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Thirty-eight year old Cassandra is lost, alone, and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident 10 years ago, feels like she has lost everything known and dear to her.
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. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure ...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.
Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives one Sunday afternoon with the return address of Milderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect that her mother’s emotional distance masks an old secret.
Summer 1924: On the eve of a glittering society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again. Winter 1999: Grace Bradley, 98, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and memories, long consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind, begin to sneak back through the cracks.
In 1920s Glasgow, Beattie Blaxland falls pregnant to her married lover Henry just before her nineteenth birthday. Abandoned by her family, Beattie and Henry set sail for a new life in Australia. In 2009, London, prima ballerina Lydia Blaxland-Hunter is also discovering that life can also have its ups and downs. Unable to dance again after a fall, Lydia returns home to Australia to recuperate.
This breathtaking novel travels more than a century between two love stories set in the Australian seaside town of Lighthouse Bay. In 1901, a ship sinks off the coast of Lighthouse Bay in Australia. The only survivor is Isabella Winterbourne - escaping her loveless marriage and the devastating loss of her son - who clutches a priceless gift meant for the Australian Parliament. Suddenly, this gift could be her ticket to a new life, free from the bonds of her husband and his overbearing family.
Thirty-eight year old Cassandra is lost, alone, and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident 10 years ago, feels like she has lost everything known and dear to her.
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. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure ...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.
Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives one Sunday afternoon with the return address of Milderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect that her mother’s emotional distance masks an old secret.
Summer 1924: On the eve of a glittering society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again. Winter 1999: Grace Bradley, 98, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and memories, long consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind, begin to sneak back through the cracks.
In 1920s Glasgow, Beattie Blaxland falls pregnant to her married lover Henry just before her nineteenth birthday. Abandoned by her family, Beattie and Henry set sail for a new life in Australia. In 2009, London, prima ballerina Lydia Blaxland-Hunter is also discovering that life can also have its ups and downs. Unable to dance again after a fall, Lydia returns home to Australia to recuperate.
This breathtaking novel travels more than a century between two love stories set in the Australian seaside town of Lighthouse Bay. In 1901, a ship sinks off the coast of Lighthouse Bay in Australia. The only survivor is Isabella Winterbourne - escaping her loveless marriage and the devastating loss of her son - who clutches a priceless gift meant for the Australian Parliament. Suddenly, this gift could be her ticket to a new life, free from the bonds of her husband and his overbearing family.
Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge - until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents - but they quickly realize the dark truth.
In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: He will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned - from the layout of the winding roads to the colors of the houses to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. Enter Mia Warren - an enigmatic artist and single mother - who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter, Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons.
Anna Fox lives alone - a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times...and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, mother, their teenaged son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn't, her world begins to crumble. And its shocking secrets are laid bare.
From the London pop scene, to the opera stages of Europe; from a tiny Greek island, to a stifling manor house full of secrets and deceptions; from the sun-drenched Queensland coast, to the silent outback; Angela and Ellie are two women both looking for something. One in search of her identity and her memory; the other in search of the love that she had and lost; theirs is a duet whose last note will not be sung until the heart-stopping climax, when a shadow from the past returns to claim them both.
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline's world is forever changed when Hitler's army invades Poland in September 1939 - and then sets its sights on France. An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement.
What would happen if you were visited by your younger self, and got a chance for a do-over?Alice Love is twenty-nine years old, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So imagine her surprise when, after a fall, she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! she HATES the gym!) and discovers that she's actually thirty-nine, has three children, and is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce.
A mysterious stranger known as 'The Wolf' leaves an infant with the sisters of Santo Spirito. A tiny silver key hidden in her wrappings is the only clue to the child's identity and so begins a story as intriguing and beautiful as the city of Florence itself. Belinda Alexandra's new novel, Tuscan Rose, is set in Italy during the time of Mussolini. This richly woven tale of passion, love, longing, witchcraft and magic promises to be everything her readers love and more.
