The House at Riverton in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Oct 07, 2019 Astrid Lim rated it really liked it

Shelves: dysfunctional-family, british, historical-fiction, tragedy, twist

3.5 stars! Not as mindblowing as her later masterpieces, like The Forgotten Garden or Distant Hours, because The House at Riverton is Kate Morton's debut. But still - it shows how promising she was as a historical fiction writer. True, her formula (when you have read some of her books) is pretty predictable, but each book still has something different and of course juicy secrets and interesting characters, and those are the things that always made her books likable.

The House at Riverton might no ...more

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Dec 26, 2011 Donna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

The parentage mystery I figured out; the death mystery I did not (or perhaps did not want to). A good family saga over multiple generations, this book shows how one little white lie can change everything. While the author acknowledges at the end her debt to many sources, she relies a bit too heavily (I think) on Upstairs, Downstairs...that is unless all Servants' Halls were populated by the exact same types of people.

I also wish for more information on how Grace took her "gift" and actually tra ...more

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Nov 15, 2013 Crystal rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013

You can tell this is Morton's first model. The writing is less captivating than her other books. While the story is a good one, it seems to drag at times. I have found myself bored from time to time, where I wasn't able to put her other books down.

The last 25% of the book read better than the first 75%, and I'm glad I finished it, but it definitely wasn't my favorite of her writing. ...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Carly Thompson rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, anglophilia, 2011, arrt

British family saga covering the years from 1914 - 1924. Elderly Grace remembers her time working as a servant for Hartford family. Enjoyable with a lots of great period details but not very substantial. Some of the plot twists were hokey and the tragic revelation that Grace's story was building to wasn't that shocking. A good readalike for people who liked Downton Abbey or Rebecca. ...more

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