WELCOME TO ERIS - A SCOTTISH TIDAL ISLAND WITH ONLY ONE HOUSE, ONE INHABITANT,
ONE WAY OUT. . .
A place that is unreachable from the Scottish mainland for twelve hours each day. Once the hideaway of 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, Grace receives an unexpected visitor.
And the secrets of Eris threaten to emerge . . .
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The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins is published in hardback on 10 October 2024 by Doubleday. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.
I have read and reviewed all of Paula Hawkins' previous novels and really believe that she gets better and better with each book. There is an intensity to her writing that draws in the readers so steadily. There is no doubt that she takes risks in her writing, she is ambitious in her plots and with her characters, and for me, this really works.
I have read and reviewed all of Paula Hawkins' previous novels and really believe that she gets better and better with each book. There is an intensity to her writing that draws in the readers so steadily. There is no doubt that she takes risks in her writing, she is ambitious in her plots and with her characters, and for me, this really works.
Hawkins sets her story on Eris, an isolated island, off the coast of Scotland. Eris is cut off from the mainland for twelve hours each day and is the home of Grace.
Grace spent many years of her life caring for famous artist Vanessa, a woman whose work was surrounded by mystery and scandal. Not only was she a solitary, insular woman, she was also the wife of a man who was unfaithful to her, a man who mysteriously disappeared from Eris many years ago.
Grace guards Vanessa's memory and her remaining artefacts with a bulldog approach. However, these were left in Vanessa's will to the Fairburn Foundation, owned by a man who could be seen as one of Vanessa's arch enemies during her life.
Becker is the curator of the Fairburn collection, so far, they only have a few of Vanessa's works and are waiting for Grace to hand over the remains of the collection. One of the pieces that they do own is currently on show at Tate London, and when Becker is informed by Tate that it contains a human bone, he knows that he has to visit Eris, to find out more.
And so begins the strange and tumultuous relationship between Becker and Grace. Both of them are a little obsessed with Vanessa, but for differing reasons. Told in varying points of view, the reader learns more about Becker and his odd relationship with his employers. We see how various members of the Fairburn family treat him and how he struggles to really become part of the Foundation.
Meanwhile, the author cleverly interweaves snippets from Vanessa's own diaries and letters, spinning a whole other side to this incredibly atmospheric and twisty tale of regrets, revenge and lost love.
The Blue Hour is a slow burn of a novel, with characters who are perfectly created in a setting that sends shivers down the spine. Once again, Hawkins has produced an irresistible, gripping story that I was completely immersed in from page one.
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PAULA HAWKINS worked as a journalist for fifteen years before writing her first novel.
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Becker is the curator of the Fairburn collection, so far, they only have a few of Vanessa's works and are waiting for Grace to hand over the remains of the collection. One of the pieces that they do own is currently on show at Tate London, and when Becker is informed by Tate that it contains a human bone, he knows that he has to visit Eris, to find out more.
And so begins the strange and tumultuous relationship between Becker and Grace. Both of them are a little obsessed with Vanessa, but for differing reasons. Told in varying points of view, the reader learns more about Becker and his odd relationship with his employers. We see how various members of the Fairburn family treat him and how he struggles to really become part of the Foundation.
Meanwhile, the author cleverly interweaves snippets from Vanessa's own diaries and letters, spinning a whole other side to this incredibly atmospheric and twisty tale of regrets, revenge and lost love.
The Blue Hour is a slow burn of a novel, with characters who are perfectly created in a setting that sends shivers down the spine. Once again, Hawkins has produced an irresistible, gripping story that I was completely immersed in from page one.
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Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, she moved to London in 1989.
Her first thriller The Girl on the Train became a global phenomenon, selling over 23 million copies. Published in over fifty languages, it was a No.1 bestseller around the world and a box-office-hit film starring Emily Blunt.
Paula’s most recent thrillers, Into the Water and A Slow Fire Burning, were also instant No.1 bestsellers.
In 2021 A Slow Fire Burning was nominated for Thriller of the Year at the British Book Awards.
Her upcoming thriller, The Blue Hour, will be published around the world in October 2024.
Instagram @paulahawkins2020
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