GREAT READS

The Forgotten Garden

Kate Morton.

This fictional historical novel begins in 1913 with a 4-year-old girl hiding on a ship bound for Australia - alone. The story weaves back and forth through 100 years of the Mountrachet dynasty, from England to Australia and back again, as it unravels a mystery of a kidnapping.

I like Morton's light, descriptive writing which is easy to visualize. She portrays the key characters so that you understand them personally and join in their search for answers. However, just as I thought I had cleverly solved the mystery, new information would develop tossing my theory into doubt.

Each supporting character holds his/her own interesting dark secrets, regrets and insecurities, which in turn affect the three central women in this tale of relationships burdened with deception.

This book is over 500 pages, and although I believe the story could have been told in fewer pages, it did hold my interest to the very last page - I loved the ending. I need to mention that many insignificant characters are introduced throughout the story and may turn up again in other chapters, perhaps decades later, so it can become confusing at times trying to remember who is who, and oh, didn't I meet this person before? Still, it is an enjoyable read, especially if you like mystery, fairy tales, secret gardens, villains and heroes, romance and old English manors.

Recommended by Deanna Jenks