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The Distant Hours
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Product Description
Review
'A cleverly crafted and beautifully descriptive novel.' --Choice
'Morton's writing has enough atmosphere, intrigue and, whisper it, intelligence for The Distant Hours to wheedle its way into the most cynical of hearts...The Distant Hours proves there will always be a readership for melodramatic tales of family intrigue - and Morton is adeptly carrying that tradition into the 21st century.' --Metro
'Morton (The Forgotten Garden) has quickly established herself as a master of modern gothic, producing complicated and completely satisfying historical mysteries. Her third novel solidifies her dominion... Featuring a fresh and thrilling gothic mystery, cinematic storytelling, and fully developed characters who possess layers of deliciously surprising secrets, this complex story is developed at a leisurely but compelling pace that keeps readers hooked. Recommended for a wide readership, including mystery lovers and historical fiction fans.' --Library Journal
'Kate Morton's clever and compelling new novel is yet more evidence of her place in both the bestseller charts and the hearts of her readers. In this atmospheric and evocative tale of a daughter's journey into her mother's past, a long-lost letter leads Edie Burchill to Milderhurst Castle in Kent and a forgotten world... An intriguing and beautifully observed story.' --Lancashire Evening Post
'Kate Morton's stunning new novel will not disappoint' --Best Magazine
'A page-turner of mystery and suspense.' --ASOS magazine
'In this, her third book, Morton writes in her usual engaging style, taking the reader to the heart of the Blythe family, so that from wartime evacuations through to the machinations of modern-day publishing, you live through every twist and turn.' --Waterstones Books Quarterly
'Enthralling romantic thriller... will stun readers' --Publishers Weekly
'Shades of I Capture the Castle haunt Kate Morton's The Distant Hours as protagonist Edie is drawn into the past.' --InStyle
'A bewitching tale of family secrets and betrayal' --Good Housekeeping
'An absorbing and haunting read' --Woman & Home
'A dilapidated castle, aristocratic twins, a troubled sister and a series of dark secrets cast a whispery spell in Morton's third book' --Marie Claire
'A fascinating family saga . . . I adored this book - and was - literally - unable to put it down. There were echoes of Daphne du Maurier, of Victorian novels, and of Ian McEwan's Atonement' --Irish Examiner
'A nuanced exploration of family secrets and betrayal, Morton's latest is captivating' --People magazine
'The Distant Hours is an ambitious book from popular Australian novelist Kate Morton... Milderhurst Castle is as enchanting to the reader as it is to Edie and her mother'
--Daily Express
'At its centre is Edie Burchill, an editor at a small publishing house, who is surprised to discover that her mother was once familiar with the Blythes, a famous dynasty of writers and artists. Intrigued, Edie begins to investigate the connection, and is drawn into the mystery surrounding the family and its peculiarly dark history.' --Independent on Sunday
'Morton's writing has enough atmosphere, intrigue and, whisper it, intelligence for The Distant Hours to wheedle its way into the most cynical of hearts...The Distant Hours proves there will always be a readership for melodramatic tales of family intrigue - and Morton is adeptly carrying that tradition into the 21st century.' --Metro
'Morton (The Forgotten Garden) has quickly established herself as a master of modern gothic, producing complicated and completely satisfying historical mysteries. Her third novel solidifies her dominion... Featuring a fresh and thrilling gothic mystery, cinematic storytelling, and fully developed characters who possess layers of deliciously surprising secrets, this complex story is developed at a leisurely but compelling pace that keeps readers hooked. Recommended for a wide readership, including mystery lovers and historical fiction fans.' --Library Journal
'Kate Morton's clever and compelling new novel is yet more evidence of her place in both the bestseller charts and the hearts of her readers. In this atmospheric and evocative tale of a daughter's journey into her mother's past, a long-lost letter leads Edie Burchill to Milderhurst Castle in Kent and a forgotten world... An intriguing and beautifully observed story.' --Lancashire Evening Post
'Kate Morton's stunning new novel will not disappoint' --Best Magazine
'A page-turner of mystery and suspense.' --ASOS magazine
