The Secret Keeper

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

I read this on my Kindle as I did not want the hardback and could not wait for the paperback. I'm a big fan of Kate Morton's books. She writes timeslip novels - where two connected stories from different time periods unfold in alternate chapters throughout the book. These are my favourite kind of novels, and I'm currently trying to write one myself.

This book was no disappointment. It opens with a young girl, Laurel, witnessing something truly shocking in 1961.  She finds herself covering the crime up, for her mother, but always wonders just what it was that drove her mother to do such a thing. Fifty years later, Laurel's mother is at the end of her life, and Laurel wants to finally get to the bottom of what happened that day and why it happened. Her mother is barely awake and barely lucid.

In alternate chapters, the back story is told. In wartime London, Dorothy and her suitor Jimmy meet the glamourous Vivien, wife of a respected author. Their lives become intertwined, and the secrets they keep from each other lead to dramatic events which will reverberate down the years. Can't say more for fear of spoilers.

Wonderfully drawn characters, an intriguing mystery and a fabulous twist which I did not see coming. Very enjoyable book and highly recommended.