This is the first book in a series about the Black Death. The setting of Medieval England was very detailed and was meticulously researched. However, the characters has no depth to them. The plot also moves at a slow pace. It also ends abruptly. Despite these flaws, the series still seem
promising, and I’m still interested in reading the sequel.

It's 1348 and the plague has reached Dorsetshire, England. No one is prepared for how quickly the sickness spreads and soon whole villages are wiped out. In the estate of Develish Lady Anne is warned just in time and makes the decision to bring in all the serfs from the village behind the walls and quarantine the manor. Though her wisdom saves everyone's life, the new living conditions brings a new social order with it. With the bastard slave Thaddeus Turkell acting as her steward, Lady Anne's daughter Eleanor starts rebelling against the new ways, wanting to keep her status upheld.

As the people of Develish try to adapt to their new life, conflicts arise, as the boredom grows and the food stock slowly depletes. But how are they to know when it is safe to leave the safety of the walls without running danger of also catching the black death?

As I DNFed The Last Hours, the summary is based on what I read so far, which is about 60% of the book.

So, I really liked the first third of the book. I have a love/hate relationship with stories that describe the end of the world. I find them terrifying, but can't really look away either. The way the plague was introduced was slow. A character witnesses from afar as a village has less and less people walking around and suddenly many more graves. It's the kind of introduction to something terrible where you sit there yelling at the characters to run as fast they can. They never do.

In Develish Lady Anne is introduced. She is a very modern character, who believes more in hygiene and medicine than she does in god and befriends the serfs and slaves. Her train of thought is rational and she is a clever, independent woman. For this reason I was very sure that this was going to be a good read and had a good time for the first two hundred pages or so. But then it became more and more apparent just how one dimensional her character and everyone else’s was. Lady Anne is always wise, calm and just in general good human being without flaws, her daughter Eleanor is always the exact opposite. There is not a single scene when Eleanor is not a horrible person. Thaddeus is dark and brooding, the Father always drunk and definitely not a man of god. It is as if every character got assigned a tag-line "Lady Eleanor: spiteful, egoistical and hates everyone." and every scene is orchestrated so that the character can stick to this line.

The characters grow predictable quickly and with that also dull. At the same time nothing really happens. I read around a hundred pages in the middle, waiting for the story to continue, wishing for it, because I was bored. It started off strong and the premise sounded good, but nothing was happening. I pushed through it for a while, but I reached the point where I had to put it aside. It just wasn't worth it to try and read one hundred-ish pages to hope for something exciting to take place.

I want to thank MIRA books for presenting me with a free copy of The Last Hours in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book from Netgalley and I am so glad I chose it to download. The Last Hours is well-written and indicates a tremendous amount of research regarding the The Black Death and it's era. There are several primary characters and most of them were very easy for me to like and to root for. There were also a couple of characters that are almost totally despicable, only rarely deserving sympathy or pity. I enjoyed this historical fiction very much. I was actually sad when I finished reading because I wanted more. Hopefully, there will be another book to let us know what happens next. Even though it is my first book by Minette Walters it won't be my last. I highly recommend it and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Set in Medieval England during the time of The Plague, this work of historical fiction by Minete Walters is a joy to read. Walters describes feudal society well. Her detailed descriptions are engrossing. Life was drudgery for male & female serfs as well as for the female nobility. Her characters are compelling. The reader will cheer for Lady Anne and her high ideals just as her “subjects” do. Though I am not a historian, I do doubt that one such as Anne with her progressive ideas could have truly existed during this time period otherwise known as the Dark Ages. I look forward to reading Walters’ sequel so i may continue following the world she created.

*Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.*

4.5 stars rounded up

This is my first time reading the author's works and I can say I will definitely be continuing the series.

