With the words, “Don’t come back until you’ve got yourself sorted,” ringing in her ears, Sadie Sparrow left London and her job as a detective in the police force, to visit her grandfather in Cornwall. Those words, spoken by her partner Donald, were both a warning and a plea, because this time Donald might not be able to cover up the mess she had made. She had been making a lot of mistakes on the job recently, but this one, leaking information to the press implying that the police might have botched their investigation on the disappearance of a young woman, was beyond the pale. And that was why, with the press in a feeding frenzy, Donald had warned her that for her own sake and his she needed to go away and stay away.

With her mind filled with remorse and confusion over what she had done, Sadie decided to take her grandfather’s dogs for a run, and didn’t notice until it was too late that one of the dogs had wondered off into the woods. Trying to find the dog, Sadie comes into a clearing with an old, rather elegant, abandoned house.  With a lake in front and some over run gardens, it is clear that the house was beautiful in its time, but that had been a long time ago.  When she returns to her grandfather’s home she begins to ask questions about the house on the lake and the people that lived there.

Sadie’s interest and questions about the house on the lake eventually lead her to Alice Edevane, a mystery writer of some repute,who has been carrying a secret for many years regarding the disappearance of her younger brother, Theo. As the mystery begins to unravel, neither Sadie or Alice could have anticipated what it would reveal

Kate Morton writes about the complex nature of women with a clarity and empathy that is often missing in contemporary fiction. Her characters are always sharply delineated, with their own motivations, and characteristics. Her characters span generations, which is also unusual, and older woman like Alice are portrayed sympathetically as complex, smart people who act their age without being a caricature. The plot was quite complex and Sadie’s story line and Alice’s story line although separate became intertwined in a way that was most satisfying and with an ending that was quite surprising!

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Lauren, Marian and Sharon

Book Study Worthy? sure

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