My real name, no one remembers.
The truth about that summer, no one else knows.
In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe’s life is in ruins.
Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist’s sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.
Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?
Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker’s Daughter is a story of murder, mystery, and thievery, of art, love and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river, is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker’s daughter.
Kindle Edition, 512 pages
Expected publication:
October 9th 2018
by Atria BooksGenre: Historical Fiction
Kristine's Thoughts:
** I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!**
Kate Morton is one of my all time favourite authors. I have devoured all of her books and I was extremely excited to get an advanced copy of The Clockmaker's Daughter. It is because of this that it pains me to write what I am about to write.
I struggled quite a bit with this book. It took me days to get through it which has never happened with any of Morton's prior novels. Normally I would be so engrossed that I would not notice the passage of time. Instead I felt the clock ticking as I turned each page. I wouldn't say that the book was horrible but it was average at best and by far my least favourite of all of her books.
The Clockmaker's Daughter jumped back and forth between different time frames and different characters. It was told from the perspective of these many characters. This is a theme and style that I can normally get behind. In fact, I normally love it. In the case of this book however, I found it confusing at times and hard to keep track. There were many moving parts and a large cast of characters to keep straight. Almost too many.
The plot had some shining moments but I found it to be a little chaotic yet slow moving at the same time. I loved the idea of different people at different times in the same house. There were enough pieces that held my interest to keep me from putting the book down but it ran at a rather dull pace. By the time it started gearing up for the climax and the inevitable ending I had already figured out what was going to happen. There was no overwhelming shocker or surprise twist like I have enjoyed so much in her previous work.
The fact that I am a huge fan made it really hard for me to rate this book and I'm sure it has influenced it in some regard. I'm not sure which way though. Either my expectations were too high so I rated down or I love her books so much that I rated higher than it deserved. Regardless, I am still a big fan and I will still wait patiently for her next novel. I liked it well enough but I didn't love it.
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