Review: The Story Keeper by Kelly Rimmer

The Story Keeper

by Kelly Rimmer

Release Date: July 21, 2026 (First published July 30, 2025)

2026 MIRA

Ebook ARC; 352 Pages

ISBN: 978-1525805110

ASIN: B0CW1JH195

Audiobook:  ‎ B0D3RPCN1P

Genre: Fiction / Historical / Mystery 

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

In the aftermath of a tumultuous year, Fiona Winslow finds solace in the decaying grandeur of Wurimbirra, the rambling family estate she once called home. Intent on restoring it, she discovers the keys to more than just the dilapidated mansion—beneath the crumbling plaster and dust are secrets that have been buried for a generation.

When a curious book, The Midnight Estate, catches her attention in her late uncle’s library, Fiona is plunged into a tale that mirrors her own—a story of love, loss and betrayal. But as the lines between fiction and reality blur, Fiona must ask herself: Is the true mystery the one hidden within the walls of her ancestral home, or is it within the pages of a book that chose her as much as she chose it?

 

My Thoughts

The Story Keeper definitely had a premise that I have fascinating for over forty years, but this one lost its fizzle and oomph around the forty percent mark and I had to push myself to push through towards the end. It's too bad as it had everything that I like in a story including an old house, a mystery, a story within a story, a strained relationship between mother and daughter, a woman trying to figure out what she wants in life after divorce, and secrets, lots of secrets. And while I didn't mind the predictability of the story as you could see where this was going quite early on in the book, the execution fell flat for me, particularly about half way through.

 

I didn't really know what to think about Fiona as a character as I don't think her character development was particularly strong, one-dimensional at best. She had just come through a divorce, a nasty one from the sounds of it, but I found it difficult to empathize with her situation because the writing style didn't really make me feel like I could empathize with her too much.  Yes, she had a complicated relationship with her mother and it was only at the end of the story that I actually felt a stirring of compassion for the two of them as the 'secret' was revealed and Fiona finally understood a bit about what her mother went through. But still, as I think about her character, I can't really come up with too many adjectives to describe her.  Was she determined? To a certain extent, I guess. However, the best I can come up with is that she is bland. There just wasn't enough detail or context about Fiona to develop an idea about her personality for me to even think I have a handle on her personality.

 

The plot was interesting until perhaps about the forty percent mark even though it was predictable and I could easily sense where it was going.  However, the predictable part was not the problem as I can live with that; it's the fact that the details around the house, the secondary characters, the past, and other important things were noticeably missing as the story progressed and to me, this is more of an execution issue. I didn't have an issue with the story-within-a-story trope as I thought it was interesting and I did think the way the author highlighted the difficulties of spousal abuse in the 1950s was well done and quite accurate, but again, it lacked emotional depth.  

 

Verdict

The Story Keeper is not my favourite book from this author, but it was an okay read. I thought both the plot and the character development were one-dimensional and flat and the pacing was a bit uneven. I did like the descriptions of the house however, and I liked how the author highlighted the themes of generational trauma as well as abuse as they were well done.  Overall, this book had a lot of potential, but the uneven execution and the lack of character development did not really do it for me.