Do you ever lose books? It doesn’t seem it was as easy to lose books when I bought physical books, since I could usually visualize in what bookcase and in what room I had shelved it, but since I went mostly digital, I seem to be “losing” books. The Distant Hours is just one example. According to Amazon, I bought this in 2011 and never read it!  Somehow through the years of updating my Kindle and then a couple of iPads, books are slipping through the digital cracks. I have now resolved to go back through my digital library to make sure there are no other books that I have lost, especially since The Distant Hours was such a great read.

Edie Burkhill, never knew much about her mother’s past, until her mother received an unexpected letter. The letter is from Milderhurst Castle where Meredith, Edie’s mother, was billeted as a child during WWII. It is also the home of Raymond Blythe, the author of The True History of the Mud Man, one of Edie’s favorite childhood books and one of the reasons she went into publishing.

Curious to know more about her mother’s past, especially since they have been recently somewhat estranged, Edie finds herself close to Milderhurst Castle one afternoon and decides to explore the castle and the surrounding countryside. With a bit of luck she is able to get a tour of the castle and its grounds and even meets the Blythe sisters, Persephone, Seraphina and Juniper. The moldering castle and its elderly sisters seem to be stuck in time unable to move forward or backward. Juniper, the youngest sister who never recovered from a breakdown she suffered when her fiancée titled her in 1941, is the focus of her sisters’ love and attention, while they try and protect her from her fears and grief. But despite her fragile state, Juniper seems drawn to Edie, even calling her Meredith.

Intrigued, Edie begins to research Milderhurst Castle, the Blythe family and her mother’s past, slowly uncovering secrets that have resisted being discovered for many years.

Morton is an intriguing author, who asI have previously stated writes genre defying books. Not quite gothic, not quite romance with some mystery and horror mixed in, she likes to bend the rules and in the process creates stories that are about courageous and independent women. Her characters are portrayed sympathetically and realistically and draw you in to their way of thinking. Morton’s biggest strength, however, is her descriptions. Nuanced, yet full of detail, they place you in the story so that you can almost smell the moldering castle itself. If you haven’t read Kate Morton yet, then this is one you will enjoy as well as her many others, such as The Clock Maker’s Daughter,  The Lake House, and The Secret Keeper which I have reviewed previously.

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Lauren and Sharon

Book Study worthy? Sure!

Read in ebook format.