Summer may almost be over but a good book can be read at any time of the year. Kate Morton was one of those authors that you just happen to find because of some rare happenstance. In my case, I had opened my audible account and was looking for something interesting. I am the type of person that has to listen to a sample for a little bit before I decide if I want to listen to the book. The voice stood out to me right away. Caroline Lee has a very clear and lovely voice with the right hint of English accent. To me, her voice was the one I could imagine listening too for the 20 plus hours that the book was long.
It was not all about the voice, the book itself was enchanting. It was the perfect blend of mystery, history, and romance. This was just the first book I read. The Secret Keeper, the story of a 16-year-old who sees something she can't understand and it takes her whole life to unravel. The story is told from more than one point of view and more than one point in history. Distant hours tells the story of an old castle and the novel that came from its walls. It goes from current day to years in the past to share multiple stories.
The stories themselves are woven together with intriguing ease. Her stories transition from one character to another, from one point in time to another. The tale weaving its way through history. I have heard that some believe they are a slow start. I tend to disagree. The stories have enough intrigue from the start that they make you wonder. They pull on your curiosity.My favorite one is between the Lake House and the Secret Keeper. The stories are ones that I could never imagine but once you hear them they fall into place. It was after hearing the first novel Secret Keeper that I had to hear more of Kate Morton's stories.
A little research on Kate Morton and I found she was born in Australia and studied in London. She attributes her writing to her love of antiques that her mother instilled in her as an antique dealer. There are few writers who I would compare to the likes of Jane Austen. The beauty of the old English writing has seemed to fade away as modernity takes over. Kate Morton provides the much loved and much-missed style of writing. Perhaps it is because of my love of writers such as Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, and Charlotte Bronte that make it difficult to find a good book. I have tried many different authors just to get halfway done with the book and finish it for the sake of finishing it.
Kate Morton leaves the reader wanting more. Her books finish the story with a flourish. The entire thing wrapped up for the reader. It makes her books worth reading again and again. Any way you decided to read her books, be it audible or a hardback, enjoy a story you won't want to end.
