Review: The Lake House by Kate Morton

The Lake House by Kate Morton
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date:10/20/2015
Genre: Literary Fiction / Mystery
Goodreads ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Amazon
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 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. {Goodreads}

I dearly love a book that alternates between the past and present, and Kate Morton is the master. She gives you just enough information to keep to story moving forward and keep you wanting more. Just when you think you are about to get the clue that will break the case, you are sent back in time or flung into the future and hanging on for more!  The past and present story lines are seamlessly blended together at the end to give you the answers you've been looking for with a lovely twist thrown in for fun.

The Lake House brings together the past of a mystery writer protecting a secret and the present of a detective constable trying to salvage her career and future. Both women are trying to reconcile with the consequences of their actions and assumptions. They have many similarities and yet are so different. Both of the women have stories that tug at your heartstrings and help you understand why they won't give up - in the tenacity to solve a mystery and determination to keep their secrets close.

It took me awhile to warm up to Sadie. She seems to think she's above certain consequences and has to come to terms with a broken past. her personality is such that you have the urge to reach through the pages to give her a good shake. As she gains some distance from her actions in another case that resulted in her suspension, Sadie is able to get her feet back under her and move forward as she comes to terms with her past.

I want to be like Alice when I'm elderly. She's a spit-fire woman who has high expectations of herself and everyone around her. Like Sadie, she is wrestling with a painful past and is carrying a burden than what one person can manage. As Alice and Sadie develop a relationship, they help each other come to terms with the skeletons in their closets and move into bright futures.

I had several moments while I was reading when I paused to take in Morton's writing. Her style is amazing and so enjoyable - it's a perfect example of why I love to read so much.