On a blazing hot Christmas Eve, the unthinkable happens to the Turner Family on the banks of the pond on their sprawling estate in Adelaide Hills, Australia. The police investigated, but no one wanted to believe their conclusion. Sixty years later, Jess is a newly unemployed journalist desperately seeking a story worth publishing. When she learns of her grandmother’s accident she races home to Sydney. It seemed impossible her vibrant grandmother looked so old and confused. Something Nora said from her hospital bed was stuck in Jess’s brain. A family secret she couldn’t leave alone. She connects the dots, puts her journalism skills to work, and tries to bring light to that terrible late afternoon in 1959. As the story unwinds, and the pieces fall into place, the true tragedy becomes known.
Kate Morton has a way of storytelling and world-building, that obscures the truth behind little hints along the way. She’ll wait until the reader feels like they have an idea of what is going on, then she changes or reveals a small detail and suddenly everything is upside down again. The murder mystery part of the story is a great example. The reader is thrown in different directions as each suspect is presented and dismissed. Jess’s part of the story did take a long time to develop. I didn’t quite understand what her motivation was at first, but through the stories she tells about her childhood and her absent mother I came to a much clearer picture in the end. As usual, I had no idea who the true murderer was until the end and even then, I had a tough time accepting it. Jess’s story is left open, giving the reader a chance to end the story for themselves.
I loved this book. The tragedy on Christmas Eve changed the trajectory of every member of the family. The secrets nearly took them down, but in the end, those who remain are left to tell their truth. I recommend this book to readers who loved The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly, What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg, and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.