REVIEW: THE LAKE HOUSE, BY KATE MORTON

 

 

In beautiful Cornwall, Eleanor and Anthony Edevane live an idyllic life in a home they call Loenneth (Lake House). They met, fell in love, had one daughter, Deborah, and then Anthony went off to war. Eleanor got pregnant with Alice when he came home on leave. And after his return, two more children were born: Clementine and Theo.

All seemed lovely, and then came the Midsummer’s Eve party…a gorgeous event that seemed to signify all that was good. Until it wasn’t. That night, little Theo went missing.

The case went cold with no results. Seventy years later, Alice, in her eighties, is a best-selling mystery writer and living alone. She has held secrets close to her heart. But then she discovers that Deborah also has some secrets. Everything changes then.

Meanwhile, a young detective, Sadie Sparrow, is on leave from the police force after bad publicity from one of her cases, visiting her grandfather Bertie in Cornwall…and she stumbles upon the crumbling estate. Of course she has to investigate, and what she finds will change everything for her.

The Lake House is one of those rambling tales that moves back and forth, slowly filling in the blanks and giving us the intriguing details of the characters’ lives. The characters were each fascinating, and even those who seemed unlikeable at first glance became sympathetic, the more we know. As each character was introduced, from Constance to her daughter Eleanor and son-in-law Anthony, and then to Ben Munro, the gardener at Loenneth, we start to put the pieces together that form a cohesive story rich in details.

The house itself is like a character, with its own stories to tell. From the lush rooms to the secret tunnel, with the verdant gardens spreading around it, one can imagine only happiness within its walls. But sadness comes…and the house falls into disrepair. It would take decades before happiness returns. A lovely story that was impossible to put down, this one earned five stars!

*** My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.