Poor, Paula Hawkins. The book world is never going to recover from her glorious debut - The Girl on the Train.

I’ve felt her follow-up books didn’t provide as much compelling force as the first, but The Blue Hour caught my interest.

Mostly, I love an atmospheric setting. This one is an isolated Scottish island that’s only accessible so long as the tide is out. It’s not the first book I’ve read with a place like that (ii, Daisy Darker), and it’s so bewitching to think about the control the ocean has.

I’m down for an enigmatic female lead and we essentially got two.

With Vanessa, we got a peek into the past through “interstitials” as she talked about her life as an artist near the beginning of her career and how she dealt with an unfaithful husband. Let’s just say, revenge is a dish best served cold.

But she’s dead and gone now (not a spoiler) and Grace gave her fair share of main character energy, though with several marks and a personality teetering between quirky and qualifiedly insane.

The slow burn didn’t bother me but halfway through I kind of lost my place and interest in it because I was fairly certain how it would turn out.

For the most part, I was right.

However, the vibes are mysterious, and the characters are moody and unpredictable, which is the closest I’ll feel to spooky season right now since it’s still sunny and 75 in San Diego.

When Vanessa, an artist, dies, she leaves her work to someone she loathed. It’s curious, but the collection’s curator visits the tidal island to learn more about a piece that has come under scrutiny. The island holds many secrets. Fans of psychological suspense will devour this..

I think it is probably time I call it with Paula Hawkins. This book just did not seem to do anything. There was a lot of talk about the art and the island. I loved the idea of the island. It was basically a character. But the story was just SO slow! Nothing seemed to happen till the very end. I finished it and was let down. I guess I expected something more thrilling rather than this slow burn.

A shocking discovery is made about a famous artist's sculpture that could shed light on the disappearance of her ex-husband years ago.  Since she recently passed away, her estate is being managed by her friend, Grace, who lives alone on an island unreachable by the mainland for twelve hours a day.  As the investigation progresses, a strange web of lies is unraveled.

Thoughts 💭
The mood of this story is quickly set by the creepy sculpture, the isolated home on an island, and the reputation of Vanessa. Things are slowly revealed through thoughts of multiple characters, articles, and emails.  Since there is so much going on, it's hard to get a grasp of what's actually happening at first.  I think the idea has a lot of promise and a lot of mystery and intrigue.  With that being said, the story was interesting but didn't blow me away.  Quite a few parts dragged and were hard to get through. This is worth checking out, though, if you're a fan of the author.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Starting with her splashy debut as a top-of-the-charts thriller writer ("The Girl on the Train", 2016), Paula Hawkins has steadily emerged as a gifted writer of chilling psychological fiction. a la her pop-literary forebears Ruth Rendell and—less distinctively—Patricia Highsmith.

FROM WHODUNIT TO "LITERARY" NOVEL. Hawkins’ four novels to date have displayed a pronounced drift toward the more expansive social landscapes of traditional (dare we say serious?) 20th and 21st century fiction. Rendell, significantly, embraces these arguably more complex models in her later novels (e.g., 2010’s "Tigerlily’s Orchids" and 2014’s "The Girl Next Door"). And we see a similar progression in the recent novels of the equally brilliant Tana French ["The Witch Elm" (2018), "The Searcher" (2020), and "The Hunter" (2024)].

"The Blue Hour" displays this creative evolution in spades. Hawkins depicts a world centered in the British arts/philanthropy realm. Some years before the book begins, dying painter/sculptor Vanessa Chapman has left all her extant, unsold works and personal papers to her former gallerist, an imperious mainstay of the British upper crust, who leaves an equally haughty family to prosecute his affairs when he dies, quite mysteriously, of course.

But complications arise: Vanessa'’s works and papers live with her long-time companion Grace Winters. Grace resides on Eris, a craggy-spooky--and appropriately remote--island just off the West coast of Scotland. Because of tidal factors, Eris is only accessible 10 hours a day. Could we ask for a more brooding presence to supercharge the eerie underpinnings of this tale? And Grace, a cranky hermit, is an obstacle to the terms of Vanessa’s will. She’s not keen on sharing her Vanessa with the world.