The Story~We follow the lives of Lady Anne and her serfs as they ride out the Black Death behind their walls. It doesn't sound that interesting, but I was so invested in what was going on. I never got bored and at times had to force myself to stop reading so I could cook food and such. I don't know how it could be so compelling to follow these people's daily lives, but it was.
There were even unexpected twists to discover.
The Characters~I've seen a couple reviews that say the characters are flat and boring. I didn't see that at all.
Lady Anne takes the lead when all the serfs are brought inside for protection, and while they respect her, she has plenty of self-doubt which is more visible at the end of the book. Her treatment of the church is curious, since I doubt she has easy access to a Bible. I applaud her patience with Eleanor.
Thaddeus is the best man I've seen in forever. He doesn't suffer fools and knows his mind. He has confidence in his capabilities but doesn't have the best bedside manner. My only complaint is perhaps he's too good at stuff with not enough obvious flaws. I hope his last thought of Anne is resolved pronto.
Eleanor is the exact opposite of Thaddeus. I couldn't hate her more if I tried. I'd half hoped for a redemption arc, but after what she did and how she constantly thinks, I don't know if that's possible.
Hugh is an interesting guy. He wants to align himself with the most powerful but lacks the personal conviction to see the right side. I wonder where he'll end up.
The serfs' sons I got kinda mixed up but they developed some under Thaddeus's tutoring.
I thought all the people in Develish were solid characters and I can't help but care for them.
The Description and Dialogue~I felt completely immersed in the demesne and the surrounding lands. A couple times the more detailed descriptions lost me, but for the most part I had no trouble seeing things clearly.
No one sounded modern to me but some of the serfs used vocabulary that seemed a bit above their heads. And sometimes there weren't enough dialogue tags for me to keep track of who was currently speaking. I loved it every time Anne put Hugh in his place or Thaddeus admonished the boys.

Overall I enjoyed this book way too much, given its setting. I look forward to seeing where things go in the future book(s).

4.5 ever engrossing stars

The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. Estimates vary, but the Black Death may have killed one-half of Europe's population, and about 100 million people worldwide.

The Last Hours (Black Death, #1) If you love the blend of history with characters of long ago, this book will certainly be one you will be wanting to delve into. The black death, a killer disease, spread through and carried by fleas on rats was the background of this tale. We are introduced to the people who through the foresight and effort of Lady Anne, a brilliant well loved character, strives to save her small village of Develish. Residing in this town, are a cast of wonderful and devilish characters who bring to the reader the full extent of knowledge about the perils of life during this tragic time in Europe' history.

Lady Anne's husband is a scoundrel and his ugly deeds catch up to him eventually. Lady Anne had a daughter, Eleanor, with her husband, and she is as devious and cunning as her father, hating her mother and the two hundred or so serfs who live in Develish. In particular, her wrath is directed towards Thaddeus Turkell, a serf whom her mother has placed her faith in and his adventures with other young serfs provides another aspect to the story.

It was a frightening time, quarantined from the outside world, unsure of what was happening, the villagers rely on Lady Anne and each other for their support. The village priest is a cur and he is useless to the people, but they eventually learn to rely on their resiliency and will to survive.

I so enjoyed this journey into a time that has always fascinated me. The black death decimated the population of Europe. This book provided a wonderful insight into the time that was beyond awful as people succumbed to this disease in a manner that was both painful and horrible. No one was immune. Twenty five million lost their lives, over one hundred million worldwide. I do recommend this book to all those who love historical fiction at its most telling. A caution though, this is the first book and the next will not be out to October of 2018. I can't wait!

Thank you to Minette Walters, Mira Books, and Netgalley for a copy of this engrossing tale.
My reviews can be found here: https://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpres...

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Lady Anne of Develish has ways to protect her people than the daily confessions of sin recommended by the Bishop. Anne gathers her serfs within the gates of Develish and refuses entry to outsiders, even to her husband.

The book should be labeled under romance, not just historical fiction. The writing was readable, but the story lost credibility when I read "she dreamt of humbling him". 😝

2.5 rounded up to 3☆

I tried really hard to finish this book. I love the time period and I love books about the plague. This did not keep me interested at all. I found all of the characters to be flat and boring. I made it 33% and I had to give up. Thanks NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

To begin with, I woud like to thank HARLEQUIN - MIRA (US and Canada) and Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted to read this book since I have read several non-fiction books on the Black Death. I was curious how this topic could be dealt with in a novel. The Author did an exeptionally thorough research into the pestilence which arrived in England in 1348. In fact, what prompted her was the very fact that she lives in Dorset, not far from the place where the plague arrived. All historic details are fantastic: the symptoms, the ways people tried instinctively to avoid the Black Death or even some simple ways to bring relief to those who were affected by the plague. Ms Walters chose a small village of Develish as the place of her plot, although some of her characters travel around the shire and witness the tragedy-struck countryside. There is a plethora of characters which allows the Author to introduce the thinking that prevailed in those days and describe everyday life in the Middle Ages in the English countryside. And there are secrets, which are necessary ingredienst for a good mystery. The books reads well, although I could not stop thinking that the language is too modern and at times Lady Anna, Eleonora and Thaddeus express opinions which could hardly be expressed six hundred years ago. It may be a trick on the side of the Author or perhaps indeed rebellion and unorthodox ideas were not that rare then.
All in all, an interesting historical novel that I can wholeheartedly recommend to the fans of the genre.

