This was my first Kate Morton book and I was entranced from the first chapter. Of course, how could an intricate, complicated tale told by a ghost and set in a centuries-old house in the English Cotswolds fail to captivate me?

The story weaves between several time periods from the mid-1800s to the present day, and includes many different characters-all of whom are connected in some way to this house with the ghost. There is a murder, there is a jewel theft, and a disappearance.

The atmospheric quality of the house is like a golden, summer afternoon. It feels languid and magical and dreamlike. You will be introduced to painters, models, photographers, street urchins who pickpocket for a living, historians, teachers, school girls, and more.

The writing is gorgeous--lyrical and unusual--and you will want to drink in every phrase.
If there was anything that I would say gave it a touch of imperfection, it would have to be the way she concluded the tale. Don't worry--you will find out how the ghost died, but there were facts that seemed too vague. The last few days when the artists were at the house seem a bit shrouded in mystery, but not so much that I couldn't enjoy the story overall. You will have to decide for yourself.

I definitely recommend The Clockmaker's Daughter and will be reading more of Kate Morton's books!

I tried really hard, but I could not get into this book. It seems like it wanted to be "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt, but didn't fully capture the emotion of that story. It was also a slow burn, but I'm sure that others will enjoy this book more.

The Clockmaker's Daughter is not an easy book to review. At first, I was completely confused by what kind of story it was and where it was going. It was a slow read with seemingly disparate storylines that I had to pay close attention to. Then, as I watched the storylines twist and turn and meld together, I was blown away. This is one of those slow reads that completely pay off in the end. As my first Kate Morton book, I was delighted by the beautiful writing. This is one of those books I want and need to reread several times in order to fully appreciate the story. I am looking forward to reading Morton's other works.

This book was downright amazing. Told over the span of multiple generations, it all comes down to one name: Birdie Bell. The book starts out with a group of artists who spend the summer at Birchwood Manor, hoping to be inspired. But at the end of the summer, one person is dead, one is missing and one's life is in ruins.

Then over a hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Windslow discovers an old leather bag with some unknown treasures inside. As she tries to figure out what they are and what they have to do with each other and possibly with her, you'll be on an adventure of a lifetime. This book is so fun, full of intrigue and mystery, and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This book was downright amazing. Told over the span of multiple generations, it all comes down to one name: Birdie Bell. 

The book starts out with a group of artists who spend the summer at Birchwood Manor, hoping to be inspired. But at the end of the summer, one person is dead, one is missing and one's life is in ruins. 

Then over a hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Windslow discovers an old leather bag with some unknown treasures inside. As she tries to figure out what they are and what they have to do with each other and possibly with her, you'll be on an adventure of a lifetime. 

This book is so fun, full of intrigue and mystery, and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't miss it!

Once again Kate Morton knocks it out of the park with her wonderful imagination and attention to detail. As with all of her stories, Morton takes readers on a journey that spans decades. She creates as intricate plot that has readers traveling from place to place, as they attempt to piece together the story she develops. In this book, Morton focuses on a flourishing art community, where secrets are long buried, Years later a missing items appears and the secrets that have remains hidden are brought to light. As with her all her stories you will be treated to mystery, intrigue and romance. I can't recommend this book enough! If you are a fan of Morton's other works, you will thoroughly enjoy this epic new novel!

I have to say I was a little let down by this book! I love historical fiction, and Kate Morton is one of those authors whose work is well known and loved by historical fiction readers, including myself.

This novel was incredibly slow, the characters remained illusive. Not my favorite of Morton's but I'll still be reading whatever she writes next.

Kate Morton is a fantastic author, so I knew I was in for a treat with this one (I mean look at that cover!!!) This book is definitely a bit of a slow build but is an incredible story with a wonderful ending. The writing was elegant and beautiful, the story (although it jumped around a bit - which I had been warned about) was a great one to uncover layer by layer.

DNF @ 15%

My track record with Kate Morton isn’t great, The Secret Keeper-5 stars, The House at Riverton-3 stars, The Lake House-DNF, and now another DNF. I’m drawn to her stories because I’m a huge fan of the dual timelines, the English settings she favors, and this one apparently included a ghostie mystery! Unfortunately, I hadn’t even gotten to 10% before I was bored and confused because I think I had counted 5 different timelines and I was having to bust out my post-its to keep notes on who’s who. I’d still love to revisit Morton’s earlier works that everyone highly recommends (The Forgotten Garden and The Distant Hours) and hope that it comes close to the entertainment I found in The Secret Keeper.

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Clockmaker’s Daughter is a rich and layered book about the malleability of time. This story jumps back and forth across several different points in time. Each character seems of equal importance, but we discover early on that the main character is the clockmaker’s daughter, Birdie. This is the story of her life and death, sometimes told by her in first person narrative and at others by the people connected to her across time. It is a story of love, loss, and the connection between people and places.

Kate Morton explores that which is impalpable—time, light, ghosts. In one scene Birdie attempts to capture light in a tin, only to discover that light (like time) is elusive. The Clockmaker’s Daughter binds together characters who have experienced loss, have their own ghosts they carry with them. Some of these characters are artists or photographers, forever trying to capture the intangible. Others have experienced the deep ache of loss and are attempting to fill it.