THREE CHARACTERS SHARE THE NARRATION. "The Blue Hour" is a tale dripping with backstory, a narrative burden shared by Grace, art critic James Becker, and Vanessa herself, whose contemporary reflections appear as interstitial fragments throughout the novel.
This is the narrative motor that drives The Blue Hour, as it glides along irresistibly on the well-worn tracks of its Jamesian prototypes, and only rarely hinting at the shocking violence (and betrayals) undergirding the relationships of its principals. When, late in the book, this violence ultimately breaks through the tortured surface of the story, stubborn Ironies and reversals (both of human relationships and novelistic convention) break over Eris like a howling storm from the Irish Sea.

A thriller-diller, this one.

I'm not even sure what to think, but I think this was a great read! The characters weren't super likeable, and even though Vanessa had passed, she wasn't really either based on the diary entries and personal papers shared throughout the novel. That said, when Becker went to the island to speak with Grace, I always held my breath because this island sanctuary seemed so sinister and foreboding to me. I couldn't see the peacefulness shared by Vanessa in her journal entries, nor could I see the appeal of why Grace stayed. Then, everything came together for me! There is kind of a reference to a Roald Dahl story, "The Landlady", towards the end of the novel, and I gasped! The ending is somewhat ambiguous but also not. We can guess, but we do not know for certain how it ends. Loved it!

This is a slow burn story but once you get to the halfway mark it starts to pick up. I really did enjoy this one and look forward to reading more of Hawkins future novels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my gifted copy.

I really wanted to love this one, but it's just slower paced enough that it didn't capture my attention. I think if you are really into art, you may really love all the art details throughout.

Unfortunately this book sucked! It got pretty good at the very end but it was soooooo slowwwww leading up to it. Went so deep into the artist and art world and I DID NOT CARE. I was expecting The Girl on the Train level thrills but this book was not thrilling. It was barely even interesting! Maybe it’s because I didn’t like the setting or characters but man I could not get into this and it took me forever to finish and the shocking ending was barely worth all the drudgery leading up to it. It was well written and thoughtful of course, and maybe those more interested in art would be into it, but to me the storyline just dragged along like walking through mud.

A chilling atmospheric thriller set on a remote Scottish island with multiple POVs, timelines, letters and journal entries. The island is unreachable to the mainland for 12 hours each day.
Surrounding around the estate of a mysterious deceased artist, Vanessa, whose husband has been missing for over 20 years after visiting her. Her companion, Grace, remained to take care of her until her passing.
Years later, someone notices one her art pieces has a human bone not animal and they must figure out who it belonged to.
Hawkins does a great job with the eerie atmosphere setting that felt unsettling at times.

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins is a mesmerizing and atmospheric read that draws you in from the very first page. Hawkins has a way of weaving suspense and emotion together that keeps you on your toes, and I found myself completely captivated by the intricate plot and richly developed characters. While the pacing felt a bit slow in parts, the gorgeous prose and haunting themes of loss and longing more than made up for it. If you’re looking for a book that’s both beautifully written and deeply engaging, this one is a must-read! Rating: 5 stars.

Becker is an art dealer who has a deep interest and connection to the artwork of the late Vanessa Chapman. In her will, Chapman’s works were left to the dealers that Becker works for and her house on Eris was left to her caregiver/friend, Grace. The problem is that there are many pieces of artwork missing, according to Becker’s boss, and Grace swears that there are no other pieces. Becker takes a trip to Eris to speak with Grace about the missing artwork and he ends up learning more about the idolized Chapman than he bargained for.

Read this if you enjoy unreliable narrators, manipulative and secretive characters, and spooky, isolated settings. I loved the eerie setting of Eris- a tidal island- that can only be accessed by road for a few hours each day when it’s low tide. For the rest of the day, the roads are underwater. This really set the scene of true isolation in Eris.

This book started off slow for me and I wasn’t initially interested in a lot of the talk about art dealing and was getting confused with all of the different characters. But at some point, something just clicked and I was completely hooked. I enjoyed the mixed media of Vanessa’s letters and diary entries and the way they were woven flawlessly into the story at just the right time. The further I got into the book and the more I got to know the characters, I was so surprised at the secrets that were revealed. I thought that I had all of the characters and the plot figured out, but Hawkins shocked me over and over again. The ending of this book was entirely unexpected! I was so surprised when I went to turn the page and found the acknowledgments instead of another chapter! It wasn’t so much of a cliffhanger, just that I really did not expect the story to end that way. It definitely dropped my jaw.

A slow burn but I enjoyed this one! Atmospheric, a great psychological mystery & well written! Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

still sitting with my thoughts on this one as I do love paula’s writing a lot - it’s clear she does a ton of research into her subjects (this time focusing on artwork and galleries), and it was very impressive to read about!

