Julie's Reviews: The Clockmaker's Daughter

Author: Kate Morton
Series: None
Publication Date: October 9, 2018
Publisher: Atria
Pages: 496
Obtained: publisher
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Kate Morton's books never disappoint this reader
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab

Summary: My real name, no one remembers. The truth about that summer, no one else knows. In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe's life is in ruins. Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist's sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river. Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets? Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker's Daughter is a story of murder, mystery, and thievery, of art, love and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river, is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker's daughter. ~amazon.com

Review: The Clockmaker's Daughter was so worth waiting for. For this avid Kate Morton fan, it is up there with my favorite of hers, The Distant Hours. I will also say this is probably the first book of hers that made me cry.

I know that some people struggle with multiple POV with traveling to various time periods, but it is what makes Kate Morton books so damn good. There is never a character that isn't central to the main plot but she writes their stories so well they could stand on their own. The story is clearly about what happened to the clockmaker's daughter but to understand her story we have to understand the story of those who came after her and then with her. 

What happened on that night over a hundred years ago that went so wrong and how does it relate to the sketchbook that Elodie finds tucked away in a leather satchel. The sketches in the book feel very familiar to her and yet she knows she hasn't been there previously. The pull is so strong that she decides that she needs to investigate. Elodie's story is just the catalyst to launch us into the stories of Edward Radcliffe and his mysterious model, Leonard and then of the family who came to escape the war.

I absolutely loved the nuances in this book and how when the pieces came together it all made so much sense. I had a couple of "a ha" moments that made me stop and think about how we got there. My heart broke for each of these characters that we either get to know extremely well or are only with us for a bit of the book.

As with most of Ms. Morton's books, the house is it's own character and very central to the over arching story.

I can't say enough about this book but I don't want to say too much because I want you to enjoy it as much as I did.

Google+

Julie's Review: The Lake House

Author: Kate Morton
Series: None
Publication Date: October 20, 2015
Publisher: Atria
Pages: 598
Obtained: publisher
Genre:  Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: A mystery that shows what secrets can do to families
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Summary: Living on her family’s idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented sixteen-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 child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. What follows is a tragedy that tears the family apart in ways they never imagined. Decades later, Alice is living in London, having enjoyed a long successful career as an author. Theo’s case has never been solved, though Alice still harbors a suspicion as to the culprit. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, is staying at her grandfather’s house in Cornwall. While out walking one day, she stumbles upon the old estate—now crumbling and covered with vines, clearly abandoned long ago. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone...yet more present than ever. A lush, atmospheric tale of intertwined destinies, this latest novel from a masterful storyteller is an enthralling, thoroughly satisfying read. ~amazon.com  

Review: I'm pretty sure that I've had this on pre-order for about 9 months; so you could easily say that she is one of my favorite authors.  The Lake House is another great mystery that spans over 70 years with a lot of family heartache and secrets. It isn't as goth as The Distant Hours but the setting is just as gorgeous and a bit mysterious.

Sadie Sparrow is a Detective who's on a leave of absence because a case got under her skin. She hasn't exactly told her grandfather the whole truth about why she's visiting him in Cornwall. She happens upon Loeanneth while out on a run. She's intrigued because it's crumbling and looks like time is standing still. The detective in her decides to start digging into the history. Along with the case that Sadie is licking her wounds for, there's something else going on with her too.

Alice Edevane is a successful author but lately the past has been creeping up on her. It doesn't help as her sister, Deborah is bringing up the past as well. Both harbor feelings of guilt but for very different reasons. Both think that they each have a part in their brother's disappearance. As we all know, things are never what they seem and it turns out that their parents were keeping a huge secret from them as well.

Both Sadie and Alice are interesting characters and career driven women. Both of them are haunted by something in their past and hold onto their guilt. They are both honest and this suits each of them well when they first meet.

