Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
A daughter refuses to let her mother take a grim secret to the grave. In 1961, Laurel, a teenager sulking in a treehouse, sees her mother kill a man with a knife intended for her infant brother's birthday cake. During the ensuing investigation, the police question Laurel, who leaves out a crucial detail. Just before her mother stabbed him, the man had said, "Hello, Dorothy. It's been a long time." Dorothy is clearedthe man is presumed to be a wanted pervert whom she killed in self-defense, and the Nicholson family life goes on as before, with Dorothy, husband Stephen and their five children enjoying life in their bucolic farmhouse. An early flashback reveals that Dorothy may have had a shady past, which induced her to flee London in 1941, at the urging of her friend Vivien, who was subsequently killed in the Blitz. In 2011, Dorothy is close to death. Laurel, now a famous actress in her 60s, embarks on a quest to learn the truth about the homicide. First, she learns that her mother's victim, Henry Jenkins, had once been a prominent writer who fell from grace. Flashbacks from Dorothy's POV and Laurel's research reveal that during the war, Dorothy, whose family was killed by German bombs, attempts to befriend her fellow war-work volunteer, the somewhat aloof Vivien, an heiress who was also orphaned when a car crash claimed her parents and siblings in Australia. But Vivien is married to the controlling, jealousy-prone Jenkins, an author who's also involved in intelligence work for the government. When Vivien inexplicably insults her, Dorothy assumes that slander from Vivien also caused Lady Gwendolyn, Dorothy's late employer, to deny her a hoped-for inheritance. Together with her fiance, the talented and sensitive photographer Jimmy, Dorothy plots revenge in the form of blackmail, threatening to give Jenkins evidence of Vivien's infidelity. Despite some improbable developments, the suspense mounts throughout, culminating in a shocking twist. Morton's finesse with family secrets increases with each novel.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
In 1961, 16-year-old Laurel Nicholson witnesses her beloved mother murder a strange man. It's not until 2011 as the now fragile mother celebrates her 90th birthday that Laurel attempts to learn the truth behind this shattering event, which she's kept secret. Time and viewpoint move from World War II London to rural England in the 1960s to 2011. Morton is particularly adept at rendering people and situations, which are never quite as they seem. Narrator Caroline Lee is brilliant; characters personify their time and place perfectly. Listeners may need to remind themselves that there is only one reader. VERDICT In addition to those who appreciate superior writing, family-saga and historical-fiction fans will find much here to enjoy.-Susan Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Australian Morton's (The Distant Hours, 2010) latest will appeal to fans of Daphne du Maurier, Susanna Kearsley, and Audrey Niffenegger with its immensely relatable characters, passion, mystery, and twist ending. Laurel Nicholson is a teenager when she witnesses a shocking crime: her gentle, kind mother, Dorothy, kills a man. It becomes a family secret that Laurel never divulges or tries to fathom until five decades later, when Dorothy is on her deathbed, and Laurel finds a photograph of her mother with an old friend, snapped back in 1941, when Dorothy was barely out of her teens. As Laurel begins to dig, her burning questions become, Who was Vivien Jenkins, and why was she once so important to Dorothy? With the narrative shifting between Laurel, Dorothy, Vivien, and Jimmy, a man who also profoundly affected Dorothy's life long ago, both reader and Laurel breathlessly hurtle into an astounding family secret that unfolds slowly and temptingly. Despite some loose threads and rather too leisurely pacing, this is likely to keep readers reading into the wee hours.--Trevelyan, Julie Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
In 1959 rural England, 16-year-old Laurel Nicholson sees a stranger walking up to her house. The stranger encounters Laurel's mother, Dorothy, and dies after Dorothy stabs him. Although in shock that her warm, imaginative, loving parent is capable of such violence, Laurel keeps the family secret. Many years later, as Laurel and her siblings gather to be with their mother in her final days, a photograph of Dorothy and another young woman in the early days of World War II triggers Laurel's curiosity about her mother's youth in London during the Blitz, and Laurel gradually uncovers her mother's secret. Flashbacks of Dorothy's life reveal the high emotions and rash actions that severely impacted her and the lives of those around her. Verdict Best-selling Australian author Morton (The Distant Hours) has written an absorbing tale of friendship, desire, and jealousy set against the turbulent backdrop of a country at war. Cleverly revealing more of each character's strengths and flaws as the layers of the secret are exposed, Morton's riveting novel startles the reader with an unexpected ending. Sure to be in demand by Morton's many fans. [See Prepub Alert, 5/15/12.]-Joy Gunn, Henderson Libs., NV (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.