The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins

The Blue Hour opening lines: The moon woke me, bright and close. It shed such a strange light over the sea, a dark kind of daylight, like looking at the negative of a photograph.

My blurb:

Grace was the most loyal friend, and companion to Vanessa. An artist who created amazing pieces in all forms. But when Vanessa died, she left only the old house on Eris Island to Grace. The rest was bequeathed to her ex-lover and meant-to-be exhibitor. But Grace knows if she lets everything go to Fairburn, her truths will come out. And that she cannot have.

The Blue Hour

Eris, an island with only one house, one inhabitant, one way out. Unreachable from the Scottish mainland for twelve hours each day.

Once home to Vanessa. A famous artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared twenty years ago.

Now home to Grace. A solitary creature of the tides, content in her own isolation.

But when a shocking discovery is made in an art gallery far away in London, a visitor comes calling.

And the secrets of Eris threaten to emerge . . .

My verdict:

This book did not hook me the same way The Girl On The Train did. I enjoyed reading about the process of her art, as my grandmother was an artist. But I found the rest of the book to be just above average. Grace turned out to be exactly who I thought she was. And only the ending left me wanting another page to turn.

About the Author:

Paula Hawkins worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning her hand to fiction. She lives in London. The Girl on the Train is her first thriller. It is being published all over the world and has been optioned by Dreamworks.

Read an extract:

In the chastening chill of a dazzling October morning, James Becker stands on the footbridge, hip hitched against the handrail, rolling a cigarette. Beneath him, the stream runs black and slow, the water close to freezing, oozing like treacle over rusty orange stone. This is the mid-point of his daily commute, which takes a full twelve minutes from the Gamekeeper’s Lodge, where he lives, to Fairburn House, where he works. Fifteen minutes if he stops for a smoke.

continue reading …

Publishing information:

Penguin Random House South Africa sent me this novel to review.

See the links below for blog posts I published on December 15:

• 2022: Seafood Paella
• 2021: Rudi Blaauw Interview
• 2019: The Rosie Result
• 2017: Extruded Pasta
• 2014: Blueberry Cake
• 2013: My Husband Next Door
• 2012: Chilli Cheese Maize Bread
• 2011: Ostrich Fillets With ClemenGold Juice
• 2010: Cranberry and Cointreau Ice Cream

I am on leave and this will be the last review for 2024. I hope you have enjoyed my musings about what I have read throughout the year.

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