The Secret Keeper

I LOVE Kate Morton's books! They are beautifully written, full of great characters, family history and secrets, big old houses and the importance of the written word - whether it be books or letters. All of her novels are immediately intriguing and feel oh so very British, which is odd seeing as Kate is Australian!

The Secret Keeper begins in 1961, with sixteen year old Laurel hiding in her tree house while the rest of her family celebrate her baby brother's birthday in their garden. She sees a suspicious looking man arriving at the house, just as her mother leaves the house holding the 'birthday cake knife' and Laurel sees a murder that she is unable to forget or understand. The novel fast-forwards to 2011, where Laurel is re-living her childhood as she prepares for a documentary about her life as a much-loved actress. She starts to do some research and starts to unravel the story of three young lives in wartime London which become entwined.

The characters are all wonderful, as is to be expected from Morton. You can picture the contrast between the beautiful countryside house Laurel grew up in and the dismal city at war she spends her young adulthood in. As usual, there are tragedies, twists and secrets revealed and the 600+ pages whizz by! Highly recommended!

For extra content, see Kate's wonderful website www.katemorton.com