The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton #bookreview #tarheelreader #thrclockmaker #katemorton @atriabooks #theclockmakersdaughter #6bookbestiesclockmakersdaughter #6bookbestiesapproved

Happy Publication Day to the stunning, highly coveted book, The Clockmaker’s Daughter, by Kate Morton!

---

My Thoughts:

Told in dual storylines, the first is set in 1862. Edward Radcliffe, an esteemed artist, organizes a group of other young artists to holiday at Birchwood Manor on the Thames. Their objective is to laze away the summer among inspiration and exercising their creativity. What happens instead is a murder, a disappearance, and a missing heirloom. 

In the present, Elodie Winslow is an archivist living in London. She runs across two items that she cannot shake, a photograph of an alluring woman and a drawing of a house on a river. Somehow Elodie feels connected to these objects. But how?

I’m a fan of Kate Morton. It started with The Forgotten Garden and never ended. Her books are long, they are in rich in details, and it takes some time to wade through; but the experience is like wading through the most pristine, sheer tropical blue waters, enveloped in glorious details that enrich the story and do not detract or weigh down (or push back) the delight. 

It especially takes some time for the pieces of The Clockmaker’s Daughter to take shape and fall in line. But when they do, the pace quickens, and the story is as engaging as one would hope. It’s a murder mystery with wholesome and resonant themes of love and loss. Someone special, alluded to in the synopsis, witnessed all that has happened at Birchwood Manor over the years. She knows its harbored secrets and its most seductive love. The writing is insightful and unforgettable (many passages to highlight!). Will Birchwood Manor ever shed its shroud of secrets?

Thank you to Atria Books for the physical copy. I was absolutely elated to receive a copy in the mail! All opinions are my own. 

I read this sublime book with five book friends: Melisa, Holly, Berit, Mackenzie, and Kendall. What an experience it was! 

---

Synopsis:

A rich, spellbinding new novel from the author of The Lake House—the story of a love affair and a mysterious murder that cast their shadow across generations, set in England from the 1860’s until the present day.

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 Daughteris 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.

---

Check out these reviews by the other Book Besties:

Berit at Audio Killed the Bookmark

Holly at Dressed to Read

Mackenzie at PhDiva

Melisa at The Book Collective

---

Have you read The Clockmaker’s Daughter? Do you have a favorite read by Kate Morton? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR