karaklos's review
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up. The Secret Keeper is the story of a woman’s quest to solve a mystery she witnessed as a teenager involving her mother. The story goes back and forth in time between WWII and present time England and flips between multiple characters in the past and present. This is not your typical WWII novel. It’s very light on the war.
The mystery is a really fun one but getting there was a bit of a slog. There are sections that I felt myself racing through because I wanted to know the outcome and others that I was bored with. The WWII time period was much more interesting than the present day.
I did not care for the main character Laurel. She and her siblings were incredibly boring. I think there was a missed opportunity to fully develop these characters and have them connect the dots together. The 1941 characters were much more interesting. While I didn’t especially like the Dolly character, at least she had depth and was interesting. Kate Morton did a nice job of describing the psyche of a teenage girl and the desire for independence from their family.
While the main character Laurel does research to figure out the mystery, there are extracts from letters and journals that lay out much of the story. It wasn’t really believable that these letters and journals would be archived. I laughed at one point because Laurel came right out and asked her mom a question and her mom just answered her. No need for any research really.
The writing is very good but just needed some editing. There was a lot of extraneous information that made the book longer but not necessarily more interesting. The ending was a surprise.
As a side note, it bugged me that Laurel’s nick name was Lol. I kept reading it as laugh out loud. Also, so much smoking in this book. I was ready to light up myself.
The mystery is a really fun one but getting there was a bit of a slog. There are sections that I felt myself racing through because I wanted to know the outcome and others that I was bored with. The WWII time period was much more interesting than the present day.
I did not care for the main character Laurel. She and her siblings were incredibly boring. I think there was a missed opportunity to fully develop these characters and have them connect the dots together. The 1941 characters were much more interesting. While I didn’t especially like the Dolly character, at least she had depth and was interesting. Kate Morton did a nice job of describing the psyche of a teenage girl and the desire for independence from their family.
While the main character Laurel does research to figure out the mystery, there are extracts from letters and journals that lay out much of the story. It wasn’t really believable that these letters and journals would be archived. I laughed at one point because Laurel came right out and asked her mom a question and her mom just answered her. No need for any research really.
The writing is very good but just needed some editing. There was a lot of extraneous information that made the book longer but not necessarily more interesting. The ending was a surprise.
As a side note, it bugged me that Laurel’s nick name was Lol. I kept reading it as laugh out loud. Also, so much smoking in this book. I was ready to light up myself.
rebeccatc's review
4.0
The Secret Keeper is a historical fiction novel that skips back and forth between 1941 and 2011, with the mystery unfolding both in real time and as a character searches for the truth about the past. This is a trope I am somewhat tired of, but it was done very well here. In 2011, Laurel is trying to find out the truth about why she witnessed her mother, now dying at an advanced age, stabbing a man to death in 1961. In 1941, Dorothy is a young woman in London during the Blitz, who is involved with Jimmy, a young aspiring photographer. Their story interacts with Vivien, a wealthy and married heiress. I figured out the twist about 3/4 of the way through, but that actually made it more fun. The characters were interesting and the writing kept me interested. Read this for the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge Prompt: A book about a secret.
books_plants_hikes's review
5.0
Just wow, this book was amazing! I'm enthralled by all the mystery completely. Read it!
danicalaguna's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
daniellejdeon's review
5.0
Kate Morton kept me on my toes until the very last page. Great book! 👌
This is a great book for a bookclub!!! 📚
This is a great book for a bookclub!!! 📚
lbailey's review
4.0
4.5 stars. I loved this story so much. I would have liked to know Laurel’s sisters a bit more, but I suppose developing that many characters is a challenge with such a detailed story. Just one little nitpick that kept me from giving this book five stars. If you’ve read it, maybe you can settle this for me?
Spoiler below!
How did Jimmy find Dolly when it took Henry 20 years, especially when he was actually looking for Vivien?
Spoiler below!
How did Jimmy find Dolly when it took Henry 20 years, especially when he was actually looking for Vivien?
mbhammons's review
4.0
Loved how the mystery in this one just kept changing and challenging me. The ending was not what I expected and I loved it!
samsearle's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, War, Murder, and Emotional abuse
madlymusing's review
4.0
I was absolutely engrossed in this book. It is classic Kate Morton - different characters in different times, secrets, history, lost love, family, people living to incredibly old ages and looking back - but the intricacies of the style didnt interfere as much with the story as i have noticed in other, similar books. I was really involved with the characters (even the ones I actively disliked... Dorothy) and the way that it was all brought together at the end worked perfectly. I think this is her best book since The Shifting Fog.