I kind of figured out one of the plot twists early on but it was still interesting the way that Ms. Morton pulled it all together. She does do a great job of really leaning you towards one answer and then slowly reveals that it couldn't have gone the way that you initially thought.

Besides the mystery and her intricate way of weaving different story lines together, Ms. Morton always has a way of  making me want to book a trip to the countryside of England. I want to take a walk and come upon a deserted house with a history and a mystery. She makes even the simplest things seem magical.

If you've never read a Kate Morton book, you better get going because they are some of the best dual time-period books I've ever read and she's got a decent backlog going now.


  Google+

Julie's Review: The Secret Keeper

Summary: During a summer party at the family farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson has escaped to her childhood tree house and is happily dreaming of the future. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and watches as her mother speaks to him. Before the afternoon is over, Laurel will witness a shocking crime. A crime that challenges everything she knows about her family and especially her mother, Dorothy—her vivacious, loving, nearly perfect mother.
Now, fifty years later, Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress living in London. The family is gathering at Greenacres farm for Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday. Realizing that this may be her last chance, Laurel searches for answers to the questions that still haunt her from that long-ago day, answers that can only be found in Dorothy’s past. Dorothy’s story takes the reader from pre–WWII England through the blitz, to the ’60s and beyond. It is the secret history of three strangers from vastly different worlds—Dorothy, Vivien, and Jimmy—who meet by chance in wartime London and whose lives are forever entwined. The Secret Keeper explores longings and dreams and the unexpected consequences they sometimes bring. It is an unforgettable story of lovers and friends, deception and passion that is told—in Morton’s signature style—against a backdrop of events that changed the world. ~amazon.com

Review: The Secret Keeper is Kate Morton's 4th novel and while it is not my favorite, it is still a worthy read. What Ms. Morton always excels at is keeping you guessing until the very end. This time though I did figure it out a little bit but not until the near end.

We are introduced to the story through the eye of 16 year old Laurel, who becomes the narrator for most of the novel. As Laurel returns home to her family farm, she is flooded and then haunted about her memories from that day when she was trying to escape from her boisterous family for a few minutes. She wants to know what it is that would cause he mom to act in such a rash and threatened manner. The answer of course can only be answered by her mom, Dorothy. Unfortunately, Dorothy is in the late stages of her life and clarity comes and goes. Laurel wants to get the bottom of the mystery that has plagued her during her adult years.

As Laurel researches her mother's past by little things that she has gleamed from her mother, the narration shifts between Dolly, Vivian and Dorothy. It is through their eyes that we learn how the short period of time during the London Blitz shaped their futures.

As always, Ms. Morton's characters we well-written and flushed out. She always chooses her time period with care. I can only imagine the energy and emotions that were heightened during that time period and because of that the actions that took place that couldn't be changed.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I never connected with any of the characters. I felt for Laurel and her plight to find out her mother's dark secret. Is it a secret that should have gone to her mother's grave with her? Perhaps but maybe now Laurel and Gerry can have peace. I felt that Dolly and Vivien were self-involved. Maybe during that time it was self-preservation but for me Dolly was the least likable character.

I liked how Laurel, Dorothy and her maternal grandmother all seemed to have the same dramatic gene within them. Dolly definitely took the dramatic flair to a whole new level. The man caught in the middle was Jimmy Metcalfe, who was desperately in love with Dorothy but who also found himself enjoying the company of Vivien.

Ms. Morton always thoroughly researches her books and it always feel like you are in the middle of the action no matter the time period. While The Distant Hours is by far my favorite book by Ms. Morton, The Secret Keeper is not one to be missed. I will continue to read Kate Morton's books as long as she keeps writing them.

