The Secret Keeper

By: Kate Morton

Narrated by: Caroline Lee

Length: 19 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

England, 1959: Laurel Nicolson is 16 years old, dreaming alone in her childhood tree house during a family celebration at their home, Green Acres Farm. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and then observes her mother, Dorothy, speaking to him. And then she witnesses a crime.

Fifty years later, Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress, living in London. She returns to Green Acres for Dorothy’s 90th birthday and finds herself overwhelmed by memories and questions she has not thought about for decades. She decides to find out the truth about the events of that summer day and lay to rest her own feelings of guilt. One photograph, of her mother and a woman Laurel has never met, called Vivian, is her first clue.

The Secret Keeper explores longings and dreams, the lengths some people go to fulfill them, and the strange consequences they sometimes have. It is a story of lovers, friends, dreamers and schemers, play-acting, and deception told against a backdrop of events that changed the world.

©2012 Kate Morton (P)2012 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Wonderful Story!

Amazing storytelling! Loved the characters, especially how it switched back and forth in time and how the characters evolved. I won't spoil the ending-worthy read!!!

Kate’s Best

As a longtime fan of this author, I struggled a bit with the slow pace, and over-described screen-play scenarios. I thought it not her best work. Yet in the end, the story itself was so very satisfying! Especially for the daughter of a beautiful wartime bride. Thanks so much for a relatable, albeit improbable, tale.

Never guess

This is a great story, a great mystery, characters you wont forget and a fine narrater. What more is there?

A great secret!

I loved this book. There are many twists and turns and I was enthralled the whole time. A great read!

So enticing and unexpected

There is a mystery but it's also the story of multiple generations, loss of family, loss of love, survival and seeing the multifaceted nature of each person. I loved the character development and the view of life in London amidst the constant blitz.

What a great listen!

Any additional comments?

I read the reviews for this book many times and then I finally bought it during a recent sale. I am so glad I did.

It was very easy to follow the shift between current and past. Well done. To write like that and not get it all muddled or not muddling the reader is an accomplishment. I was surprised at the end. I thought something else was going to be "revealed" but that guess was proven wrong shortly before the end so then I really didn't know. This was the kind of book that you want to keep going. Find out how the characters are and what else happened and happens. The narrator did a great job, perfect voice for this story I thought. I took a break from my usual cozy mysteries for this one and I am sure I'm going to go back for more. It was a pleasure to listen to.

All Around Favorite

I listened while making a long trek to Georgia from Alabama. Little did I know that not only was I fully engaged, but so too were my family members who squawked aloud when I switched to the radio so as not to force them to listen.

We arrived just as the final chapters began.

Everyone seemed deflated until we got inside the house and I had Alexa play the rest of the book on the house speakers.

GREAT GREAT read with unexpected twists and turns that kept us all entralled!!!!

riveting story with plenty of twists and turns.

loved the story but tha narrator never could figure out which accent to perform for the different characters. after I bit I just tried to ignore but it was hard to do so.

Wonderful combination of historical fiction, suspense and mystery

Extremely well read, but what a gifted writer! This is my first book from this author and I was glued to my earbuds all the way through. Wonderful pictures painted of wartime London, and fabulous twists of plot. A great read and listen.

Artfully written story

I was spellbound to the very end. I enjoyed this book so much, that I immediately listened to it a second time and I know this book will one I will return to again and again. The author artfully paints a clear picture with her words and skillfully takes us back and forth through time up to the very end. Caroline Lee did a wonderful job narrating the story.