THE BLUE HOUR focuses on becker, an art curator working with the estate of a famous artist recently passed away. while the gallery becker works for is owed the rest of the paintings and sculptures due in the will, the executor of the estate, grace, is hesitant to give up her best friend’s life’s work, and the mystery behind all of their pasts is quickly unraveled.

I tend to enjoy slow burn mysteries, but only when the pay off in the ending is worth it. the ambiguous ending, however, was not what the story needed. while it was shocking, not surprising but shocking indeed, it felt disconnected from the rest of the story… to just not get answers at the end was wildly unsatisfying 🥴

thank you to netgalley and mariner books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! this one was firmly just okay for me…

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: new zealand sauvignon blanc

Thanks Netgalley for the advance copy! I was really excited for this one. Unfortunately it not meet my expectations and I was bored by the end.

While I did find this to be a somewhat compelling read, mostly because of the beautiful writing, I found it very much lacking in suspense and mystery. The characters for the most part also did not feel fleshed out, nor were they very likable. I also hated the ending, but I will get to that in a minute.

The story is told through three characters. Grace and Becker tell the story in the present, with some flashbacks from Grace’s point of view. Vanessa’s story is told through small excerpts from her journals and letters. All three of these storylines wove together to create a many layered narrative that contained many secrets that were slowly revealed over the course of the book. Unfortunately there were no big surprises or twists in the narrative.

I did very much like Becker, his passion for Vanessa’s art was personal and believable. I would have liked more time with him and his wife and their complicated relationship with his boss, but that was a story that didn’t really add to the main plot, so I’m not sure why it was included at all. Becker really wanted to be kind and understanding with Grace, but she made it so hard for him to do that.

Grace and Vanessa have such a toxic friendship that I am surprised that they kept it up for as long as they did. Grace really wasn’t a very likable person, she had a lot of anger, some deserved, but much was just about who she was as a person. As a doctor she probably didn’t have much of a bedside manner, but we didn’t see much of that part of her life. She is also controlling and manipulative, especially with Vanessa, which really made it hard to sympathize with her character.

The writing was absolutely the best part of this story. It was so atmospheric, especially in its descriptions of Eris Island. The way the story was layered throughout the different narratives was also very well done. But the pacing was pretty slow throughout most of the book which made it a bit of a slog to get through. I am also not a fan of open endings to stories, but I can be ok if there is some closure. This story just ended with so many questions left unanswered that it really turned me off to the whole book. The build up to the ending was done well, even though it didn’t really end.

If you like very slow moving mysteries that are beautifully written and have a bit of a gothic feel, then this might be a book that will work for you. Also if you loved this author’s other works, then certainly give this one a try.

Thanks once again to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a review. The opinions here stated are my own.
I went into this book with no expectations as I haven’t read anything by this author before, but have heard much about some of her titles.
I found this to be an atmospheric, slow-burning thriller (?). It read very much like a movie would unfold in front of you. The island is a character in its own right, and it was easy to feel the mood of the island, the house, the causeway.
I found it slow in the middle and the book nearly lost me, but it picked up to a thrilling pace toward the end.
For me, it was an enjoyable read, but not one I would shout from the rooftops.
3*

I wasn't a fan of this one. I hated the "intermediary" chapters. I just felt annoyed with the artist and the wealthy people in the book. I definitely skimmed to the end.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Eris the island is the setting of this novel is really its own character. The seclusion of the island and only being accessible for a a portion of the day really brings this book up a notch. I liked the character development but wasn't 100% sure why Becker's relationship played into the story so much. I don't feel like it added anything to the story and would have preferred more information on Vanessa and Douglas Fairburn's relationship. Grace definitely gave Annie vibes from Misery. It wasn't a thriller but more of a slow burn which worked well for this novel.

An isolated Scottish island, Eris is only accessible twelve hours a day. Vanessa, a famous artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared after visiting her twenty years ago. A present-day discovery that intimately connects three people and unveils a web of secrets and lies. Now Grace is the only resident of the island after Vanessa left it to her while all of her art went to Douglas Fairburn. Becker that works for the art gallery arrives ton the island after Douglas's son Sebastian noticed that not all of the works of art arrived and has gone seeking answers, but Becker finds out way more than he bargained for.

I always love books with a strong sense of place and here the island of Eris is definitely a main character. The tension built by the ebb and flow of the tide was intense, but the slow reveal of the mysterious characters really kept me reading.