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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
I LOVED this story. Kate Morton is completely gifted in the way she weaves mysteries.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Now that I’ve gotten to the end I am glad I finished but I almost gave up several times. It’s very long and has lots of details that I struggled to keep straight sometimes but I love her writing!
This is a story about unconditional love, hope, loss and surviving life's trails during one history's greatest battle. The story flowed seamlessly. As heart wrenching as it is in some places the story ends up being so redemptive. I loved the twists and turns. This is probably the best book I have read so far this year.
Wow! What an intricately woven web, with great characters!
Good summer book for relaxing. And, the ending...OH MY! I totally did not see that coming!
I really liked this book. It is rare when a book can surprise me and I thought I had the ending figured out but I was wrong! I was able to spot some of the smaller plot mysteries early on but the major one caught me off guard! I really like this author and her writing style of jumping back and forth between time periods.
Quote I liked:
"There was something about a book that inspired dedication and a swelling desire to possess it." pg 183
Quote I liked:
"There was something about a book that inspired dedication and a swelling desire to possess it." pg 183
First things first, I would like to start off by saying what an immense thrill this book was. Not only did the words flow together, but each chapter flowed consistently with one another. It was as if I was being drawn from one word to the next until there were none left.
Secondly, I would like to offer a book summary for those that might be interested in reading it.
The book starts off with the reader learning about Dorothy Smitham and her family’s life when she was but a child. It then goes on to explore details pertaining to Laurel Nicolson’s life (Dorothy’s daughter), and how she began searching for details relating to the mystery of the Nicolson’s family’s summer party crime. And eventually it relates all of Laurel’s findings back to the war era that engulfed her mother. In the meantime, it answers all the questions that were related to the fateful day of the crime while expanding on all the intricate details.
**4.9 STARS!** No doubt some of you will be confused with me giving an almost true 5-star review, as you know, no book can be perfect, yes? Well, yes and no. I found this book to be perfect in my eyes for more than one reason.
Firstly, it managed to enthrall me and drag me beneath its surface. Secondly, the book was very well written in terms of technical aspects. For example, the characterization that was used in this book was well done.
For those that might not know, characterization is usually composed of three characteristics, physical, mental, and behavioral (you can thank Ignasi Ribó for that information [source will be listed at the bottom of this review]).
At this point, if you have not read “The Secret Keeper,” then I highly recommend you do not read any further. The reason for this is because I will be highlighting certain aspects of the story to better show how well written this book is.
To start, I would like to focus on the physical aspect of Morton’s characters. We all know that it is natural for characters to age up and change in their physical appearance. And to be honest, Morton did not do as good of a job on this as she could have. My reason for bringing this up is because by the end of the book (which I read in the span of 3 days) I had completely forgot what the characters looked like. There was nary a description of their appearance aside from the brief descriptions provided in the beginning and middle. Not only was it the lack of description, but it was the fact that the given descriptions were hardly memorable, for if they had been memorable, I surely would have remembered what Laurel looked like. Am I not correct in saying that?
However, I would like to say that not all of Morton’s attempts at characterization were as flawed as the physical aspect. For instance, each character’s mental characteristic was thoroughly planned out. It was so planned out that the moment I found out about “Dorothy Smitham’s” true identity, I was utterly flummoxed. It made complete sense, the reasons behind her actions, and let’s not get started on how Henry Jenkins physical abuse would have affected “Dorothy’s” mental state.
Keeping track with mental characteristics, we can move on over to Laurel’s relationship with her brother Gerry. The fear of having made a mistake in which you and your brother might never have the same relationship ever again is a true fear, it’s no wonder it plighted Laurel as bad as it did. However, through this we were shown how far Laurel would go to straighten things out with her brother only to find out that it was one huge misunderstanding. We also got to see exactly how Gerry’s mental state was, someone who is completely fixated on their research that they forget to have their phone fixed (if you don’t remember, his phone had been beeping with a red light indicating an issue, but he never had it taken care of).
I feel (even though all my professor’s have told me that feelings have no place in the realm of writing unless it is for an autobiography or some other form of life writing. But I feel that my feelings have earned a place in my book review) … So let me restart. I FEEL that I have given enough evidence in terms of mental characterization for people to realize how well Morton wrote her characters. I might even say that she wrote it exceptionally well.
Without further ado let us turn our attention to the behavioral aspect of characterization. To give a better understanding of what I mean (or rather what Ignasi Ribó means) by behavioral characterization, I would like to give a brief explanation on the matter. It essentially represents the reasons and choices behind why one acts the way they do. So, with that out of the way, let us begin our examination.
When looking at the choices that Dorothy Smitham made during the course of her life (before becoming the new Dorothy Smitham that is) one can see that the reasoning behind her choices, actions, and ultimately her behavior is recognition, it was simply the desire to be known, not just simply exist, no, the desire to be something more than she ever could have dreamed of being. Which ultimately spelled out her demise and the loss of her so-called true love. The same goes for Vivian and her actions. We know quite clearly why Vivian decided to become Dorothy Smitham. It was the hope and want of escaping her abusive husband before it was too late.
I feel as though I may have written more than what was actually needed, but I hope that through this elaborate explanation to do with characterization, you have been able to see why I feel so strongly about “The Secret Keeper.”
