THE BLUE HOUR
Paula Hawkins

I want to like her books, more than I do. I want my reading experiences to feel like I’m drinking to the point of drowning, all I am is thirsty.

“There’s nothing left here to decode.”
Sabrina Carpenter

THE BLUE HOUR stars Vanessa and Grace. There are other characters but these two are the only ones you need to remember. All that’s left of Vanessa are her journals, her art, a knot of unresolved yearning in Grace’s stomach, and now a mystery surrounding her life’s work. All of it feels like an exercise in grief, none of it will feel like a resolution.

The questions that are raised feel like tilling a grave and it’s Grace who dies a little every time. Will the truth ever be uncovered, or will it continue to be cast afloat, forever unmoored?

I keep going back to her although nothing has worked for me like THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN did. My reading experiences between now and then have been both cold (INTO THE WATER), and hot (A SLOW FIRE BURNING), this one is right in the middle.

The material is not that interesting to me. It felt tepid and uninspiring. The characters feel inauthentic, doing and saying things that don’t reconcile. The thriller, not thrilling, the mystery, not mysterious, the writing has nothing written between the lines.


Thanks to Netgalley and Mariner Books for the advanced copy!


THE BLUE HOUR…⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a very atmospheric slow burn of a novel I kept wishing that it would grip me the way The Girl on the Train did, but i don’t think I was ever fully invested in the story or the characters. I do think the book will have its fans, particularly those looking for a dark, moody sort of story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Paula Hawkins’ latest is a grip-the-book-so-hard-your-fingers-hurt kind of story. The premise is fascinating - the work of a deceased famous artist is discovered to contain a human bone and it just so happens her philandering husband disappeared from her remote island home years ago. Could it be him?

The story follows an inquisitive curator as he navigates the treacherous terrain of that island, now inhabited by the artists companion of many years and executor of her estate. While the outcome was apparent to me pretty early in the story, the tension Hawkins builds as she weaves the stories of both Vanessa and Grace becomes almost unbearable at times, and the ending! Oh, the ambiguous ending! Definitely the stuff made for book clubs to debate!

Hawkins is getting better and better at taking old tropes and breathing new life into them. As I read this, I was reminded of both And Then There Were None for the isolation and Misery for the core relationship driving the story, but Hawkins has made both her very own.

Readers who are triggered by domestic violence should be aware that is an integral part of this story. This will be one of the hot books of the Fall for sure.

There's a remote Scottish island only available to the mainland for 12 hours a day, during low tides. An artist named Vanessa lived there. She is deceased now. Her husband mysteriously disappeared 20 years ago...he was known to be a serial cheater.
Now reclusive Grace lives there, in the only house on the island. She had previously taken care of Vanessa.
And James... he's a curator asked to investigate one of Vanessa's art pieces...it includes a human bone...

🔹️This was a slowburn mystery.
If you like gothic, atmosoheric vibes, lots of unlikeable characters... multiple POV, Agatha Christie meets Patricia Highsmith and Lucy Foley... check this one out this fall.🔹️

Very atmospheric, multiple viewpoints and timelines. Can be challenging to keep up and remain invested but the ending brought the drama and the impact.

Set on an isolated island on Scotland’s coastline only accessible at certain times of day, The Blue Hour tells the story of prolific artist Vanessa, and the mysteries surrounding several key events in her life prior to her passing. And…

If there ever was a blueprint for what a true psychological thriller is- this would be it. The setting itself creates its own character, and the tone hits like seasonal affective disorder. It’s dark, it’s unwavering, and there’s little to no redemption. Impressively written and with a painstakingly perfect plot, it stands as a completely unapologetic, veritable master class in fiction writing.

I mist also say that it was completely lacking in any catharsis whatsoever and the only release I felt from the staggering pathos built up over the entirety of this book came when the final page was read, and I was free from its’ clutches. That’s how this book hits. It’s uncomfortable, it’s brutal, and it doesn’t believe in happy endings.