I really, really, really wanted to like this book. It's straight up my alley - historic fiction about the black death. However, it was a hard book to get through and in the end I had to skim the last half of the book to finish it. I just couldn't do it anymore.

The bones of the story are good - I just think there's a lot of telling and not showing and a wee bit too much fluffing.

I think the ending is what sent me over though - it's basically a "to be continued" ending which I wasn't prepared for. Once the sequel is out I think this may be a better read so you're not left in the middle of things wondering why all this time was spent getting to this point without any resolution. I may reread it again once the sequel comes out and maybe I'll enjoy it a bit more.

In 1348 when plague strikes England, it is a new disease and no one knows how it is spread. When one reads of the squalor and the lack of hygiene which was widespread it is miraculous that the country escaped the plague before this

Attributed to God the plague is widespread and when it enters Dorsetshire, the Lady of the Manor decides on a drastic course of action which will save over two hundred souls who belong to the village. She brings them all into the castle, closes up the entrances and prevents anyone, including her husband who was a villain of the first order to enter the castle. Her husband brings with him back the plague and dies along with his soldiers save one.

The story of how Anne saves her household against all odds, against marauding fellow Lords who want to gain access to her house to plunder whatever gold she has, and above all a treacherous daughter who will not hold anything sacred to destroy her mother and all she stands for.

It was not an easy book to read because the raw emotion and animosity that the daughter had for her mother was unbelievable. It is quite clear at the end though but it did not make it any less easy to accept.

Atmospheric and full of twists and surprises, The Last Hours follows the lives of Lady Anne of Develish and her serfs in 1348, during the time of the Black Death, arriving on the shores of Melcombe, Dorsetshire and slowly making its deathly progress through all the towns and villages in the nearby vicinity. Whilst everyone else is busy trying to save themselves, particularly those with money and status, Anne puts the precious lives of those who live and work in her demesne at the forefront of her thoughts and actions, much to the chagrin of her errant and volatile daughter, Lady Eleanor, who hates peasants and poverty and will do all she can to thwart her mother's good intentions. Working alongside Anne is Thaddeus Thurkell, a man more of a slave than a serf due to his ignominious bastard status - something which causes consternation between everyone on the land, but Anne has a trust in him that belies his status and encourages others to start to see him in a different light for the first time in his life.
The story follows the plight suffered by these people and everything they have to undergo as they fight to stay alive, as well as exploring everything that is going on beyond their boundaries, as people die in their thousands and whole civilisations are wiped out by this rapid and violent invasion with no cure and no understanding of how it is spreading.
Walters writes using an engaging style, with wealth of descriptive detail and time period and characterisation that grips the reader from the first, and which will hold their attention until the final page. Unexpected turns occur throughout the novel and the atmosphere throughout is simply mesmerising. Definitely worth reading this summer and the next in the series is sure to be as promising.

tl;dr Review:

A well-written tale of the horror and hope that surrounded the spread of The Black Plague in England in the 1300s.

Full Review:

Ok, so I realize that my tl;dr description makes the book sound pretty morbid. I can assure you that it's not. However, the publisher's description of The Last Hours by Minette Walters doesn't do it justice either. Here's what it says:

When the Black Death enters England through the port in Dorsetshire in June 1348, no one knows what manner of sickness it is—or how it spreads and kills so quickly. The Church cites God as the cause, and fear grips the people as they come to believe that the plague is a punishment for wickedness.

But Lady Anne of Develish has her own ideas. Educated by nuns, Anne is a rarity among women, being both literate and knowledgeable. With her brutal husband absent from the manor when news of this pestilence reaches her, she looks for more sensible ways to protect her people than daily confessions of sin. She decides to bring her serfs inside the safety of the moat that surrounds her manor house, then refuses entry to anyone else, even her husband.

Lady Anne makes an enemy of her daughter and her husband’s steward by doing so, but her resolve is strengthened by the support of her leading serfs...until food stocks run low. The nerves of all are tested by continued confinement and ignorance of what is happening in the world outside. The people of Devilish are alive. But for how long? And what will they discover when the time comes for them to cross the moat again?

Compelling and suspenseful, The Last Hours is a riveting tale of human ingenuity and endurance set against the worst pandemic in history. In Lady Anne of Develish—leader, savior, heretic—Walters has created her most memorable heroine to date.

