Here is the synopsis on Goodreads:

Summer 1924

On the eve of a glittering society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again.

Winter 1999

Grace Bradley, ninety-eight, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet’s suicide. Ghosts awaken and old memories – long consigned to the dark reaches of Grace’s mind – begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge, something history has forgotten but Grace never could.

Set as the war-shattered Edwardian summer surrenders to the decadent twenties, The House at Riverton is a thrilling mystery and a compelling love story.

*** *** ***

This book counts for the following challenges:

If you follow this blog, you may remember how ecstatic I was at the reading of The Forgotten Garden in May. And Kate Morton has a brand new book coming out in October, The Secret Keeper, which I am currently reading, and it IS GOOD!

So it’s time to catch up with her other books I have not read yet. To do so, I’m organizing this read-along.

The book has 4 parts, about 160 pages each, so we are going to have a discussion on each part every Monday in November.

Here is the breakdown:

November 5:
Part 1: pp.3-167 [from ‘Ghosts Stir’ to ‘Until we meet again’, included]. Access the questions and answers here.

November 12:
Part 2: pp.171-335 [from ‘The Twelfth of July’ to ‘The Ball And After’ included]. Access the questions and answers here.

November 19:
Part 3: pp.339-448 [from ‘Catching Butterflies’ to ‘The Choice’ included]. Access the questions and answers here.

November 26:
Part 4: pp.451-593 [from ‘Hannah’s Story’ to the end]. Access the questions and answers here.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

• I’m glad I didn’t start reading Kate Morton with this novel, because I may never have read other books by her, and I loved so much The Forgotten Garden and The Secret Keeper. Can’t wait now to finally read the Distant Hours…
• But The House at Riverton was dragging for me: too many pages with too many secrets and hardly any clue for hundred of pages.
• I also thought there were too many characters: as things were getting confusing, I did a chart, and ended up with 70 characters, and I’m not even sure I didn’t miss any!
• I also found it too heavy, lacking of some positive outcome.
• One thing I enjoyed was tracking down common details between Rebecca and The House at Riverton. But really, who can beat Daphne du Maurier?
• I also discovered that hosting a read-along is hard work, and I didn’t get as much active participation as promised, so I don’t think I will host another read-along too soon. Maybe it would work better with a shorter novel.

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