House at Riverton

Kate Morton's debut novel begins in the present day with the narrator, Grace, living out her finals days mainly within her own memories of long ago. As a girl she worked for a very well off, aristocratic family in England during the two world wars and holds to this day their secret for which she has told no one. As she is the only remaining living sole who knows what really happened on that fateful summer night in 1924 she has decided to finally share her secret.


Morton has the ability to so seamlessly intertwine decades that you are carried from the present day to the 1920's as though in one of Grace's own daydreams. Morton's storytelling abilities paint a picture of the Riverton House and all that happens inside it so vividly you feel as though you are right there in the 1920's with the characters. I usually can see the twist coming, but was caught totally unaware as this tale ends. One of the best endings I have read in awhile, not to say it is a happy one, but it does leave you breathless.

This is a definite must read and ranks high among my list of favorites along with her second book The Forgotten Garden (read more about Morton's second novel by clicking here).