Ideal for fans of Lucy Foley and Lisa Tuttle, I would recommend this as piece of masterful storytelling, but with a caution label. I think I need several light hearted cozy mysterious as a palate cleanser after this.

This novel is centered around Eris, a small island in Scotland, accessible only during low tide via a causeway. Vanessa Chapman, a famous artist known for her moods and innovative work, owned the island and lived there in a house she renovated after it being unoccupied for many years. She also transformed the barn into her studio, doing not only painting, but also pottery and multimedia work there. Despite her ownership, the island outside of the buildings is open to the public and does get some visitor traffic.
When Vanessa's ex-husband Julian disappeared shortly after a visit with her, she became the prime suspect, but the police couldn't find any evidence to charge her of the crime.
An exhibition that Vanessa was planning was inexplicably cancelled just after the disappearance, leading to a rift with her long-time agent, Douglas Fairburn, a man who was also a lover despite his married status. With Vanessa's recent death, her friend Grace, a local doctor, inherited the island and the task of sifting through her work and papers to transfer the artistic material to the Fairburn Foundation, a gallery owned by aforementioned Douglas. Douglas has also recently died in an accident and his son Sebastian is putting pressure on Grace to transfer the remaining artistic material to the foundation.
When one of Chapman's multimedia pieces causes an investigation following an exhibition at the Tate, questions are raised about Julian's death again.
Gallery curator Becker is tasked with meeting with Grace to convince her to finalize the transfer. Becker is a big fan of Vanessa Chapman and knows her work well. He wants to have a cordial meeting to convince Grace, but the meeting unveils other information that he and the gallery weren't aware of. There is an interesting plot element, that of Becker's wife, Helena, now pregnant, who was previously Sebastian's fiancée.
There are many interesting facets to this story from the history of the island itself to many questions that become apparent over the course of the novel. Is Julian dead, and if so was he killed and where is his body? Was Douglas' death really an accident? What happened to the missing art pieces Vanessa had listed for the cancelled exhibit? Why did Vanessa leave her art legacy to the Fairburn Foundation despite her falling out with Douglas? What was the nature of the relationship between Vanessa and Grace?
The two main narrators here are Becker and Grace, and each have their own secrets and motivations. Becker is a man who lacks confidence despite his knowledge and expertise, and Grace is a woman who has struggled with rejection and friendships.
This is a slow-moving page-turner, with lots of suspense.

Many thanks to Mariner books and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

This author is a hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed this thriller. It had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The Blue Hour is billed as a thriller and those that expect a fast paced suspense story might find themselves disappointed. Yes, the story starts when a forensic anthropologist determines that a piece of bone in a piece of art is human. But then, it veers off into a multi-strand story about Vanessa Chapman, a well known artist, now deceased, who has left her oeuvre and all her journals to a private museum created by her former dealer who she fell out with. The story is told from Vanessa’s perspective, through her journals, that of Becker, the curator of the museum, and Grace, her friend and the executor of her estate. It gives an interesting look at an artist’s life.
The book is a slow burn. Hawkins really takes her time setting up the premise. I was drawn to Vanessa, as an independent soul. Which isn’t to say she’s a nice person. She’s self centered and takes advantage of Grace. Did she have something to do with her husband going missing? Given what a despicable character he was, it wouldn’t have upset me. I was also fascinated by Grace, the ultimate caretaker but also with some anger management issues.
I loved what the book had to say about misogyny. Journalists (all male) and art critics (ditto) all called her sullen, prickly or strident. “Quotes from ‘friends’ (which friends???) about how work consumes me, how I never have time for anything else (i.e. my marriage), I am single-minded, obsessive. All the usual shit they say about women who fail to devote themselves body and soul to family aka dreary domesticity.” And I have to share this quote from Helena, Becker’s wife, given the current political environment. “And really. When you think about it, single-minded and selfish are just synonyms for childless, in some circles.”
I’m always intrigued by writers that can give you a feel for an artist’s creative process and their ability to describe art well. Hawkins fits that bill.
Go into this with the right expectations and I think you’ll enjoy it. The writing is lush, the setting was very atmospheric and the characters are well developed. I thought the ending was perfect.
My thanks to Netgalley and Mariner Books for an advance copy of this book.

