Wow! What a read! Thank you for my ARC.

Vanessa Chapman, a renowned artist, lived a fairly solitary life on the enigmatic Eris Island until her death from cancer. When one of her sculptures is identified to contain a human bone, James Becker, cataloguer of Vanessa’s work, sets out to find out whose bone it is - with a side quest of finding out why so much of her work seems to have gone missing. But to do this he will need to get to the isolated island, cut off and accessible by a causeway and gain the trust of Vanessa’s friend/confidante/carer Grace, the now sole occupant of the island.

This blew me away. I want to read it again IMMEDIATELY. It’s creepy, unsettling and tense. This is sophisticated, old fashioned writing style - it is rich, dark, full of undertone and secrets - not script-like, like so many modern thrillers. There are shades of ‘The Woman in Black’ and ‘Rebecca’ throughout (I suspect the latter is deliberate - there is direct mention of other works by Du Maurier in the book).

The characters are all deeply unsettling, none of them reliable, all problematic. The real beauty is how Hawkins builds the tension; it is such a smooth build until it is so taut it has to snap - my heart is still pounding from the ending.

Giving no secrets or plot twists away, if you are a fan of Du Maurier, Christie, or Hawkins’ previous books I would recommend this.

We start with a worrying discovery. A famous sculpture being displayed in an exhibition might contain human remains. James Becker is the curator of the work, done by the reclusive artist Vanessa Chapman who sadly died, leaving all her works to the Fairburn Foundation who Becker is the Director of. Becker is married to Helena who used to be engaged to Becker’s boss Sebastian, whose mother, Emmeline, is head of the Foundation. So it’s all a bit eggshells! Anyway… long story short, Chapman lived on a private island, on and off with a companion, Grace, who is reluctant to comply with the terms of Chapman's will and hand over ALL the works. So Becker is forced to make a visit to the island, accessible only at low tide, to try and coax the missing pieces out of her.
And so begins a rather dark tale which includes a missing, presumed dead, husband who might be the donor of the bone, and a toxic, probably co-dependent relationship between Grace and Chapman which is so much more than meets the eye. We also go further back to the death of patriarch Douglas Fairburn and what really happened there...
There's a lot going on in this book. But, that said, it's all very easy to follow both in the present day and also in the past. I can't with any honesty, say that I actually liked any of the characters and the feeling of not really caring what happened did rear its ugly head up on a fair few occasions. But there was also something compelling me to complete the story. To follow all the twists and turns as the story took some rather unexpected directions along the way. Chock full of secrets, lies, dysfunctional behaviour, obsession, jealousy, and a rather healthy dollop of deception, we do eventually rip the plaster off to expose the whole sorry truth of several threads.
All in all, go in a cold as you can for maximum impact. But bare with it, it's a slow burn initially, often complicated and interconnected, with plenty to hold onto until explanation is forthcoming. But it does come eventually, and when it does, it's rather shocking and well worth the effort!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Human bones found in a museum piece of a dead artist Vanessa who's husband disappeared twenty year earlier. Becker goes to the island to find the truth. A very atmospheric and engaging and a slow burn of a novel told in different POV. Paula Hawkins delivers another hit. Thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for this review ARC

I loved Girl On The Train, I remember spending a Christmas morning sneaking away to read another chapter at every opportunity I could. This was much the same, couldn’t put it down. . The characters are deeply unpleasant and totally unreliable, but they‘re well-formed and mostly believable. The plot is propulsive and I loved the ending. The book made me think about the motivations behind every individual’s actions. Never a bad thing! Reminded me very much of Barbara Vine - fab! Thank you so much for my ARC.

Vanessa Chapman was a reclusive artist who lived on a remote Scottish island. After her untimely death her remaining pieces are left to her dealer and his family much to the chagrin of her long time friend Grace who now inhabits the island.
When some of the collection is displayed in London a visitor makes a worrying observation. As a result Becker, the collection’s curator, is sent to visit Grace. His visit threatens to uncover some very nasty secrets indeed.
I really enjoyed The Blue Hour as I was reading it and I wasn’t put off by the art slant to the book as that is something I’m very interested in. It builds nicely and Grace is a truly complex and sinister character with a strong back story. The descriptions of the island and its surrounds are stunning. However, I think some of the other characters are rather sketched in so it was hard to care about them.
I would recommend but it’s not a book that will stay with you.

I really loved this one I read it in one sitting, hopelessly engaged with the story from the start.

This is an atmospheric novel with vivid characters and settings, it's a psychological drama that is also entertaining and addictive, slowly bringing to life the realities of those examined within.

The ending left me melancholy. I've enjoyed Paula Hawkins previous books but can honestly say this is my favourite.

