a strange man.  Due to Laurel's lies, the matter is swept under the rug with no repercussions for Dorothy.  Fast forward to present day, Laurel and her siblings are called back to their hometown to be at their dying mother's bedside.  However, Laurel desperately wants to solve the mystery of the man's murder before Dorothy passes away. 

The Secret Keeper, as are all of Morton’s books, is one giant puzzle.  Morton plays tricks on the brain, and if you don’t pay attention to each and every detail, she will get you!  There were so many little nuances and questions throughout this novel that I kept thinking to myself there was no way Morton would answer them all.  But she never, ever leaves a stone unturned.  By the time you finish, you are left with a story that completely makes sense and has you asking yourself why you didn’t see it coming all along.

MY RATING - 5

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes (Marcus Sakey)

I remember reading a magazine article about Marcus Sakey a few months ago, which deemed The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes as the next great thing in literature. There have only been a few books that I remember with that much "word-of-mouth" exposure before it was even printed...The Lovely Bones being an example. I was anxious to get my hands on this book, as I had never read Sakey. I love to be introduced to authors I have never read before, because sometimes I will read their entire repertoire...Kate Morton being the last. Well, Sakey stops here.

This is the story of a man who wakes up naked on a beach in Maine, not knowing his name, where he came from, or how he got there. He finds a BMW with a driver's license inside that says...you guessed it...Daniel Hayes, and a gun in the glove compartment. Working with very vague memories, such as having to turn the TV on at a certain time to watch a show, he tries to piece his life together bit by bit. The police are also on his tail, but why?

When Daniel finally begins to figure things out, the novel takes a sinister tone. He realizes that things are not always what they seem. With echoes of The Fugitive, Daniel desperately tries to get his memory back before it is too late.

Very often in crime thrillers such as these, the author chooses to write a slew of characters. This is often confusing to the reader. To Sakey's credit, he focuses on just a few, weaving them in and out of each other's story. I also liked how Sakey used the fact that Daniel was a writer to include scripts in the story.

Sakey divides this novel into parts with, what are supposed to be, huge cliffhangers at the end of each. Usually, if a novel is written well, the reader can't wait to find out what happens next. I just didn't get that feeling, which is disappointing. I didn't get that sense of anticipation, as, I would think, most readers would be able to guess what will happen next.

While not a page-turner, many readers of crime thrillers and mysteries will enjoy it. Just don't expect to be awed.

MY RATING - 3

This review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com.

The Forgotten Garden (Kate Morton)

In my last post, I stated how rare it is for me to review two books in a row by the same author. I have never, since this blog has been existence, reviewed three in a row...until today. This is Morton's last book, so after this, it is on to other authors. It is with all anticipation that I wait for her next masterpiece.

The Forgotten Garden begins with an old woman on her deathbed. Nell dies with a family mystery she has never been able to solve. On her eighteenth birthday, the man who she knew as her father tells her a shocking secret. He found her abandoned when she was a four year old child on a dock in Australia. How did she end up alone there? The mystery, of course, is solved in the end, as is Morton's way, but it astonishes me, in all of her books, how she gets there. Morton changes chapter by chapter from the early 1900s to the 1970s to 2005, and never misses a beat. We hear the story told through the eyes of all different characters, including Nell's granddaughter, her mother, and a mysterious woman known as the Authoress. Just when you think that a question you had at the beginning will not be answered, it does at a different point of time. I can only imagine that Morton has a giant flowchart for all of her books, as she is the most talented author I have ever read at being able to bring everything back full circle.

The Forgotten Garden would have gotten a 5 if I had read it first. While not my favorite of her three, she is, by far, one of the most talented literary forces we have today.

MY RATING - 4

My favorite month of the year is coming up! Why?? March is the month when Jodi Picoult releases her books. I will have a review soon.

The House at Riverton (Kate Morton)

It is quite rare for me to review two books in a row by the same author. I am not one to read a book, and then run out to buy the next one if I like the style. I really don't know why it took me so long to discover Kate Morton (The House at Riverton was her debut, published in 2006), but I am so glad I did.

Narrated by Grace Bradley, a housemaid at Riverton House beginning when she was just a girl, The House at Riverton spans decades. Grace desperately wants her grandson (who has disappeared) to see her before she dies, so she makes him a set audiotapes about her past. She went to work at Riverton when she was fourteen and became entrenched in the goings-on of the House. From the servants to the family to outsiders (or so they seem), every character is important. Grace becomes deeply involved in the lives of the Riverton children, especially the sisters Hannah and Emmeline. However, World War I service meant sacrificing your own life for those you served. Will Grace ever get a life of her own? What really happened in that house? Will Grace die before seeing her beloved grandson? What really happened at the lake, where we learn early on that a character took his own life?

Morton loves her early twentieth century Gothic English estates, as do I. What is most fascinating about her novels is that we find out many plot points early on; however, we don't know how it gets to that point (or if the early plot point is even true), until we get there. Settle in for a deeply layered read that will keep you glued to every page.

MY RATING - 5

The Distant Hours (Kate Morton)

It is very difficult to name the genre of The Distant Hours. Kate Morton has created a story so layered and enchanting, that it is impossible to place it into a well-defined box. At times, a Gothic mystery (I might even go so far as to say horror) that will make you shiver with fright, and at other times a heartbreaking love story, you will find yourself racing through your day so that you can curl up with it at night.

The Distant Hours is the story of the Blythe family, the owners of Milderhurst Castle (I dare anyone to tell me that the castle cannot be considered a character in the story.). During the Second World War, the Blythes took in an evacuee from London, Meredith. She becomes great friends with the youngest Blythe sister, Juniper. Years later, when Meredith is in her sixties, she gets a long-lost letter from Juniper. Meredith's daughter, Edie, becomes fascinated with the story of Milderhurst and the Blythe family...specifically Ramond Blythe, the author of a classic story about a "mud man", his twin daughters, Percy and Saffy, and Juniper, still waiting fifty years later for the man she loves to arrive for their engagement dinner.

The Distant Hours is brilliant storytelling by Morton. Bouncing from era to era, she keeps the reader enthralled through all 560 pages. I thought I had the mystery figured out early, but Morton threw all of that out the window. My heart pounded as it was finally explained, and then she tied up all of the loose ends with a little bow. Throw a log in the fireplace, pour yourself a glass of sherry, and dive into The Distant Hours.

MY RATING - 5