The Secret Keeper in Aussie Readers

Jan 14, 2013 Kate Forsyth rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical, parallel-narratives, australian

Kate Morton is one of my favourite authors and her books are an absolute pleasure to read. I also love books set during WWII and so this was a winner from the start. The pace is rather slow in this one, but she evokes time and place so vividly, I can forgive her this. I saw the twist coming - I'm amazed at myself - but then I'm a twisty girl. Loved it! ...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Kathryn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, reading-list-2014, australian-authors

I really enjoyed The Forgotten Garden and gave it 4 stars (probably actually 4.5) and I also enjoyed The House At Riverton, although not quite as much, and gave it 4 stars as well, so I had high hopes for The Secret Keeper. At halfway through, I felt a little disappointed - although still a good story, I wasn't feeling caught up and swept away in it. With about 170 pages to go, the pace picked up and events started to come to a head, but with a total of 580 pages, that point seemed rather a long I really enjoyed The Forgotten Garden and gave it 4 stars (probably actually 4.5) and I also enjoyed The House At Riverton, although not quite as much, and gave it 4 stars as well, so I had high hopes for The Secret Keeper. At halfway through, I felt a little disappointed - although still a good story, I wasn't feeling caught up and swept away in it. With about 170 pages to go, the pace picked up and events started to come to a head, but with a total of 580 pages, that point seemed rather a long time coming!

Told in 4 parts labelled Laurel, Dorothy (Laurel's mother), Vivien (a war-time acquaintance/friend of Dorothy's) and Dorothy again, the story is largely about Dorothy, Laurel's efforts to understand why her mother killed someone in 1961 (the young Laurel saw it happen while hidden in the tree house, but knew there was more to the story than the conclusions the police had drawn) and what role Vivien had played in her mother's past. The separation of the book into these parts seems somewhat arbitrary, as the part called Laurel still has sections seen through a young Dorothy's eyes, the part called Dorothy is still following Laurel and looking at the search into her mother's earlier life from Laurel's point of view, however Vivien's part does give much more insight into Vivien's life, who until then was a shadowy character that the reader didn't know very much about.

I couldn't feel very sympathetic toward Dorothy - as a young woman, she seemed shallow and manipulative and we only caught glimpses of her as the mother of a young family and then as an old woman. I also didn't feel very sympathetic toward Vivien initially - she seemed disdainful and aloof, although my feelings did change while reading the third section.

By the end, and in a clever twist, most of the loose threads were tied up neatly, however in that process, other loose threads were created and not sufficiently answered, in my opinion. Overall, it was an enjoyable read (I'd say 3.5 stars), but not a compelling, all-consuming, un-put-down-able read, at least until the last 100 pages, or thereabouts. ...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Charmaine Clancy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie

At first I felt this story was too slow, too long, pompous and tiresome, and the type of narrative that would include words like pompous and tiresome. But I was soon won over by the very clever way the author pulls us into each character's head and heart. Of course the twist is amazing and not one I saw coming. Loved the ending. A little sad but perfect. ...more

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