The Secret Keeper

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The year is 1961 - a drowsy summer day, an idyllic farmhouse in rural England - 16 year old Laurel has found the perfect place to hide from her boisterous family. She knows she will have to join them soon - it is her brother's birthday picnic, after all - but for now, she is savoring the quiet moments, content to dream about the boy she has just met, their secret rendezvous later in the afternoon, and her big plans for the future. Lost in her reverie, she doesn't notice the stranger until he has almost reached the house - and the terrible, shocking crime that follows will forever change the way she regards her family, especially her mother, Dorothy.

Fifty years later, Laurel - now a well-established, famous actress - returns to her childhood home to celebrate her mother's ninetieth birthday. It is not a happy occasion, though - Dorothy Nicholson is in the hospital, on her death bed. An accidental discovery of a photograph from May 1941 - Dorothy with a friend, laughing at the camera, and an old inscription in a book - 'For Dorothy, A true friend is a light in the dark, -Vivien', unleash a volley of memories that have been long buried. Laurel is convinced that the name Vivien is somehow connected to the horrific events of that long ago afternoon - and she sets off on a quest to unravel this mystery, to find answers to the overwhelming questions that surround her mother - but will she be able to face the secrets that she brings to light?

From the Pre-War days in London to the Blitz years to Life After the War - the Secret Keeper is a story of love and longing, of tragedy and hope, of dreams and heartbreak, of lost opportunities and second chances, and above all, of secrets and their fateful consequences! It is the story of Dorothy and Vivien and Jimmy - three very different people who find their lives inextricably linked together. It is the story of Laurel and her siblings, and her struggle to understand and forgive her mother's youthful transgressions. Alternating between Laurel's present day investigations and the events of the 1940s, the story comes full circle with a startling twist at the end!

The book starts off a bit slow - indeed, at the beginning it almost felt like I was reading a teenage romance - and although the pace never picks up significantly, the story does get a lot more interesting! The characters are built up lovingly and in great detail, the dialogues - especially between the Nicholson siblings - so natural, that soon, that the characters almost step out of the pages as real flesh-and-blood people! Same for the settings - Greenacres, the houses on Camden street, Jimmy's apartment, the blackouts during the air-raids - they all have a genuine lived-in feel that transports you in space and time! Needless to say, the prose is rich and evocative - such vivid imagery, that it was almost like reading a picture book! The flip side, inevitably, is that there are long stretches where the descriptions take over the story, and the plot doesn't really move anywhere!

The plot is quite convoluted - lot of seemingly minor incidents and details are strewn throughout the non-linear narrative - there certainly were a couple of times when I flipped back through the book to catch something I had missed the first time! It's also a little contrived how Laurel finds all the clues in perfect order - there's no struggle, all very convenient and a tad too easy! Besides, why didn't she just talk to her mother in the first place - instead of waiting 50 years for her mother to be too sick too explain! I'm sure Dorothy would have been happy to enlighten her daughter - but then again, that wouldn't have made much of a book! Vivien's 'perfectness' also bothered me a little - in a book where most other characters are deliciously messy, Vivien seems to be almost too good to be true!

The twist in the tale, the surprise ending is what made this book the talk of the town. I don't want to give away the ending, although I will say this - for a die-hard Bollywood fan, brought up on a steady diet of the most improbable, illogical and unbelievable lost-and-found, mistaken identity and secret-pact plots, the 'surprise' ending is visible from a mile away! To give the author credit, there are no inconsistencies in the story, the clues - yes, there are clues - are subtle, and all the red herrings dovetail beautifully at the end. I read the book a second time - I admit it, I was looking for plot holes - but knowing the ending, I enjoyed the author's skill even more!

A mysterious romance or a romantic mystery - either way, Kate Morton's Secret Keeper is certainly a delightful read! Enjoy the ride, but pay close attention - you might just solve the mystery before the last chapter! Happy Reading!