The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

The Secret Keeper

by Kate Morton

Kate Morton's heart-breaking novel, The Secret Keeper, is a spellbinding story of mysteries and secrets, murder and enduring love, moving between the 1930s, the 1960s and the present.

1961: On a sweltering summer's day, while her family picnics by the stream on their Suffolk farm, sixteen-year-old Laurel hides out in her childhood tree house dreaming of a boy called Billy, a move to London, and the bright future she can't wait to seize. But before the idyllic afternoon is over, Laurel will have witnessed a shocking crime that changes everything.

2011: Now a much-loved actress, Laurel finds herself overwhelmed by shades of the past. Haunted by memories, and the mystery of what she saw that day, she returns to her family home and begins to piece together a secret history. A tale of three strangers from vastly different worlds - Dorothy, Vivien and Jimmy - who are brought together by chance in wartime London and whose lives become fiercely and fatefully entwined.

Reviewed by Kait ✨ on

4 of 5 stars

Share
I’ll confess I hated Dolly (and her later incarnation, Dorothy) and Vivien, whom are two of the three protagonists of this novel. Laurel had her moments, too, and I think I was only as interested as I was in her perspective because it was the better of the three options. That being said—the twist got me good, and I did not see it coming at all.

By far my favourite parts were the bits with Lol (Laurel) and her brother, Gerry. 💗 For some reason this felt to me to be the most deeply drawn relationship in the entire book.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 19 October, 2012: Finished reading
  • 19 October, 2012: Reviewed
  • Started reading
  • Finished reading
  • 19 October, 2012: Reviewed