Final Take: 4.5/5

 

Alice's Review: The Distant Hours

Summary: It starts with a letter, lost for half a century and unexpectedly delivered to Edie’s mother on a Sunday afternoon. The letter leads Edie to Milderhurst Castle, where the eccentric Blythe spinsters live and where, she discovers, her mother was billeted during World War II. The elder Blythe sisters are twins and have spent most of their lives caring for their younger sister, Juniper, who hasn’t been the same since her fiancé jilted her in 1941. Inside the decaying castle, Edie searches for her mother’s past but soon learns there are other secrets hidden in its walls. The truth of what happened in “the distant hours” has been waiting a long time for someone to find it. In this enthralling romantic thriller, Morton pays homage to the classics of gothic fiction, spinning a rich and intricate web of mystery, suspense, and lost love. ~ amazon.com


Review:  It’s no secret that I have been reading The Distant Hours for a month.   The slowness was definitely contributed to the novel been nearly 600 pages, or a brick as I liked to refer to it.  It was formidable, intimidating.  I would read and not feel like I was putting a dent in it.  It was discouraging.  I think I would have given up on it weeks ago had it not been for the List Swap Challenge Julie and I are participating in.  I’m glad I didn’t give up on it because this has been one of the best reads of the year for me.

This novel incorporates many of my favorite reading loves.  I love novels about sisters, I love romance, I love heartbreak, I love novels set in the 40s.  I love reading about women and how they interact with each other.  I love the secrets, the vulnerability in revealing truths.  The Distant Hours is all those things and more.

Ms. Morton’s writing style is poetry.  The mere size of the novel is testament that she did not leave any stones unturned.  This novel was well researched, thought-out.   She bounced back and forth between 1941 and 1992 with ease.  I was never confused or confounded. 

She writes such strong, beautiful women.  Each of the sisters, as well as Edie, Meredith, Lucy, and Rita, were multidimensional characters.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each one.  One of the stunning truths of this novel is that although each woman had strength of her own, they were more or less control by one man and his secrets, Raymond Blythe.  He was the catalyst in The Distant Hours.

Shroud in mystery, Ms. Morton’s gift is revealing these in an unexpected way.  Just like Edie, I would begin to think one thing, convinced I had it figured out and then Wham! – Here comes the truth and it would leave my head spinning and feeling awed, impressed how easily I was fooled and how the truth was there all along.

This novel was such a pleasure to read.  It reminds me of the kind of novel you curl up to on a cold, rainy or snowy night.  It’s comfortable, it makes you think, it keeps you guessing.  Maybe it’s the castle setting, maybe it’s the relationship between the women.  Maybe it’s the women individually.  There is just something so wonderful about this novel that each minute spend reading it is like getting to know a new friend.

And just how it was highly recommended to me, I highly recommend The Distant Hours to you.

Final Take: 5/5

 

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations to Laura Lanik for winning our Kate Morton 3 book giveaway!! You won: The House at Riverton , Forgotten Garden, and The Distant Hours. You are in for some heavenly reading!

Please send Julie your mailing address so we can send the books off to you as soon as possible.

Thanks to all of you for participating. Girls Just Reading uses Random.org to produce the winner.

Julie's Review: The Distant Hours

Summary: A letter posted in 1941 finally reaches its destination in 1992 with powerful repercussions for Edie Burchill, a London book editor, in this enthralling romantic thriller from Australian author Morton (The Forgotten Garden). At crumbling Milderhurst Castle live elderly twins Persephone and Seraphina and their younger half-sister, Juniper, the three eccentric spinster daughters of the late Raymond Blythe, author of The True History of the Mud Man, a children's classic Edie adores. Juniper addressed the letter to Meredith, Edie's mother, then a young teen evacuated to Milderhurst during the Blitz. Edie, who's later invited to write an introduction to a reprint of Raymond's masterpiece, visits the seedily alluring castle in search of answers. Why was her mother so shattered by the contents of a letter sent 51 years earlier? And what happened to soldier Thomas Cavill, Juniper's long-missing fiancé and Meredith's former teacher? Despite the many competing narratives, the answers will stun readers. ~amazon.com

Review: You know how you love a book so much but then have trouble putting into words why you loved it? That's me with The Distant Hours. I have read all three of Ms. Morton's books and this is my favorite. Her writing has gotten much more crisp since the release of The House at Riverton. Ms. Morton does a fantastic job of weaving the present day (1992) and the past (1939-1941) into a seamless story that slowly unwinds itself.

