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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book! I was totally immersed in the world, characters and the details. The writing is wonderful. I enjoyed reading this book even though it took me around 2 months. The only downside is that I felt that the first 400 pages were a bit slow-paced. It took me 2 months to go through these 400 pages and less than a week to read the remaining 200 pages.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I liked this story, but didn’t like the book within a book thing. It was also waaaay longer than needed.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I became a big Kate Morton fan after reading The Clockmaker’s Daughter. In comparison, this book was a bit slow and repetitive at times. But it was overall a good read, with brilliant mood setting and lots of twists and turns.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting
Minor: Toxic relationship, Abortion, War, Classism
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’d never read a Kate Morton book before and picked it up from a historical fiction table on a whim. Best decision ever.
The premise is that Jess, our main POV from 2018, is back in Australia after her grandmother has a bad fall. She uncovers a family connection to an unsolved cold case murder in south Australia in 1959, and becomes determined to uncover the truth. The story switches between 2018 and 1959/60 with some forays to Jess’ childhood in between.
It’s a thoroughly engaging book and Morton handles the multiple POVs and multiple timelines (mainly between 1959/1960 and 2018) masterfully well. It did drag at times and is very much a slower paced book and very descriptive, so be prepared for that going in.
The first half is slow but it really picks up in the second half and all the little plot points come together. Pieces of information you didn’t think were important suddenly are, which I believe is where the descriptive writing really pulls its weight: you get so used to the very detailed writings of these people and their idiosyncrasies and lives and the setting that you miss how vital some of those little pieces of descriptions are, until Morton pulls it all together in the end. I was quite pleased that I figured out some of the twists she set up from the beginning (excellent foreshadowing and setup there!) but others took me completely by surprise even though looking back, I can see where the misdirections were and where the groundwork was laid. Being inside the characters heads with their beliefs and theories certainly helped with the misdirection.
I found it very much a character study using a cold case murder mystery plot line to examine things such as grief, secrets, and the lengths we will go to keep a terrible secret for the people we care about, respect, and love. I also found the unreliable narrator plays a significant role in allowing the plot to unfold. Each person experiences the events differently and each new POV - especially Polly’s - reveals a new important facet to the story and the search for the truth of what happened in Adelaide on Christmas Eve, 1959.
It does have a bit of a bittersweet ending, in my opinion, because while we the reader know the full truth, the characters don’t. I found that fairly realistic though, and did leave with the satisfaction that our two remaining main characters knew enough and that there were hints and hope at reconciliation between them.
All in all, an excellent read and I highly, highly recommend it. Do be prepared for a bit of a slower pace and lots of description, though. I enjoyed that for the most part, as it made me feel like I was actually there and really brought Tambilla, Darling House, and even our brief time in London to life. I know some reviewers have found that irritating though, so thought I’d add the warning here.
Now I’m off to read more Kate Morton!
The premise is that Jess, our main POV from 2018, is back in Australia after her grandmother has a bad fall. She uncovers a family connection to an unsolved cold case murder in south Australia in 1959, and becomes determined to uncover the truth. The story switches between 2018 and 1959/60 with some forays to Jess’ childhood in between.
It’s a thoroughly engaging book and Morton handles the multiple POVs and multiple timelines (mainly between 1959/1960 and 2018) masterfully well. It did drag at times and is very much a slower paced book and very descriptive, so be prepared for that going in.
The first half is slow but it really picks up in the second half and all the little plot points come together. Pieces of information you didn’t think were important suddenly are, which I believe is where the descriptive writing really pulls its weight: you get so used to the very detailed writings of these people and their idiosyncrasies and lives and the setting that you miss how vital some of those little pieces of descriptions are, until Morton pulls it all together in the end. I was quite pleased that I figured out some of the twists she set up from the beginning (excellent foreshadowing and setup there!) but others took me completely by surprise even though looking back, I can see where the misdirections were and where the groundwork was laid. Being inside the characters heads with their beliefs and theories certainly helped with the misdirection.
I found it very much a character study using a cold case murder mystery plot line to examine things such as grief, secrets, and the lengths we will go to keep a terrible secret for the people we care about, respect, and love. I also found the unreliable narrator plays a significant role in allowing the plot to unfold. Each person experiences the events differently and each new POV - especially Polly’s - reveals a new important facet to the story and the search for the truth of what happened in Adelaide on Christmas Eve, 1959.
It does have a bit of a bittersweet ending, in my opinion, because while we the reader know the full truth, the characters don’t. I found that fairly realistic though, and did leave with the satisfaction that our two remaining main characters knew enough and that there were hints and hope at reconciliation between them.
All in all, an excellent read and I highly, highly recommend it. Do be prepared for a bit of a slower pace and lots of description, though. I enjoyed that for the most part, as it made me feel like I was actually there and really brought Tambilla, Darling House, and even our brief time in London to life. I know some reviewers have found that irritating though, so thought I’d add the warning here.
Now I’m off to read more Kate Morton!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced