Living on her family's gorgeous lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, clever, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented fourteen-year-old who loves to write stories. One midsummer's eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest son, Theo, has vanished without a trace. What follows is a tragedy that tears the family apart, leaving their estate as empty as their broken hearts. Nearly sixty years later, having enjoyed a long, successful career as an author, Alice is now eighty years old and living in London. 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. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together.
If you’re a Kate Morton fan, you’ll probably really like this book; if you’re not, you might, but it isn’t where I’d recommend you start. I had a few minor quibbles with this book, namely that it felt like quite a slow start and was perhaps a bit too neatly wrapped up (though that may be an unfair criticism). Overall, though, I really enjoyed The Lake House—it had all the essential ingredients that make Kate Morton’s books so charming and compelling (abandoned house in the countryside, family secrets, the past being dug up, and subsequently, a narrative that is split between the past and the present). This perhaps is starting to feel a bit tired, but the narrative was made fresh for me with a compelling present-day narrator and a stronger detective element than is usual in her books. Sadie Sparrow is a lot of fun and I loved learning more about her, which was an unusual surprise: I don’t often like the modern narrator in these types of split narrative books. Sadie’s a detective, and I enjoyed guessing if her suspects committed the crime or not. Kate Morton has really mastered the art of giving the reader enough clues to keep them slightly infuriated and insatiably curious, but not enough to give away the ending. I think [b: The Forgotten Garden|3407877|The Forgotten Garden|Kate Morton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547843777l/3407877._SY75_.jpg|3448086] and [b: The Distant Hours|6746018|The Distant Hours|Kate Morton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358273860l/6746018._SY75_.jpg|41374289] are still my favourite Kate Morton books—so if you’re new to her, I’d suggest starting there—but I really enjoyed this one and am eagerly anticipating her next (and, sadly, far-away) novel.
