Kate Morton is an Australian-born author whose sprawling and intricately plotted novels tend to center around mysteries and secrets that shroud a house or family, the consequences of which ripple across time. After pursuing college studies in English literature and Victorian tragedy in both London and Australia, Morton turned to writing. As of 2023 she has published seven novels, all of which have been bestsellers, beginning with her debut, The House at Riverton (2006). Riverton establishes many of the elements that Morton has used successfully in subsequent books, including the dual-timeline narrative, love triangles, a shocking murder at a country house, and a preoccupation with World War I and II in Britain.

Morton’s books are often concerned with the impact of a crime or an accidental death not just on the victim or witnesses, but also on the perpetrator. The House at Riverton, for instance, features an older protagonist, Grace, who as a young maid at a country house in Riverton observes a complicated love affair between two sisters and a poet suffering shell shock after World War I. Grace tells a small lie that precipitates a shocking murder, and she wishes to exculpate her guilt before her death.