I will say, that last line is right - the heroine is absolutely memorable and a fantastic protagonist.

Prior to this, I'd been reading a lot of non-fiction and thriller/mystery style books, so it was refreshing to have a book that engaged me but wasn't as intense as some of the others I'd read recently.

This was also an era of history that I am not as familiar with, so it was fascinating to read more on how things were back during the 14th century. Give me a Tudor or Regency era heroine, and I can tell you all about the time period that surrounded her and who the major players were. But this book left that knowledge in the dust and kept me interested from the first page to the last.

If you're looking for some excellent historical fiction that offers a compelling female protagonist and will leave you wanting more, then I highly recommend you get yourself a copy.

The review below will appear on my blog - It's Good To Read - on 13th August 2018.
You can access the link here:
https://ebookwormssite.wordpress.com/2018/08/13/the-last-hours-minette-walters

Summary:

Set in the mid-fourteenth century, just as the Black Death is about to change the face of Europe forever. The Last Hours is set in the fictional town of Develish, Dorsetshire, southern England, in the year 1348. It deals with the struggles and actions of a small community, trying to survive the enemies and pestilence without, and the divisive animosities and tensions within. They are surviving what they see as an apocalypse. This is the first in a trilogy.

Main Characters:

Lady Anne: Cool, controlled, organised, and strong-willed, she worked behind the scenes to take the reins of control of the demesne into her hands, making it profitable. Through her good works, the villagers are healthy, and thriving. But she holds a dark secret.

Thaddeus Thurkell: Illegitimate, he has nothing but scorn for his abusive adoptive father and manipulative adoptive mother. Well educated by Lady Anne, his quiet demeanour, quick intelligence and physical presence propels him to becoming steward, and with Lady Anne he holds the small community together. He takes great personal risks, for which the villagers do not appreciate.

Lady Eleanor: Spoilt, vicious, temperamental, she makes bad judgements and relies too much on her position to exert authority, and does not see the world has changed forever, and the old social order consigned to the same flames that burns the rats from the huts. She too holds tight to a dark secret, possibly the reason why she becomes unhinged as the story progresses.

Gyles Startout: Lady Anne’s trusted ally amongst the serfs, he supports Thaddeus in becoming steward. Kind, fiercely loyal, and hard on himself, he willingly risks everything to save his Lady, his family and his village..

Minor Characters:

Father Anselm: Either drunk most of the time, or pretending to be, he is a complete parasite. He survives through propagating fear of the afterlife, which Lady Anne coolly ignores. He is the holder, and forgiver, of dark secrets that should never have been forgiven, and essentially has sold his soul.

Sir Richard: Loud and brash, an ignorant brute of a man, he is the stereotypical upstart lord who wields absolute power. His passing is mourned by only Lady Eleanor.

Plot:

In the early fourteenth century, England still ruled by the feudal laws, and lords still enjoyed the “droit de seigneur”. Serfs and slaves were at the bottom of the ladder, and slowly the ladder rose up to the nobility, to the Earls and the King himself. There was virtually no prospect of a serf advancing himself (women were considered chattel, so don’t even ask!), as they remained uneducated, and when not scourged by their ruling master, were terrified by hellfire and brimstone as preached by the priesthood.

Against this backdrop, we enter the estate of Develish, ruled with an iron fist by Sir Richard. It is not a happy household, Sir Richard and his wife Lady Anne inhabiting separate bedrooms, and their only daughter Eleanor being a vicious, petulant, spoiled sadistic child of fourteen.

Richard is a brute, lascivious and bibulous, and practically illiterate. His daughter has inherited his venomous nature, and herself is illiterate also. Lady Anne had been raised in a nunnery, and has taken her qualities of kindness, duty, discipline and organisation into this small demesne. It was, needless to say, an arranged marriage.

As the book opens, we learn Sir Richard is away, looking to find a husband for his daughter in the neighbouring demesne of Bradmayne. He wants to make a favourable alliance, and has travelled with eleven men, including his chief at arms Gyles Startout. His daughter is strongly against this marriage, and has made everyone’s lives miserable in the process.

We also learn that Lady Anne is extremely progressive for her era, having (secretly) begin to teach the serf children how to read and write), as well as making many improvements in sanitary and living conditions, for example having a communal pit dug for the toilet, away and downwind from the house, isolating sick people from the healthy in a purpose-built house, and insisting on personal hygiene and cleanliness for all villagers.