The novel opens with an excerpt from The True Story of the Mud Man by Raymond Blythe
and then segues into Edie Burchill, her mother and a long lost letter. The letter is the catalyst for the whole novel. We quickly find out that Edie's mom was sent to the countryside to avoid the bombings in London. The recently delivered letter upsets her mom so much that while on a business trip, Edie happens across Milderhurst Castle. Really, do things like this just happen randomly? Nope, I don't think so either. And so Edie's research into her mom and the Blythe family's past collides.

The book is centered around one fateful night in 1941 when the youngest Blythe sister, Juniper, was waiting for her fiance to show up. Only he never does and this plunges Juniper into madness. While the book hinges on what happened that night, there are many stories that lead up to the climax.

While I loved getting to know Persephone (Percy), Seraphina (Saffy) and Juniper (June), the character that really came to life for me was Meredith, Edie's mom. From the moment she receives the letter you know she's an integral part of the story, but it was just not in the way I had set up in my mind.

What I loved most about The Distant Hours is that we learned the story from every one's point of view. By writing it this way not only did we learn about that character but they each unraveled a part of the mystery. It wasn't through the eyes of one protagonist. What's brilliant is all the pieces of the puzzle are put together at the end. I was worried that there were a couple of small plot points that were not going to wrapped up but I didn't have to worry, they were and in way that wasn't as an after thought. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, another piece of the puzzle was revealed to throw my theory out the window. I LOVE it when authors do that but more importantly, when it is done successfully.

All the characters were well written and fully developed. I wanted to read and savor every word on the pages of this book.

The book is about family and how far we'll go to protect those we love. It's also about knowing where you come from and understanding those you love. Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper to know your parents; their lives aren't always open books.

I'm afraid I'm not doing this book any justice, so you just have to go read it for yourself. It's part romance, part historical fiction, part mystery. So, it has something for everyone.

So now that I've read Ms. Morton's newest book, I'll have to patiently wait for her next one. I think this is the third time I'm saying this but my thanks go to Lisa for giving me The House at Riverton to read 2 years ago.

If you are looking for a "new to me" author I highly recommend Kate Morton. You can't go wrong with any of her books.

Final Take: 5/5

Thanks to Atria Books for graciously sending me an ARC of this novel.

Julie's Review: The Forgotten Garden

Summary: A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book -- a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and with very little to go on, "Nell" sets out on a journey to England to try to trace her story, to find her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell's death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. At Cliff Cottage, on the grounds of Blackhurst Manor, Cassandra discovers the forgotten garden of the book's title and is able to unlock the secrets of the beautiful book of fairy tales.

Review: Ok I admit it, I've never read The Secret Garden (HarperClassics). I did see the movie a long time ago with my dad, so there will be no literary comparisons in this review. That being said, The Forgotten Garden: A Novel is brilliant and compelling. I just loved this book. I loved how Ms. Morton wrote it. I loved the character's voices. I loved how the book itself is a maze that you slowly find your way through.

We see the events of the book uncover through the eyes of Nell, Eliza and Cassandra. All three of these are strong, distinct voices in the book. As with all books where the narration goes back and forth, it takes a bit to get into the flow but once it does, you don't want to put it down. Each of these three women has been through their share of pain and suffering, each in different ways.

I'm not much of a fairy tale girl but the stories that Ms. Morton weave throughout The Forgotten Garden add another layer of storytelling to an already tightly woven novel. I'm going to have to do a little research to see if Ms. Morton wrote them herself.

I don't know if I would call this book a fantasy as I would a historical fiction with some fantasy aspects wrapped into it. There's something about a seaside cottage that just sounds romantic and wonderful.

