Helpful Score: 3
THE LAKE HOUSE was the March 2016 pick in my online book club, The Reading Cove.
Considering her popularity, it's so sad to say it, but I've come to the realization that Kate Morton's writing simply isn't for me. :(
At nearly 500 pages, this mystery was one of the most plodding and monotonous stories I've ever read, with an ending so terribly contrived vs. clever that it's just...a shame. I just shook my head.
The dual narrative spans 70 years, with the present-day detective storyline feeling mostly like plot bloat. After previously reading THE SECRET KEEPER, I find that by and large her plotting is pretty elementary, although cloaked in rich, sweeping historical backdrops. I really think this will be my last Kate Morton book. Authors like Kimberley Freeman, Diane Chamberlain and even Emilie Richards are much more sophisticated with this style of storytelling.
So while the setting of THE LAKE HOUSE was quite gorgeously well established, the plot ultimately lacks intelligence and relies quite heavily on convenient coincidence to reach its resolution. C-
Considering her popularity, it's so sad to say it, but I've come to the realization that Kate Morton's writing simply isn't for me. :(
At nearly 500 pages, this mystery was one of the most plodding and monotonous stories I've ever read, with an ending so terribly contrived vs. clever that it's just...a shame. I just shook my head.
The dual narrative spans 70 years, with the present-day detective storyline feeling mostly like plot bloat. After previously reading THE SECRET KEEPER, I find that by and large her plotting is pretty elementary, although cloaked in rich, sweeping historical backdrops. I really think this will be my last Kate Morton book. Authors like Kimberley Freeman, Diane Chamberlain and even Emilie Richards are much more sophisticated with this style of storytelling.
So while the setting of THE LAKE HOUSE was quite gorgeously well established, the plot ultimately lacks intelligence and relies quite heavily on convenient coincidence to reach its resolution. C-
Helpful Score: 1
I have enjoyed every single one of Kate Morton's books, and The Lake House is no exception. Extremely few writers have Morton's knack for interweaving multiple storylines, time periods, and characters.
Throughout the entire book the Cornish estate of Loeanneth kept me spellbound, no matter the time period. From beloved home to neglected shell, Morton's descriptions held me in the palm of her hand because no matter the state of the place, Morton described a home that was loved, not hated. All that needed to be done was to have the secrets brought out into the light.
Young police detective Sadie Sparrow is the perfect character to bring those secrets to light. She is an absolute terrier at digging them up... although she has a secret or two of her own that she doesn't want to share.
Pitted against young Sadie is the much older and wiser Alice (A.C.) Edevane-- a strong character no matter the age at which Morton portrays her. We see Alice's parents falling in love, and we see Alice, her parents and siblings happily ensconced in Loeanneth. At the age of sixteen Alice is already writing novels. She's such a bright, inquisitive child, and so eager to become an adult. But her world comes crashing down around her after a party at Loeanneth. Hundreds of people attended, but only one cannot be accounted for: Alice's eleven-month-old brother Theo. The infant is never seen again, and the tragedy shatters the Edevane family.
The Lake House has so many interlocking secrets and so many possible solutions to what happened to Theo-- more than enough to keep all our little grey cells hopping. We learn about all these secrets as the time period swings to and fro naturally from present day to 1911, 1933, and 1941. Kate Morton has done it again: created a world, characters, and a story that kept me fascinated from first page to last.
Throughout the entire book the Cornish estate of Loeanneth kept me spellbound, no matter the time period. From beloved home to neglected shell, Morton's descriptions held me in the palm of her hand because no matter the state of the place, Morton described a home that was loved, not hated. All that needed to be done was to have the secrets brought out into the light.
Young police detective Sadie Sparrow is the perfect character to bring those secrets to light. She is an absolute terrier at digging them up... although she has a secret or two of her own that she doesn't want to share.
Pitted against young Sadie is the much older and wiser Alice (A.C.) Edevane-- a strong character no matter the age at which Morton portrays her. We see Alice's parents falling in love, and we see Alice, her parents and siblings happily ensconced in Loeanneth. At the age of sixteen Alice is already writing novels. She's such a bright, inquisitive child, and so eager to become an adult. But her world comes crashing down around her after a party at Loeanneth. Hundreds of people attended, but only one cannot be accounted for: Alice's eleven-month-old brother Theo. The infant is never seen again, and the tragedy shatters the Edevane family.
The Lake House has so many interlocking secrets and so many possible solutions to what happened to Theo-- more than enough to keep all our little grey cells hopping. We learn about all these secrets as the time period swings to and fro naturally from present day to 1911, 1933, and 1941. Kate Morton has done it again: created a world, characters, and a story that kept me fascinated from first page to last.