Ar the center of the story is a place, Birchwood Manor. Every single main character has experienced this place, and perceived it to be magical in some way. This place is what connects the characters through the threads of time.

Once these tangled threads have been worked through, Birdie’s story is complete and the confused muddle evaporates.

This is was a deeply moving, meaningful book for anyone who has experienced loss or felt an intense pull towards a particular place or person.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with a free galley to review.

4.5 ⭐️

I would read anything by Kate Morton. She is truly a master of her craft; when I pick up one of her books, I know I am in for an immersive, beautiful read. 'The Clockmaker's Daughter' is no exception. I loved it.

'The Clockmaker's Daughter' has the elements I've come to expect from Morton: complex characters; a detailed, historical backdrop; a bit of tragedy; a mystery at the heart of the story. The story and characters drew me in, and the mystery kept me reading late into the night.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of historical fiction, mysteries, ghost stories, or just beautifully written fiction in general.

Another fantastic title from Kate Morton and I have been recommending this book frequently to people who are interested in historical fiction and mystery or who have read other books by Morton. Thank you!

I'm always up for a new Kate Morton. I read this one at the beach this summer and found it so unlike her others—would you please hurry and read it so we can discuss? Set at an eerily charming home in the Oxfordshire countryside, the story follows two timelines, 150 years apart, linked by a priceless jewel—and one remarkable woman. I found this strikingly different from Morton's previous work, and would especially like to discuss the narrative voice, please.

A very classic Kate Morton book. Elegantly written with the flawless characters and beautifully executed. I loved it.

The layers of the plot keep it interesting without confusing the reader and muddying the waters. Taking place over multiple generations, the author has created a story that follows various narrators in the telling of how they saw the events leading up to and following a murder and theft. The characters are interesting and different, adding their own stories to the telling of the main one. Great book!

Kate Morton is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read every one of her books and given them all 4/5 stars. However, I could not even finish The Clockmaker’s Daughter. It might have been a case of the right book at the wrong time, but I think it had too many characters that were hard to keep track of. The plot was too spread out and convoluted for me as well, and I felt as if I needed to take notes to remember what was happening in each time period. I love Kate’s writing style and that remained the same, but I wish the story had been scaled back a bit. She still remains a must-read pre-order author for me, but this one just wasn’t for me. Oh well!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

Oh my goodness, what an absolute delight this book was. This was my first Kate Morton experience, and if it is indicative of her work then I’m in for a real treat with her backlist.

THE CLOCKMAKER’S DAUGHTER spans years, decades, generations. It consists of several separate stories that center around a country manor along the Thames, and that all tie together in one way or another. The two main stories (the anchors, if you will) are that of present-day Elodie, who feels drawn to beautiful Birchwood Manor the minute she finds an old photograph of it, and that of artist Edward Rutherford and his muse, his love Lily Millington, who inhabit Birchwood Manor one fateful summer.

This book was so exquisitely written, I savored each page and did not want it to end. Sometimes with books that contain many different characters and stories you don’t want to leave one and move on to the next, and some are weaker than others. I did not feel that way at all with this book. I loved each character I met, and while I didn’t want to leave them, I loved how their stories intersected and intertwined with each other. It’s a love story, a tragedy, a ghost story, a story of revenge and mystery. It has heartbreak and hope, and some of the most wonderful characters I’ve met in a long time. This ended up being a favorite of last year, and it will stick with me.

After repeated attempts to get into both the book and the characters, I found that I just had to put it away and move on to something else. I will not be providing further feedback or posting to any book site.
I do wish the author well, but for now, I will have to part ways with this book

Kate Morton gave herself quite a challenge with this book because of all the different story lines. But if anyone is up to the task of bringing it all together, it's Ms. Morton.

I will admit it took me awhile to get into the story. I was about 1/4 of the way in when there was the first connection between the past and the present. I remember thinking - oh, okay, now this is going to get good. I just had to find out how all the pieces of the puzzle were going to fit.

This is a book to be enjoyed slowly. No skipping or skimming allowed. Do not try to hurry, but savor every moment because at the end, you too may just think - magical.

My thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley.

I’ve read some of the reviews of The Clockmaker’s Daughter and I have to agree with those who said they were lost. I’m probably a bit different in that I don’t mind it too much if I find a book confusing, or I get a bit lost. In this case, I had trouble keeping up with all the characters. There is a lot going on, the story is told by different characters and in different time periods.

We meet our first narrator in 1862, who I believe is the Clockmaker’s Daughter, in the first chapter as she is talking about an outing at Birchwood Manor. Edward is an artist and he is painting a portrait of her. She is talking lovingly about the house. The house that she still inhabits.

Then we jump to the summer of 2017. We meet Elodie Winslow. Elodie works at cataloging antique finds and archiving them. While going through an old box, she discovers a leather satchel. In it is a photograph of a woman in clothing from the 1800’s and a sketchbook. In the sketchbook is a drawing of a house. The house looks just like a house that was in the bedtime stories that Elodie’s mother told her.

From there on, the story unfolds. The events that happened back in Edward’s time, a jewelry theft and a murder. While in the current time, Elodie sets out to find out as much as she can about the sketch and the woman in the photograph.

I admit, I was confused a lot of the time. However, the writing is beautiful and descriptive and it was fine to just go along for the ride.

I received an ARC of the book.