The Distant Hours (2010)

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

How could I not choose to read a book whose cover jacket compares the author's storytelling to Ian McEwan's Atonement and Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind?

If someone accused me of reading romances, I would inwardly bristle. On the other hand, it is quite apparent that I love Gothic tales and what are they if not stories of thwarted romance?

Kate Morton's epic literary mystery is spurred by a letter mailed in 1941 and delivered in 1992. It tells the story of the secrets of Milderhurst Castle as they are discovered by the daughter of a woman who was evacuated as a child from London during the war and chosen by the Blythe family to live with them in the castle.

There is some truly lyrical writing that draws you in and hints at the truth you are led to suspect. The ending turns out to be a surprise but not unexpected on reflection.

Kate Morton has two other books: The Forgotten Garden and House at Riverton, which are now on my growing list.

View all my reviews

Atonement (2001)

I bought the trade paperback edition of this book on an impulse the last time I was in my local independent bookstore. I had wanted to see the movie and never got around to it.

Have you ever noticed it is sometimes hard to change your rhythm of reading? If you have just finished a thriller, a novel can be hard to relax into. I had that initial concern with Atonement, but it didn't last long. Once I was seduced by the lush details and became involved in the lives of the Tallis family, I couldn't put the book down. There isn't a false step in the plotting and execution of this memorable story.