Book Review The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Title: The Distant Hours
Author: Kate Morton
Publisher: Atria
Publication Date: November 9, 2010
Hardcover: 576 pages
ISBN: 978-1439152782
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

A long lost letter arrives in the post and Edie Burchill finds herself on a journey to Milderhurst Castle, a great but moldering old house, where the Blythe spinsters live and where her mother was billeted 50 years before as a 13 year old child during WW II. The elder Blythe sisters are twins and have spent most of their lives looking after the third and youngest sister, Juniper, who hasn’t been the same since her fiance jilted her in 1941.

Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother’s past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Milderhurst, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. The truth of what happened in ‘the distant hours’ of the past has been waiting a long time for someone to find it.

Morton once again enthralls readers with an atmospheric story featuring unforgettable characters beset by love and circumstance and haunted by memory, that reminds us of the rich power of storytelling.

My Review:

An astonishingly brilliant gothic narrative, dark, mysterious, and beautiful, The Distant Hours by Kate Morton is an absolute must-read book.   I had heard about Kate Morton and her books, but this is the first one I have read and I was so impressed by the beauty from Morton’s use of lyrical prose, vividly described details both present and past, coupled with her marvelous characters. I was truly engrossed and unable to stop reading.  The Distant Hours is a rather lengthy tome, which will capture the reader from page one and not let go and as the reader journeys with the characters, time will pass by without notice as the reader journeys deep into the Blythe sisters history as Edie works to unearth the secrets of the Milderhurst Castle.  Historical fiction, a gothic mystery and a love story, The Distant Hours does not disappoint.  I am officially adding Morton’s previous two books, The House At Riverton and The Forgotten Garden to my Christmas wish list since The Distant Hours took my breath away.  Beautiful, lyrical, mysterious and riveting, I cannot praise The Distant Hours enough and without reservation highly recommend The Distant Hours to every reader and gift giver alike.

About the Author:

Kate Morton, a native Australian, holds degrees in dramatic art and English literature and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Queensland. She lives with her family in Brisbane, Australia.

I received a complimentary copy of The Distant Hours by Kate Morton from Atria Books to review. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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