Paula Hawkins is very hit or miss for me. She is more of a miss because I have read three books by her and I have only liked one. This book focused too much on art and not enough on the thriller vibes. I found myself bored and just wanting this book to end.

I enjoyed this more “The Girl on the Train,” as the author’s voice and sense of humor come through more effectively in “The Blue Hour.”

Likes:
+atmospheric
+taut and tense
+sympathetic characters
+arty - in that the plot deals with the art world - but mostly accessible

Challenges:
-not too much of a twist but more of an interesting character study
-the ending
-struggle to care about certain characters (namely 2/3 of the “love triangle”)

Hmm… the story’s premise had promise and ended up under delivering for me. I expected a thriller suspense, but was roped into a slow burn character driven story that bordered on historical fiction centered in the art world. The book started off quickly with the mystery of an alleged human bone in a work of art. Whose bone is it? And how did it get there? I was hooked! It took about 90% of the novel to reveal that surprise and by then, I wasn’t as invested in the story. The characters were pretty dreadful and I couldn’t find a redeeming quality for any of them, so that made it hard to sympathize with their personal tragedies.

Paula Hawkins continues to surprise me by not writing any other book similar to her mega-hit. The Blue Hour had me slightly confused at the beginning as to what was going on. Once I got my bearings, I ended up enjoying it. The main character of this book is absolutely Eris island!

A Paula Hawkins novel promises mind games, tangled truths, and misplaced trust for both characters and reader. Her latest novel, The Blue Hour, fulfills all of these expectations. I will admit to trusting and doubting the wrong people and repeatedly falling for versions of events that were true except for the basic core. Hawkins is a master of manipulation, and I loved every page.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for making an advance copy of this title available for an honest review.

The Blue Hour is a book about art – it is about the reclusive artist, the sculptures and paintings, the curator obsessed with her work and the people who have come to be in possession of pieces of her art. The description of the art and its inception is fascinating. No wonder her work has been fought over. .The Blue Hour is also a psychological drama about self-worth, loneliness, loss, and love. You will probably not like most of the characters. You will probably be surprised by the slow revelations that have led to the present circumstances. But, you will definitely not soon forget this dark and chilling story of obsessive love.

Unfortunately, this book is just not for me and I won’t be finishing it after reading about 25%. I tried so hard to get into it, but it wasn’t capturing my attention. The story is very slow paced and slow moving. I really enjoyed two of the author’s previous works and one fell flat for me, so I guess her books are very hit or miss for me.

If you enjoy a slow burn mystery and an atmospheric thriller, this may be the book for you! There’s a heavy focus on the past and on artists and art galleries, which may appeal to some readers as well.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC and opportunity to be an early reader.

Amazing book. The suspense is next level. The characters are so complicated, and their relationships are so odd and messy. This is her best novel yet, and that's saying a lot because the girl on the train changed the whole domestic suspense genre.

thanks netgalley and mariner books for this arc!

1.5 rounded up. this is my first book by this author and while i’m still going to give her another shot, this one just didn’t do it for me 🫤

i was so bored from the beginning to end, and didn’t feel attached to the story or characters at all. they were all pretty unlikable, and i just felt like i was reading the same thing over and over again

this book also mentioned covid and the pandemic sooo much which is always a big pet peeve for me in books, especially when the plot has nothing to do with pandemics? super bummed about this one

This one was only 3 stars for me. The setting was picturesque and I felt like I could really envision the paintings, however the story dragged on. I greatly disliked Grace, one of the main characters, and found I didn't particularly care about the others. I finished it, but it was miss in my opinion.

The Blue Hour is the latest by Paula Hawkins and I have yet to be disappointed by her works. I loved the idea behind this book and loved the setting of the secluded island, there were plenty of twists that kept me guessing. While I was left with some unanswered questions at the end this book was hard to put down and gets a 4 star rating for that reason. I enjoyed her writing style and the different points of view in the story. I want to thank NetGalley and Mariner Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.