The true story is about families and finding out who you are not matter what bloodline flows through you.

As with a lot of books I can't really delve into details without giving away the twists and turns. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the book would move in another direction, causing me to think twice about what I had just thought I figured out.

I highly recommend reading this book. In fact, drop what you are reading and pick this up now. Anyone who likes to get wrapped up in a great book and get carried away in a novel will love The Forgotten Garden.

Final Take: 4.5/5

Related Links: Lisa's Review

Lisa's Review: The Forgotten Garden

Summary:
A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book -- a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and with very little to go on, "Nell" sets out on a journey to England to try to trace her story, to find her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell's death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. At Cliff Cottage, on the grounds of Blackhurst Manor, Cassandra discovers the forgotten garden of the book's title and is able to unlock the secrets of the beautiful book of fairy tales. ~http://books.simonandschuster.com/Forgotten-Garden/Kate-Morton/9781416550549

Review:
When we meet Nell, an abandoned four-year old stowed away on an ocean liner who wouldn't even speak her name, she is adopted by a generous dock worker and his wife. Devastated to learn years later that she isn't who she thought she was, she becomes withdrawn and changes her life around. With nothing more than an old suitcase and book of fairy tales she sets off to learn the truth about who she is. The knowledge doesn't come easily though and her search is derailed when Cassandra, her granddaughter, abandoned by her mother (Nell's daughter) comes to live with her. Nell dies without ever knowing the truth of who she is, but her grandaughter, continues the search.

The early chapters change time periods consistently which is confusing and frustrating for the reader, but this doesn't go on for very long and the story unfolds in a comfortable rhythm. Though a little in long in places, the story unfolds in a combination of present day and flashbacks and interspersed with fairy tales, which is a unique storytelling style that I particularly enjoyed. The fairy tales added an extra allegorical layer to the storytelling and offers the reader clues to the mystery.

A savvy reader will have guessed the truth of the what happened to Nell, long before the end of the book, however Kate Morton does a great job keeping your interest throughout. It was a pleasure getting to know the characters particularly the primary female characters who are fleshed out and well formed. Their male counterparts are not as fortunate, but there are far less of them around so it doesn't matter much.

Part fairy tale itself, The Forgotten Garden features some minor fantastical elements, even a wicked witch, but it's certainly not overdone in anyway. I can't help but compare this to The House at Riverton which packed such a powerful punch at the end that it keeps me from giving this a higher score. Don't get me wrong though, with strong themes, of love and betrayal, The Forgotten Garden is certainly a worthy follow up and great read.

Final Take: 4/5

Julie's Review: The House at Riverton

Summary: This debut page-turner from Australian Morton recounts the crumbling of a prominent British family as seen through the eyes of one of its servants. At 14, Grace Reeves leaves home to work for her mother's former employers at Riverton House. She is the same age as Hannah, the headstrong middle child who visits her uncle, Lord Ashbury, at Riverton House with her siblings Emmeline and David. Fascinated, Grace observes their comings and goings and, as an invisible maid, is privy to the secrets she will spend a lifetime pretending to forget. But when a filmmaker working on a movie about the family contacts a 98-year-old Grace to fact-check particulars, the memories come swirling back. The plot largely revolves around sisters Hannah and Emmeline, who were present when a family friend, the young poet R.S. Hunter, allegedly committed suicide at Riverton. Grace hints throughout the narrative that no one knows the real story, and as she chronicles Hannah's schemes to have her own life and the curdling of younger Emmeline's jealousy, the truth about the poet's death is revealed. Morton triumphs with a riveting plot, a touching but tense love story and a haunting ending. ~amazon.com/Publishers Weekly

Review: The House at Riverton: A Novel is a wonderful book about the past, regrets and secrets. Grace Bradley is a 98 year old woman who's lead a wonderful and adventurous life but it's a life where she's carried a burden of a secret for many of those years. A young filmmaker approaches her about the events of a party where a famous poet killed himself. This visit starts Grace on her journey into the past. It is the past that is most intriguing, not only because of what you know already happens but because of the period in time it takes place in. The 1920s was a period of great change for women and Ms. Morton does a wonderful job of weaving this into the plot.