Florrie Buckley is an orphan living on the wind-blasted moors of Cornwall. It's a hard existence, but Florrie is content; she runs wild in the mysterious landscape. She thinks her destiny is set in stone. But when Florrie is 14, she inherits a never-imagined secret. She is related to a wealthy and notorious London family: the Graces.
An enthralling story about love, motherhood and choosing who you belong to in the world by best-selling author Kimberley Freeman. 1874: only days before she is to leave the foundling home where she grew up, Agnes Resolute discovers that, as a baby, she had been abandoned with a small token of her mother: a unicorn button. Agnes always believed her mother had been too poor to keep her, but after working as a laundress in the home she recognises the button as belonging the daughter of a local noble.
When you listen to this audiobook, you will make many assumptions. You will assume you are listening to a story about a jealous ex-wife. You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement - a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love. You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle. Assume nothing. Twisted and deliciously chilling, The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage - and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.
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.
I've been waiting for this book to come out, as Kate Morton is one of my faves. Although I must admit, even though I was waiting for this release, I refused to buy it in print or e-book format because I wanted Caroline Lee to tell me the story. She's one of my faves, too. I wasn't disappointed. I believe this is the best Kate Morton novel to date. I was enthralled every bit of the way through, listening with such fervor with the hopes that each mystery would be revealed. The ending was superb and caught me totally by surprise. I loved it!
The toughest part about this book is that it had to end. This beautiful and haunting story of romance, family secrets, war-time mysteries, genealogy, old trunks and houses and ephemera that tells snippets of a story that had unraveled in secrecy was so satisfying that I had to hop on right away to give my review. I love that this tale is over 19 hours long -- it made me really feel as if I was getting my credit's worth. Yet listening to Lee's easy and engaging reading style didn't make it a burden at all. Easily one of my best purchases of the year (and I purchase a lot). I definitely recommend!
The only caveat I would give to someone new to Kate Morton is to stick with it. The beginning can be a bit slow, and a few parts in between are a little draggy. There was so much cigarette smoking that I almost gave in and bought a pack myself to cave into the subliminal peer pressure (after many years of having quit). But it's worth it. Stay with it, and you won't be disappointed!
193 of 199 people found this review helpful
Alternating between 2011 and 1940, a dying mother, visited by her children, hints at a past regret to her daughter, Laurel. Present day Laurel visits libraries, families and spends her day digging into the past to determine what changed her mother all those years ago. Dorothy's past unfolds with love interest, Jimmy and you walk beside her experiencing the decisions she made for better or worse.
At first, I thought this book would be predictible. I adored, "The Secret Garden," liked "Distant Hours," but didn't care for "House at Riverton." Hesitant to pick up this fourth offering from Morten and happy I did. She introduces complex characters whose desires make them human; neither perfect nor wrong. There are many corners you turn in the story and just when I thought I'd figured out the ending, I was led down a divergent path. Enjoyed the journey and hope you will, too. Excellent choice for women who like a good character driven mystery.
145 of 150 people found this review helpful
This was my first Kate Morton and I was totally fascinated by the ways she weaves the tale through the eyes of Laurel, her daughter. Many times I do not like the switch from present to past, etc. but this book had perfect timing in this realm. The characters are all well developed and rich in personality traits. Twists and turns and a complex finale. All people are just human in the end. I have recommended this book to all my friends. Caroline Lee also brought the story to life.
Now may I make a recommendation: For those reviewers who basically rewrite the story and give all the minute details (and I am sure you are smart and definitely have a handle on most of the books you review). My problem is I want to listen to the book but not after having heard the plot and character twists. I skip reviews that go on and on. Please just give us a leader that will make me anxious to spend my next credit on that book. I respect your judgments, just dont want to know too much about the book before I listen to it. Thanks.
161 of 172 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
I first encountered Kate Morton’s books in May of 2011 and have waited anxiously for each new Audible publication. But in my opinion “The Secret Keeper” is her finest so far. Her character development is beautifully done and her ability to have the reader travel back and forth between eras is accomplished smoothly and effortlessly. I found myself totally enmeshed in the lives of Jimmy and Dorothy and Vivian and when the story moved to present day, I became a member of Laurel’s family and “saw” each of her sisters and her brother clearly. As a firm believer in “degrees of separation”, the twists and turns this story took on its journey were totally believable. For 19 wonderful hours I was lost in the lives of others and am so sorry the story has ended.