Lady Anne hears of a fast-travelling and lethal pestilence, that has emanated from the port town of Melcombe and has decimated every town and village as it arcs outwards, and across England. Rich and poor, man woman and child, the victims are from every class and creed, and once caught the sufferers are usually dead within three days.

She makes the momentous decision to close the gates of the demesne, leaving her husband outside in the villagers huts. He was already afflicted, and she knew he was selfish enough not to care about anyone but himself, and would infect everyone. Ultimately, all in his party die except Gyles, who bravely waits outside for two weeks (and buries the dead) until he is sure not to be infected.

Fighting her increasingly difficult and trouble-making child, as well as dealing with the duplicitous Hugh de Courtesmain (steward to Sir Richard, now out of a job!) and the dissolute Father Anselm, Lady Anne draws the people to her, uniting them under her leadership with a sort of council of elders. Thaddeus Thurkell, an illegitimate child, now a fully grown man larger than most in the village, comes into his own as her new Steward, and rock of support. He had been fully educated as a child by her, and now her charity has borne fruit.

We watch as the months go by, how the inhabitants deal with the increasing claustrophobia, and the closeness of everyone. We watch as they stocks run low, and they face into a perilous autumn. Guarding the walls, they watch the bandits walk and ride the roads, making it unsafe to venture out. Also, remember back then most people would never leave their village, so would have no idea where to go! However, the lack of knowledge of events outside their walls leads to greater tensions within, with speculation and second-guessing becoming the new sports.

Ultimately, Thaddeus and five young boys leave the demesne, travelling deep into the surrounding countryside, attempting to being back news and food. The danger is, they may not return.

What I Liked:

- The story flowed well, and was extremely easy to read.
- The scene-setting was excellent – you really felt you were inside the walls of the claustrophobic demesne.
- There was no unrealistic romance scenes, which would have damaged the authenticity.
- Extremely well-researched, especially with the beginnings of awareness amongst the serfs that the balance of power had shifted toward them, as a result of all the deaths in the labour force.

What I Didn’t Like:

- Some of the characters were not as rounded as they could be e.g. almost too perfect for the character they were. Sir Richard is the classic boor. Lady Anne is perfect in just about every way.
- Sometimes the pace lagged.
- The mindset of the people was very much twenty-first century (e.g. how quickly the religion was ignored), which while making it easier to read and understand, does undermine the quality of research noted above.

Overall:

I thought this was a very good read, with a believable premise. I liked the dynamic of a community under threat, and how the characters reacted, and then reacted to the reactions. The novel was very well structured.

This is a great book for light and easy holiday reading, and a good high-level entry to this era. Recommended.

Acknowledgements:

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley and the author, in return for an honest and objective review.

The Church believes that God has sent The Black Death amongst the people of England as punishment. It’s 1348 and no one understands how this plague kills so quickly. Fear is rampant. But Lady Anne of Develesh has some knowledge of sanitation and the spread of disease and she decides to quickly bring in all of the serfs inside her manor house which is protected by a moat. When her husband, the brutish Sir Richard, returns home from visiting a prospective husband for his daughter, Lady Anne refuses to let him and his men back in, fearing that they have been infected. As time goes by, a new fear arises – the fear of starvation as food supplies dwindle. A serf, Thaddeus Thurkell, leads a band of ill-equipped young men into the unknown to see if any other villagers are still alive and also in a quest for food.

Do be aware that this is the first of a series and leaves much of the plot hanging. I have been a long time reader of Minette Walters’ crime novels and she has always been a favorite author of mine. I was thrilled to learn of this new book since she hasn’t published a full length novel in the last ten years. This is quite a departure from Ms. Walters’ prior books, though it does contain a murder and has quite a suspenseful plot. I enjoyed this story and would love to see it being done on Masterpiece Theater. Lady Anne is an admirable character though I’m unsure if such a knowledgeable person would have existed in 1348. This is quite an in depth study of the reactions of people faced with a terrible plague such as this, with some growing into stronger people and others only caring about themselves. It also has a contemporary component involving class inequality.

On the negative side, I did begin to lose interest about half way through. There are parts of the book that dragged on too long. It’s quite a long book, being 544 pages, and I found myself just wanting to get to the end. I had been completely unaware that this was the first of a series and when I saw the words “to be continued”, I felt cheated but I also felt that I didn’t really want to read another book in this series. So for that reason, I can’t give this wonderful author more than 3 stars for her newest endeavor.

While it wasn’t entirely for me, I would recommend it for those who enjoy historical fiction.

