LemuriaBooks

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton, 2008, Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, $24.95

I loved this book! In fact after the first four pages, I was totally in love with the main character, Grace. In the present day(1999) Grace is ninety-eight years old and living in a nursing home. Grace once worked as a servant at the great English country manor, Riverton. In the summer of 1924 the family who owned Riverton held a midsummer's night affair that turned very tragic when a young poet shot himself...and Grace was a witness and she is the only person still living who knows the truth.

Grace is visited by a film director who has written a screenplay about the death of the famous poet and the family who owned Riverton. The young director starts asking Grace questions that makes Grace face memories that she had long ago decided to forget. In all the reminiscing of her life at Riverton and with the family, Grace decides to start making audio tapes for her grandson, so after she is gone the truth of what happened will not die with her.

This is Kate Morton's debut novel, and I was blown away with her characters and writing. The story has it all...mystery, family secrets, death, war, jealousy,
true love, passion and best of all...a haunting ending. If you like The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Settlerfield or The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, then you will definitely like this romantic, suspenseful tale.