The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

NOTE: November is National Reading Month here in the Philippines; and in order to commemorate this great and enjoyable pastime, I've decided to showcase book reviews, and other related items, this whole month.  We'll return to my regular hodge podge of post-able topics after.  So sit back, relax, and let the reviews begin!  J
  
I collect Kate Morton books.  And that's saying a lot because even though I am a self-confessed voracious reader, I usually do not follow a particular author, preferring instead to purchase novels based on the content rather than the writer.   But with this particular scribe, I make an exception.  Simply put, her stories move me.  They make me think and engage me to the point that I lose track of time and find difficulty putting book down until I reach the final page.

And her fourth novel, The Secret Keeper, did not dissappoint.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Laurel is a well-known actress with numerous accolades under her belt.  But despite her success, she just can't shake out the memory of a crime her own mother committed years ago, one of which she was the only witness.  Her mother's illness, and eventual passing, forces her to return to her childhood home, where she relives the memories of years past, which in turn strengthens her resolve to finally make sense of her mother's previous actions.  (Read the full summary here at Amazon.com)


I have to be honest, there were certain pages in the book that well... bored me to tears, a first for me as I've never experienced that before when reading Ms. Morton's earlier works.  Some parts were dragging and a bit too long that by the middle of the novel, I was slowly losing interest and almost did not finish the book.  Aside from that, there were also some senses that left me utterly confused and scratching my head.  Case in point (SPOILER ALERT!), I still up to this time have no idea whether Laurel's "mother" was in fact friends with Vivien, another major character in the story, or she was just hallucinating.

I was, however, not disappointed.  Upon reaching the final chapters, I was riveted again.  And the ending?  Something I was not expecting!  I loved it!  It made me realize again why I love a Kate Morton novel.

So you can say, in the end, I'm still a huge fan and will be waiting with bated breath for her next work.  J