'In this, her third book, Morton writes in her usual engaging style, taking the reader to the heart of the Blythe family, so that from wartime evacuations through to the machinations of modern-day publishing, you live through every twist and turn.' --Waterstones Books Quarterly
'Enthralling romantic thriller... will stun readers' --Publishers Weekly
'Shades of I Capture the Castle haunt Kate Morton's The Distant Hours as protagonist Edie is drawn into the past.' --InStyle
'A bewitching tale of family secrets and betrayal' --Good Housekeeping
'An absorbing and haunting read' --Woman & Home
'A dilapidated castle, aristocratic twins, a troubled sister and a series of dark secrets cast a whispery spell in Morton's third book' --Marie Claire
'A fascinating family saga . . . I adored this book - and was - literally - unable to put it down. There were echoes of Daphne du Maurier, of Victorian novels, and of Ian McEwan's Atonement' --Irish Examiner
'A nuanced exploration of family secrets and betrayal, Morton's latest is captivating' --People magazine
'The Distant Hours is an ambitious book from popular Australian novelist Kate Morton... Milderhurst Castle is as enchanting to the reader as it is to Edie and her mother'
--Daily Express
'At its centre is Edie Burchill, an editor at a small publishing house, who is surprised to discover that her mother was once familiar with the Blythes, a famous dynasty of writers and artists. Intrigued, Edie begins to investigate the connection, and is drawn into the mystery surrounding the family and its peculiarly dark history.' --Independent on Sunday
Product Description
From the international bestselling author of The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden comes a brand new tale of love, mystery, betrayal and dark secrets . . .
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
96 of 104 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
What on earth went wrong with this book? Was there no editor involved? It is at least 100 pages too long, there is endless overlapping of plot and descriptions of rain and thunderstorms. Chapter after chapter underlining the terrible fate of the lost love of Juniper, and then this huge build-up towards the final revelation of what actually happened... and.... it all seems a bit of a damp squib. After all sorts of dark references to the Father and his power over the 3 sisters, any suspense just fizzles away into the muddy moat.
Yes, there is some lovely descriptive language along the way, but SO much repetition, and so many allusions to other classics - Great Expectations, Rebecca, I Capture the Castle, and of course, the author's own first two books.
In the end, after days of struggling to reach the end of this heavyweight tome, I felt like throwing it across the room. So many words for such a small outcome.
Yes, there is some lovely descriptive language along the way, but SO much repetition, and so many allusions to other classics - Great Expectations, Rebecca, I Capture the Castle, and of course, the author's own first two books.
In the end, after days of struggling to reach the end of this heavyweight tome, I felt like throwing it across the room. So many words for such a small outcome.
98 of 107 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've been blissfully absorbed in this haunting, Gothic tale for the past four days. The dual timeframe/buried secrets style is a bit of cliché now, but when it's done well (like this), I'm hooked.
The story follows publisher Edie Burchill's quest to find out exactly what happened when her mother Meredith was evacuated to Milderhurst Castle during WW2. By co-incidence (or is it?), Edie's favourite childhood book, the dark, mystical True History of the Mud Man, was written by the owner of Milderhurst, Raymond Blythe, and Edie's journey brings her into contact with Raymond's daughters; twins Persephone and Seraphina and their younger sister Juniper.
The twins - dour, practical Percy and meek, kind-hearted Saffy - are wonderfully eccentric in both the wartime and contemporary (1992) threads. The ethereal, damaged Juniper doesn't make much of an impression until about halfway through the book when her tragic story is revealed. Along the way Edie unravels tales of lost love, frustrated amibition, madness and murder. The pace really builds up in the second half of the book, leading to a stormy, rain-soaked denouement in which all the loose ends are tied up very neatly.
This wonderfully atmospheric story has all the right Gothic ingredients for me - books, twins, lost letters, family secrets/betrayal and a dilapidated country house with secret passageways and batty relatives in the attic. I've loved all three of Kate Morton's books now, can't wait to see what she comes up with next. I'd recommend this one to fans of The Thirteenth Tale as I think it fills the gap very nicely while we wait (and wait) for Diane Setterfield's next book.