I need to also say that without Caroline Lee’s narration much would be lost. I have enjoyed her presentation of each of the other Kate Morton books that I have listened too.
If you like history, a mystery, a love story and a well-executed book, do not hesitate to select “The Secret Keeper”. It is a real keeper!
51 of 54 people found this review helpful
I had NO clue how it would end - AMAZING - I adored it. And I was so thankful!!!!!!
I read lots of reviews - and got the message loud and clear, this was going to be a great book. However, one review caught my attention. It mentioned that the begining of the book will be a tad boring but by the middle you will be hooked - and boy, were they RIGHT!
This book reminds me of a lot of books (Girl with the Dragon Tatoo) where you find yourself drifting in the begining because there aren't details you can grab and start buidling with. But, by the middle of the book - you start to feel a bit more involved with the characters. You finally see where everything is heading - well, sort of. And if you choose to listen again - you'll see the pieces fall together and fit better.
I often read (or listen to) a book and am grateful for the gift of great authors and the stories they share with us. This is certainly a wonderful story.
47 of 51 people found this review helpful
STORY (historical/contemporary fiction) - Wow. I loved this book so much I don't know where to start. For one thing, I've listened to 241 audiobooks so far and can't remember one that I've enjoyed more. It's long, but I loved every minute and hated for it to end. This story has everything - beautiful writing, rich characters, love, deceit, mystery, family secrets...and you will grow with each character from childhood into adulthood. The story spans many decides of life on an English farm and also in London as it is ravaged by the bombings of WW II. These characters lived and loved, sometimes accepting the bombs falling around them as if were merely a thunderstorm.
One of the things I liked best about this book is the way the mystery of the crime is revealed. (I'm assuming you've read the summary.) You will pick up clues bit by delicious bit, and every time you think you might be figuring things out, you find out that you're not! And the ending is wonderful, just perfect! I will definitely be listening to this book again and again.
PERFORMANCE - Caroline Lee is one of my favorite narrators. Her voice and tempo are mesmerizing.
OVERALL - In case I haven't been clear, I highly recommend this book, primarily for adult women because of the female relationships and the romance. There is no sex and only a tiny bit of violence. As far as profanity, I think I heard "sh*t" one time. Buy this book now. You won't regret it.
19 of 21 people found this review helpful
There are two things that happen with a good Kate Morton book. First, the overall experience is always a pleasure. The words that have been written when read by Caroline Lee make for many terrific listening hours. Then there's the part with what Kate Morton does with a plot. In this particular case, I simply did not see it coming. And that's SO much fun. I love being tricked and this one did it. Kudos.
38 of 43 people found this review helpful
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I wasn't over the moon with the last couple of morton books, but this one features a whole new level of prose and exceptionally fine character development, all within the context of a very compelling story.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Secret Keeper?
Tiny moments in extraordinary narrator caroline lee's pitch perfect characterization of these very different sisters took my breath away
What does Caroline Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Wow wow wow. Masterful narrator, will now give a close look to any book she reads...
Any additional comments?
Just enough time in each era, but above all, the nuanced performance by the narrator makes this a worthwhile listen
36 of 41 people found this review helpful
A true storyteller draws you into the story and you are able to visualize, be in that story. Kate Morton is profound in that capability. I have loved everyone of her books. That is odd for me because I do not care for English accent in my ear. Caroline Lee is the one exception. She is a fantastic narrator. I just so appreciate a story that once you begin you just cannot put it down until you know what happens. An author that keeps you right there in that story with those characters, it's a gift. This story will wrap right around you. It is believeable, and yet woven with fantasy of a lovely imagination. I loved it!
38 of 44 people found this review helpful
This is a beautiful story, well read by an amazing narrator who is perfect for the book. Listen to every word. There is so much to this book. You will love it to the last sentence. I have listened to other Kate Morton books and this is my very favorite. Listen and enjoy.