Part One is a little slow going but not slow enough that you lose interest in where the story is going. It's a lot of background and detailed information but you do need to pay attention because it will be pertinent to the story in later pages. I liked Grace, both the young and older version. Her relationship with her daughter to me wasn't an important plot point if only to introduce her grandson Marcus, whom I wish we would have gotten to know better. I liked that we not only got to know about her past when she was employed by the Hartford's but also what she made of herself later in life.

Hannah is the most complex and interesting character in the book for me. I loved her spirit and her intellect. Hannah was about seizing opportunities that could get her where she wanted to be, but not in a vindictive way. Emmeline was a caricature of a woman during the 20s. For me she was stereotypical and not at all that interesting but she was necessary in many different ways to the plot. There is the one big mystery, what really happened to Robbie Hunter but there are other little mysteries which for me were even more intriguing. They are weaved into the major storyline and only add to it instead of detracting, which can sometimes happen.

I enjoyed how the novel was written, present and then flashback (similar to Water for Elephants). I read another review where they said it was similar to how the movie Titanic was told and I agree. The only problem with this way of writing a novel is that you only understand the story from one point of view and sometimes it might be more effective with a narrator. Although Grace was a great protagonist I would have liked to have heard it from Hannah's POV but seeing that Grace was a "lady's maid" she was privy to things that others would not have been.

I would highly recommend this book if you are a fan of historical fiction and if you like mysteries. This novel has both aspects and they are both done well. The book will be released on 4/22. I look forward to Kate Morton's next novel.

Final Take: 4.5/5

Related - Lisa's Review: The House at Riverton

Lisa's Review: The House At Riverton

Summary:

Grace Bradley went to work at Riverton House as a servant when she was just a girl, before the First World War. For years her life was inextricably tied up with the Hartford family, most particularly the two daughters, Hannah and Emmeline.

In the summer of 1924, at a glittering society party held at the house, a young poet shot himself. The only witnesses were Hannah and Emmeline and only they-and Grace-know the truth.

In 1999, when Grace is ninety-eight years old and living out her last days in a nursing home, she is visited by a young director who is making a film about the events of that summer. She takes Grace back to Riverton House and reawakens her memories. Told in flashback, this is the story of Grace's youth during the last days of Edwardian aristocratic privilege shattered by war, of the vibrant twenties, and the changes she witnessed as an entire way of life vanished forever. ~ B&N

Review:

The House at Riverton is a house full of secrets. Some big, some small - all with devastating consequences. At 98, Grace Bradley has finally decided to share the secrets she'd been keeping for over 70 years, when a filmmaker comes to her to provide insight into the lives of the two sisters she served in her youth.

Kate Morton's prose was very easy to get engrossed in. I particularly enjoyed the no fuss, no muss way she had of revealing answers, almost as if they were no big deal. I was quite impressed with the way she, a young woman, precisely captured the essence and insights of an older woman. Grace, is a fully formed protagonist but not without her flaws. I personally, found it difficult to forgive her for her part in the broken relationship with her daughter.

Each and every character is rich and very vividly drawn - Hannah's fierce feminism and longing for freedom; Emmeline's wide-eyed innocence and later her wild partying; the stoic and ever dutiful staff of the house. Ah the house - equally vivid and as much a character and keeper of secrets. I found myself rather infatuated with the House and the grounds, I wanted to spend time in that library, though I didn't much envy Grace's having to clean it.

Though there were a few predictabilities, they only served to enhance the plot and the surprises were always unexpected. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Grace and was sad to see her secret revealed, because that meant the end of her story.

I strongly recommend that you pick this one up on April 22.

Final Take: 4.5/5