Welcome back book clubbers, to another scintillating review!

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Do please take a seat and get comfy for we are travelling over a hundred years back in time to ye olde England, birthplace of the chip butty, Julie Andrews and (creator of) Paddington Brown, for a sweeping saga of love, mystery, romance and tragedy.

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The Shifting Fog by Kate Morton first made its way into the world 20 years ago to a rapt audience and remains lodged in the hearts of many for good reason. As a new reader to this stunning anniversary edition, I can see why this book remains a jewel in a crown of this author’s bestsellers.

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Told between two timelines, Grace, a 98-year-old woman and former archaeologist, recounts her life as a young maid in 1914 to a wealthy family and their grand home of Riverton Manor. Cursed by the limitations of their time, the upper-crust Hartford family were no strangers to drama and Grace, through her years in service, carries more than a few secrets. Her unspoken guilt concerning a horrific event keeps her mind chained to the past and, when approached by a filmmaker recreating the story onscreen, must decide whether to finally confess.

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Gradually emerging from the haze of time, Grace’s memories spark into vivid detail, transporting her to when she first met the Hartford sisters, Hannah and Emmeline, two both very different but strong-minded women, with whom one she would develop a deep loyalty to.

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As the years pass and the world shifts with the irrevocable changes of war, we move into the glitzy atmosphere of the 1920s where Grace is resettled in high society London as a lady’s maid to the newly married Hannah.

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Emmeline, not one to be left behind, embraces the endless wild parties with gusto, and causes more than a little friction when both she and Hannah encounter an old face from their childhood.

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Robert Hunter: tortured poet, reluctant Lord, river rat and thorn between two roses.

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As an unexpected love blooms, jealousy and an illicit affair ensue that threaten to be the end of more than just a reputation. The culminating events that Grace has little control over escalate into such a horrific disaster and scandal, she is forced to live with a lie that leads to the fall of the once illustrious Hartford family.

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Honestly, this book will appeal to those with a taste for the macabre (guilty!) because as pretty as she looks, The Shifting Fog cuts with a scythe.

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The more absorbed Grace becomes in her memories, however, the weaker her grip on the present, and there is a palpable desperation in her urge to find redemption before time is up.

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Written in the voice of a keen, sympathetic observer and (although by no means faultless) confidante, The Shifting Fog is a compelling and richly detailed story that I was utterly addicted to. Capturing such a fraught yet engrossing period in history, this book transported me like a TARDIS to a cast of endearing characters that both amuse and break your heart. Plus a few you wanted to slap.

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With so many elements working in harmony (like a trifle), this book is a veritable boon for anyone with a penchant for mystery, family drama, doomed romance, British history and aristocrats behaving badly.

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Five out of five Victoria sponge cakes.

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SIMILAR TITLES

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker’s Daughter is a story of murder, mystery and thievery, of art, love and loss.

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Homecoming by Kate Morton

The highly anticipated new novel from the worldwide bestselling author of The Clockmaker's Daughter, a spellbinding story that begins with a shocking crime, the effects of which echo across continents and generations.

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The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

The discovery of a long-lost letter reveals an old secret and the truth behind a woman's mysterious past in the best-selling novel from international publishing sensation, Kate Morton, author of The Shifting Fog and The Forgotten Garden.

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The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A woman on a quest to find out the truth about her family, a mysterious Victorian authoress, a book of dark fairytales and a long-hidden secret - The Forgotten Garden is another addictive and compulsively readable romantic mystery from Kate Morton, author of the international bestseller The Shifting Fog.​