Source for Ignasi Ribó: https://iu.pressbooks.pub/prosefiction/front-matter/preface/
Secondly, I would like to offer a book summary for those that might be interested in reading it.
The book starts off with the reader learning about Dorothy Smitham and her family’s life when she was but a child. It then goes on to explore details pertaining to Laurel Nicolson’s life (Dorothy’s daughter), and how she began searching for details relating to the mystery of the Nicolson’s family’s summer party crime. And eventually it relates all of Laurel’s findings back to the war era that engulfed her mother. In the meantime, it answers all the questions that were related to the fateful day of the crime while expanding on all the intricate details.
**4.9 STARS!** No doubt some of you will be confused with me giving an almost true 5-star review, as you know, no book can be perfect, yes? Well, yes and no. I found this book to be perfect in my eyes for more than one reason.
Firstly, it managed to enthrall me and drag me beneath its surface. Secondly, the book was very well written in terms of technical aspects. For example, the characterization that was used in this book was well done.
For those that might not know, characterization is usually composed of three characteristics, physical, mental, and behavioral (you can thank Ignasi Ribó for that information [source will be listed at the bottom of this review]).
At this point, if you have not read “The Secret Keeper,” then I highly recommend you do not read any further. The reason for this is because I will be highlighting certain aspects of the story to better show how well written this book is.
To start, I would like to focus on the physical aspect of Morton’s characters. We all know that it is natural for characters to age up and change in their physical appearance. And to be honest, Morton did not do as good of a job on this as she could have. My reason for bringing this up is because by the end of the book (which I read in the span of 3 days) I had completely forgot what the characters looked like. There was nary a description of their appearance aside from the brief descriptions provided in the beginning and middle. Not only was it the lack of description, but it was the fact that the given descriptions were hardly memorable, for if they had been memorable, I surely would have remembered what Laurel looked like. Am I not correct in saying that?
However, I would like to say that not all of Morton’s attempts at characterization were as flawed as the physical aspect. For instance, each character’s mental characteristic was thoroughly planned out. It was so planned out that the moment I found out about “Dorothy Smitham’s” true identity, I was utterly flummoxed. It made complete sense, the reasons behind her actions, and let’s not get started on how Henry Jenkins physical abuse would have affected “Dorothy’s” mental state.
Keeping track with mental characteristics, we can move on over to Laurel’s relationship with her brother Gerry. The fear of having made a mistake in which you and your brother might never have the same relationship ever again is a true fear, it’s no wonder it plighted Laurel as bad as it did. However, through this we were shown how far Laurel would go to straighten things out with her brother only to find out that it was one huge misunderstanding. We also got to see exactly how Gerry’s mental state was, someone who is completely fixated on their research that they forget to have their phone fixed (if you don’t remember, his phone had been beeping with a red light indicating an issue, but he never had it taken care of).
I feel (even though all my professor’s have told me that feelings have no place in the realm of writing unless it is for an autobiography or some other form of life writing. But I feel that my feelings have earned a place in my book review) … So let me restart. I FEEL that I have given enough evidence in terms of mental characterization for people to realize how well Morton wrote her characters. I might even say that she wrote it exceptionally well.
Without further ado let us turn our attention to the behavioral aspect of characterization. To give a better understanding of what I mean (or rather what Ignasi Ribó means) by behavioral characterization, I would like to give a brief explanation on the matter. It essentially represents the reasons and choices behind why one acts the way they do. So, with that out of the way, let us begin our examination.
When looking at the choices that Dorothy Smitham made during the course of her life (before becoming the new Dorothy Smitham that is) one can see that the reasoning behind her choices, actions, and ultimately her behavior is recognition, it was simply the desire to be known, not just simply exist, no, the desire to be something more than she ever could have dreamed of being. Which ultimately spelled out her demise and the loss of her so-called true love. The same goes for Vivian and her actions. We know quite clearly why Vivian decided to become Dorothy Smitham. It was the hope and want of escaping her abusive husband before it was too late.
I feel as though I may have written more than what was actually needed, but I hope that through this elaborate explanation to do with characterization, you have been able to see why I feel so strongly about “The Secret Keeper.”
Source for Ignasi Ribó: https://iu.pressbooks.pub/prosefiction/front-matter/preface/
Every time I read a book by Kate Morton, I wish it was the first time because then I wouldn't be tempted to call them formulaic. It is true that all of her books are historical mysteries and that the story jumps back and forth between different periods of time. But, each of her books is so unique and so fun that I love reading every one of them.
I loved reading The Secret Keeper because the characters were real, the setting was very interesting and the story was engaging. And, even though I thought I had figured out the zinger at the end, I hadn't really. It kept me guessing until the last.
I thought it was a great book. I'm looking forward to reading her next one.
I loved reading The Secret Keeper because the characters were real, the setting was very interesting and the story was engaging. And, even though I thought I had figured out the zinger at the end, I hadn't really. It kept me guessing until the last.
I thought it was a great book. I'm looking forward to reading her next one.
The book was a bit of a slow read for me, but I couldn't solve the mystery by myself. When reading books like this, I always try to solve the plot. In fact, the ending blew my mind. I thought the book was interesting, but the writing was a little hard for me to get into. Very good story line and I enjoyed the multiple POVs.
A VERY slow burn. The last 10 chapters are when it finally started to pick up for me. But those last 10 chapters I DID NOT see coming!