I have struggled with this book. The characters were in the main tedious and lacking in something. The plot and Grace in particular, reminded me a little of Kathy Bates character Annie in Misery and parts of the story seem to be very similar. I don’t personally think that this is the authors finest work but slightly mismashed and feels very hurriedly put together, it doesn’t have the usual flow of her work

I have enjoyed other books by Paula Hawkins especially Into The Water so I was very excited for this one and it did not disappoint. I felt hooked right away especially as we discover more about the island and its mystery.

This book is a slow burn mystery although it's more of a character study of an artist than I was expecting.
It follows the death of artist Vanessa Chapman and the wealthy family that her estate was bequeathed to. I found Vanessa and Julian hard to like but I also found Grace, her long time companion hard to understand. The character I found the most relatable (the 'commoner') was Becker, although his relationship with his wife appeared rather superficial then suddenly a bit clichéd at the end.
Overall I found it dragged on and there wasn't enough plot for me.

Eris is a small tidal island in Scotland.
It is only accessible every twelve hours and only one person lives on it.
One person with a past and secrets.
Then someone makes a discovery and it threatens to blow this persons life apart.

I struggle to know where to start with writing this review. The Blue Hour turned out to be very different from what I was expecting, but I don't know what had informed my pre-conceptions. I was expecting a thriller with some twists and turns in the plot. I don't think I could classify this book as a thriller. It was more of a slow burn, atmospheric mystery.

I have to say, that I didn't love all of the art included in the story. I found it to be a little pretentious and there was more focus on it than I would have liked. But I'm not an artist or a huge art fan so that could be a personal preference. I did enjoy the sinister feeling provided by Eris Island and the mysteries that lay on the island; I would have like more of a back story on this. I felt like lots of it came at the end of the book.

I didn't like Vanessa's character from the start. There was an arrogance to her that I just couldn't get along with. I felt like I was supposed to like Becker and see him as the "hero" in the story, but I wasn't given the opportunity to know enough about him to feel close to him and sympathise.

Although this book turned out to be something different to what I thought I was picking up, I didn't hate it. I just didn't love it either. It was a quick read and the mysterious element to it kept me reading so I could get to the truth. I really liked the eerie aspect to the story and the characters, I just wish that that had been emphasised some more.

This book is largely set in a remote off Scotland. Eris Island, is only located when the tide it out. The author description of the island is so uniquely talented that you really can imagine the place.

The book is written well, it took a while to get into this book but was glad I decided to finish book.

A good read, would probably have given 3.5 stars if I had the option. It just was a bit to dragged out for me.

The Blue Hour didn’t grip me completely, but it was an enjoyable, atmospheric read. The creepy isolation of Eris island was well portrayed, and the letters/journal entries from Vanessa, helped the reeder put pieces of the past together.

DNF @ 12%

I just couldn't get into it. The characters are so unlikeable that I wasn't interested in finding out what happened with Vanessa.

When a human bone is found among some museum pieces, Becker goes to the reclusive home of the late artist to investigate what might have happened and to speak to the artists companion Grace who still lives there.

This was a slow-paced, multi-POV, multi-timeline mystery with a whole bunch of unlikeable characters, so I found it difficult to get into. The setting on the island was atmospheric enough and gave the sinister feel of the story a great angle to work from. It was working up to be a 4 star read for me until the ending...

This was a very slow burner with some unlikeable characters. Premise sounded good but just something missing for me. Would definitely read her next one as A girl on a train was very good. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it

What a dark and sinister tale, the writing about the island and storms was so atmospheric. The characters were, for the most part, unlikeable which added to the story.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Really couldn’t get into this book. Disliked the style, the characters were thrust in the readers face with little or no introduction. Not for me.

I really enjoyed this mystery/thriller. I felt it had more of a mysterious vibe rather than hitting the harder beats of a thriller, but this was actually to its credit.
The suspense builds slowly and the sinister elements to the story are all the more disturbing when they come, because you've been lulled into thinking it's a book with a light touch.
The setting makes for an atmospheric read and the characters, if not likeable, are quite compelling.
I found I could put this book down, but I was thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and this, to me, is almost better than a forgettable, fast paced page turner.
I liked the ambiguous ending. It will make me think about it for far longer than if it was all tied up neatly in a bow!

A compelling mystery with a good dose of suspense!

Thank you to NetGalley, Paula Hawkins and to Random House UK for the opportunity to read this early copy.

Atmospheric, full of twists and unexpected happenings. The finale quite shocking and haunting. The gripping new thriller from Paula Hawkins, is compelling, fascinating and more.
Vanessa is a famous modern artist whose life has held no boundaries or rules, she is for freedom and her art.
Becker is the curator of her legacy and works, trying to discover any lost pieces of her collections, and is drawn to the Scottish island of Eros that is only accessible in low tide to meet Vanessa’s companion Grace, who had looked after her for many years.
This book is creepy but also so unexpected. The writing is brilliant and absorbing, the life of an artist so different in its creative elements.
Thank you NetGalley for the early read. Creepy but brilliant!!