The Blue Hour – Paula Hawkins

Published By: Doubleday
Pages: 336
Released On: 10/10/2024

She no longer sleeps when the tide is out, she only rests when the sea separates her from the land. When she knows no one can sneak up on her.

Eris, an island with only one house, one inhabitant, one way out.

Unreachable from the Scottish mainland for twelve hours each day.

Once home to 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, a visitor comes calling.

And the secrets of Eris threaten to emerge . . .

*****

Thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I admit that the only Paula Hawkins book I have read is The Girl on the Train, and I don’t think I finished it as it just wasn’t my thing. But I do not write off an author just on the basis of one book and so I was looking forward to reading this one. But sadly, it had the same response, although I did finish it.

It never felt like a thriller. It was fine to read, but I wasn’t getting any of the atmospheric thrill that the synopsis and reviews were suggesting. It was more of a mystery, a foreboding, historical mystery, but never a thriller. I was hoping for twists and turns and surprises, but there weren’t any that were satisfying enough. I was hoping that the claustrophobia of an isolated island would also add to the fright of it but it didn’t hit the mark.

I didn’t particularly gel with the characters sadly. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with them, but I didn’t feel one way or another about them, and I’d rather really detest a character than feel a bit vanilla about them.

The plot is a little dull for me, and really slow. I felt like I was reading it for ages but then I realised I hadn’t even got to page 100, and I really struggled with the incentive to continue.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this book and for giving Paula’s work another go, but this had more disappointing elements than positive ones for me. I’m sure fans of hers will love it, and I’ve seen some 4-5 star reviews already, but it didn’t fill me with great enjoyment and I think I may have to accept that her work just isn’t for me.