The Lake House
Kate Morton
512 pages
Hard copy edition
From the Publisher:
From the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of The Secret Keeper and The Distant Hours, an intricately plotted, spellbinding new novel of heartstopping suspense and uncovered secrets.
Living on her family’s idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure…
One midsummer’s eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. What follows is a tragedy that tears the family apart in ways they never imagined.
Decades later, Alice is living in London, having enjoyed a long successful career as an author. Theo’s case has never been solved, though Alice still harbors a suspicion as to the culprit. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, is staying at her grandfather’s house in Cornwall. While out walking one day, she stumbles upon the old estate—now crumbling and covered with vines, clearly abandoned long ago. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone…yet more present than ever.
A lush, atmospheric tale of intertwined destinies, this latest novel from a masterful storyteller is an enthralling, thoroughly satisfying read.
Review:
I finally got around to reading Kate Morton’s new book! I have read a couple of her other books (not all) and usually find them pretty good reads, so this one was on my TBR list as soon as it came out. It only took me a couple months to get around to it!
When I read The House at Riverton I was quickly drawn into the story and I really enjoyed the book. But when I read The Secret Keeper, I actually had to try to read it a couple times before I actually got interested in the story line. I feel like The Lake House was in between for me. It was interesting from the beginning – and it held my interest but it wasn’t until the last half of the book that I really got sucked in. I feel like that happens a lot with her books for me – the first half is okay, but she is really talented at coming up with endings.
I really liked the characters in this book and I think one of my favorite scenes is when Alice and Sadie meet for the first time. I felt like Eleanor’s dilemma was relate-able and I felt Morton did a good job at really depicting what happened to women and families post war in Europe. Although I don’t personally agree with all of Eleanor’s actions, but I could see where she was coming from.
Morton always does a great job at going between history and modern day and I always really enjoy that. Like I said, she also also has great twists towards the end of the book that you don’t see coming. I felt this book was a little bit too “tied up with a pretty bow” at the end and had maybe one too many coincidences, but it still had a good ending and I did like the book. If you enjoyed A Girl on the Train, The Nightingale or Morton’s other books this would be one you might enjoy. I have a couple more books by her on my shelf ready to read. I am looking forward to reading the rest of her books in time. This book didn’t have a lot of language, but, as a warning, it did discuss a lot of difficult subjects and had some adultery and deeper issues. I know that isn’t for everyone. I’m taking off half a point, because I enjoyed the book but it wasn’t my favorite Morton book.
Final Score:
This post contains affiliated links.