17 of 20 people found this review helpful
I always enjoy Kate Morton's books and especially this one. The story twists its way through different time zones leaving the listener wanting to know more as the story infolds.
The only thing I found strange was the narrator's take on a black country accent but the rest of the story she did a good job.
Would recommend this story however taking all things into account as the story is excellent.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
If you could sum up The Secret Keeper in three words, what would they be?
The story kept me gripped but I agree with other listeners about the narrator's accents. They were just all over the place! I still enjoyed the book despite this though.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I would recommend this with reservations. I enjoyed the story but I had many problems with the narrator.
What did you like best about this story?
I liked the way that although it was set in different time zones it was always easy to follow. The various twists and turns in the story kept me eager to continue even though narrator made me feel like giving up.
Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Caroline Lee?
I didn't enjoy Caroline Lee's narration. Although she has a nice voice I found her accents very difficult to listen to. Not only were they difficult to place in any particular part of the country but they were inconsistent.
Could you see The Secret Keeper being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?
Possibly but I think it might be confusing.
Any additional comments?
I know Kate Morton is Australian but because the book was set in England it really needed English accents.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Would you try another book written by Kate Morton or narrated by Caroline Lee?
I would, but only if Caroline Lee sticks to her own Aussie accent. She's appallingly bad at doing other accents. I read somewhere else that her accents of the British Isles were "spot on". The person who wrote that must be either deaf or American.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I didn't have a favourite character but I liked the parts about young Dolly best. Unfortunately these are also the parts where the bad accent rears its ugly head :(
What didn’t you like about Caroline Lee’s performance?
The weird accents she used. Totally ruined the listening experience, I kept wondering which accent she was actually trying for, and then I had to rewind just to focus on the story again, instead of on the bad accents.
If this book were a film would you go see it?
No.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
always go for detective books. This was a great listen. I've downloaded the secret garden now here's hoping it's as good.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
It was a great plot which had me puzzled till the end. The author has much talent and the narrator puts the story over with conviction and sensitivity. Even after knowing the end of the mystery I re-listened several times for the pure enjoyment of revisiting the characters.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I almost had to give up on this book so distracting was the terrible drifting through Jamaican, Welsh, Scottish, Irish and Yorkshire accents, and all for people who were supposed to be from Coventry! However, if you can tune out, it is well worth persevering. In fact, the narrator is actually a lovely reader in her native Australian accent.
A good story, if more mellow drama than high suspense. However, as pleasant a voice as the performer has, her grasp of English is terrible
Wonderful story as always by this author and beautifully read! Excellent story which has an amazing twist at the end which is both enlightening and gives you a feeling of warmth. I enjoyed each chapter! Beautiful!
fantastic story, the ending was griping, didnt want it to end.
I would of loved to give it 5 stars but the Narrator let it down massively.
I'm still not sure what accent she was trying to portray but it didnt fit at all. It very nearly put me off carrying on. I am glad I persevered tho as the author does deserve great praise.
Initially the story seemed a little slow, but it really picked up along the way and it became impossible to stop listening. In the end it was an excellent story
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I loved every moment! I was hooked from start to finish. Kate's storytelling abilities were captivating and Caroline's narration helped to paint the picture so much clearer than I could have interpreted reading it from the page. I loved every moment.
Great character depth.
Interesting story leaves you feeling fulfilled.
I just love this audio performer so I may be biased in that regard.
This is my first Kate Morton book and at first I thought it was a real dud. It has a rambling, perhaps overly detailed, beginning that must be 'bared with' but once it eventually gains momentum you won't be able to stop listening to this amazing story - you'll forget it was such a chore to get into. So many twists and surprises, with an unforgettable ending, it leaves the listener with a powerful sense of serendipity. Bittersweet and poignant, with this book, Kate Morton has proved herself a master story teller. Very beautifully narrated, it gets five stars all round from me.
another great read by Kate Morton, and as always beautifully narrated by Caroline Lee. Thanks
It's a pity it's finished. Highly recommended. Will be looking for more audible books by this author to walk with me.