Oh, my! Why is it not possible to give this book 6 stars?

I had hesitated when I was considering this book. I had never heard of the author, but there are lots of books by authors unknown to me. I thought it might be a bit interesting, but the idea of reading a novel about the Black Plague and enjoying it seemed a bit.... well, I couldn't imagine it.

The story is set in a demesne in the area of Dorset where the Black Plague seems to have started in England. Develish is the home of Sir Richard, his wife Lady Ann, and their daughter Eleanor. Sir Richard sets out on a beautiful day with gold as a dowry for Eleanor to marry a local lord's son, Sir Peter. But while he is gone, the plague begins to make lives quickly! Develish is not affected and Lady Ann takes precautions by bringing all the serfs into the area of the manor which is surrounded by a moat. The hope is that by isolating themselves, they will remain disease free. But it doesn't take long for the 200 people living there that supplies are limited. It is a fearful thing to leave not knowing what causes the death and how to avoid it. What will they do when their carefully rationed supplies run out? How will they know when it is safe to leave?

I think almost everyone learns a bit about the Black Death while in history classes in school. We learn that a huge percentage of the people died. We learn that it was carried by fleas on rats. What we never seem to be exposed to is a personal story of how the survivors experienced everything. What fear they must have had when someone who was healthy died within three days! Religion and the Church were so important to them. What did they think when the priest died and they faced death unshriven? What about the idea of not having a Christian burial? And what would happen if there were no laborers to plant for the next season? The entire feudal system was changed with the economic and social upheaval.

Ms. Walters did such an excellent job with her characters! Each character seemed so real to me. Lady Ann was raised in a nunnery and is wise and gentle. Her husband and daughter are egocentrical and very class conscious. They are landed gentry and serfs are there to do their bidding and to be punished severely if they did not so much a bow a head when the family was passing by. I can imagine the characters, the serfs and their conversations, their actions. Ms. Walters slowly and carefully introduces each one. Their personalities unfold just as does that of a person you meet and get to know over time. This is one of those books where I became very involved in the characters and what their fates might be; I wanted them to live! I had to keep reminding myself that if they didn’t die in the book, they’d be dead now after 600 years anyway.

I pondered as I read. What could the title “The Last Hours” refer to? Would Develish be overtaken by the plague? Would they abandon the manor and scatter to different areas? How might this story end?

I highly recommend this book! I can hardly wait to read more of Ms. Walter’s works.
But I have one spoiler, so don’t read any farther if you don’t want to know.

The last line of the book is the worst line to ever read in a book: TO BE CONTINUED.

The best way I can describe this book is to imagine you're looking at a painting, a piece of Medieval folk art. Everything you see is flat and simple. Now imagine you're reading a written description of the scene in the painting. That's this book. Flat characters. Simplistic plot. Simplistic writing. Some characters are villains and some are heroes and it's easy to tell differentiate between the two with a quick look. And like a painting, this book has no conclusion. After 500 pages of nothingness, this book has no real ending. It's a total and utter waste of time.

It's such a shame because I'm going through a bit of a Medieval phase right now. I was really excited to read a novel set during the Black Death. But this book did not deliver on its promises.

The Black Death has reached London and the estate of Develish has isolated itself under the rule of its Lady. The social order is quickly overturned and serfs rise in status. Starvation and plague are feared, and under this tension petty conflicts between the characters quickly escalate.
The novel suffers from too many narrators, too many subplots, and too many 21st century morals being pushed into a 14th century setting. I couldn't finish it.

“The Last Hours” by Minette Walters is her first historical fiction novel that I’ve read.
It’s set in 1348 England during the Black Death Plague. The main character, Lady Anne of Develish, is a brave and exciting heroine.
Though this novel wasn’t the suspenseful mystery/thriller that I was expecting of Walters, I enjoyed it just the same. I look forward to the next book in this series.

As a person who is extremely intrigued by the Black Plague, this was a must-read for me. I became immediately drawn into the plight of the people of Develish. The book appears to be very well researched as well as being extremely well-written. The story follows the relationships between Thaddeus, Gyles, Eleanor, Isabella and Lady Anne and plays them well against each other. This also seems to be the first in a series that deals with the Black Death and I will most definitely be indulging the forthcoming sequels as well! The character development and questions left answered at the end of the novel are wonderful but most definitely not irritating in the way that some "cliff-hanger" endings can be. There is a sense of closure but also questions left for the next installment, which is how all good series books should end. I highly recommend this to fans of historical fiction!

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.