The story follows publisher Edie Burchill's quest to find out exactly what happened when her mother Meredith was evacuated to Milderhurst Castle during WW2. By co-incidence (or is it?), Edie's favourite childhood book, the dark, mystical True History of the Mud Man, was written by the owner of Milderhurst, Raymond Blythe, and Edie's journey brings her into contact with Raymond's daughters; twins Persephone and Seraphina and their younger sister Juniper.
The twins - dour, practical Percy and meek, kind-hearted Saffy - are wonderfully eccentric in both the wartime and contemporary (1992) threads. The ethereal, damaged Juniper doesn't make much of an impression until about halfway through the book when her tragic story is revealed. Along the way Edie unravels tales of lost love, frustrated amibition, madness and murder. The pace really builds up in the second half of the book, leading to a stormy, rain-soaked denouement in which all the loose ends are tied up very neatly.
This wonderfully atmospheric story has all the right Gothic ingredients for me - books, twins, lost letters, family secrets/betrayal and a dilapidated country house with secret passageways and batty relatives in the attic. I've loved all three of Kate Morton's books now, can't wait to see what she comes up with next. I'd recommend this one to fans of The Thirteenth Tale as I think it fills the gap very nicely while we wait (and wait) for Diane Setterfield's next book.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book in hardback, because I couldn't wait for the paperback to come out. What a mistake! I tried three times to get into the story, but failed and decided it just wasn't worth bothering anymore. I agree with others who have said that it is a seriously tedious book! It goes on and on forever, pages and pages of nothing but descriptions. No dialogue, no intrigue, nothing! I have read "The forgotten garden" and "The House at Riverton" both of which I really enjoyed, and I was so looking forward to getting stuck into "The distant hours", but unfortunately it was just one big disappointment!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Easy to get lost in it..
I read The House at Riverton a few years ago and really enjoyed, so was confident I'd enjoy The Distant Hours just as much. I wasn't wrong! Read more
Published 1 day ago by Mrs. N. Millican
A natural-born storyteller
Edie Burchill has never been close to her mother Meredith, who was evacuated from London to Milderhurst Castle in Kent at the beginning of WWII, where she stayed with the three... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Petra Bryce
excellent reading
A great book in true Kate Moreton style!! I only started it a week a go and i'm three quarters through, finding it hard to put down
you lose yourself in her books, they are a... Read more
you lose yourself in her books, they are a... Read more
Published 8 days ago by winky
Kate Morton has done it again!
Being a devout Kate Morton fan, I couldn't wait to get my hands on yet another of her brilliant books to indulge in for a few hours; and I wasn't disappointed (unlike some of the... Read more
Published 11 days ago by BookLoverUk
Dull and long winded!!
I've read The Forgotten Garden and The House and Riverton and was hopeful with this book. Was I wrong. Sooooo long winded and cliche ridden. Read more
Published 19 days ago by yogabunny
Deeply engrossing
When I read the back of this book I couldn't wait to start it but thought it would have to b good to keep me interested for 600 odd pages! Read more
Published 20 days ago by laughingladywales
The Distant Hours
Did not want to finish this book as it was so captivating. It kept you guessing right till the end. Highly recommended as are all of Kate Norton's previous novels.
Published 1 month ago by JACKIE WILKINSON
Gasping
This book was a lovely 'sit on the edge of your seat' page turner. The sisters in the big castle mumbled and muttered between themselves about the past, very mysterious, an event... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sue
Easy read with a few twists
Having read and enjoyed the forgotten garden I bought this one too and really enjoyed it. It is clear that Kate has a common thread and style of writing but one in which, although... Read more
Published 1 month ago by surfergirl
A bit of a slog to finish
I suppose my feelings about this book could be summed up by saying that when I was halfway through it my latest Amazon order arrived and I actually considered putting it down and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Expat
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