Title: The Lake House

Author: Kate Morton

Narrator: Caroline Lee

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Jess

What could a police detective in 2003 possibly have to do with the case of a child who went missing in 1933? Apparently quite a bit. In her latest novel, The Lake House, Kate Morton takes two seemingly unrelated casts of characters and weaves them into a beautifully intricate web of mystery that immediately pulls the reader into the story.

Corwall, 1933: To the observer, the Edevanes are a model family. Anthony and Eleanor are devoted to each other and their children, Alice, Deborah, Clementine, and their infant son Theo. Poised, perfect in appearances, no one could have predicted the events that would happen at the Midsummer party. As the family and their guests celebrated, Theo Edevane mysteriously disappears from his cradle. There are no witnesses, no ransom demand, little evidence and the family leaves Cornwall with the case unsolved.

Cornwall, 2003: Sadie Sparrow is a London Police Detective “on leave” after a case became too personal. To escape London, Sadie has gone to visit her grandfather in Cornwall and stumbles upon Loeanneth, the Edevane family home, and it’s mystery. What begins as a mere curiosity becomes a full investigation as Sadie decides to find out what really happened to little Theo Edevane.

London, 2003: Alice Edevane is a prolific author of a series of mystery novels. Ordered, structured, her life is just as she likes it. Until a letter arrives from Sadie Sparrow causing Alice to remember parts of her life she’s tried desperately to forget.

Told in alternating timeline format, The Lake House glides back and forth through the memories and events of nearly ninety years and an equally expansive cast of characters. Twists and turns abound and readers (or at least this reader) will find it difficult to see how all the threads of the story connect until the end.

I’m admittedly a fan of Kate Morton’s novels and dual-timeline stories in general so I found the narrative fairly easy to follow. Readers who are not used to changing narrators and settings may find the novel awkward at first but I encourage you to stick with it. The Lake House is a wonderful story that will suck you in given the chance.

To any readers considering the audiobook–go for it! Caroline Lee has done a superb job with this tale. Her characterizations are spot on and lend an extra level of depth to the novel that can not be missed. I both listened to and read the Lake House, but towards the end I found myself waiting until I had time to listen rather than continue reading because I felt the narration added so much to the story telling.

More information about The Lake House and the rest of Kate Morton’s novels can be found on her website.

If you’ve already read The Lake House and would like to read more of Kate Morton’s works, I highly recommend The House at Riverton.

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