This review was assigned via Library Journal. It has been submitted to my Editor there. Per Library Journal, I am not supposed to post anywhere else.
Thank you!

This one is definitely no thriller. It was more of a slow burn mystery with an atmospheric setting on a secluded island, which I enjoyed. I felt this one was on the slow side for me and was hoping there would be more twists. And though I didn't get that, I did like the sense of unease I got while reading. The writing was well done and there were parts that were suspenseful. Although this wasn't a top read for me, I will still be reading Paula Hawkins future books as I really enjoyed THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I loved The Girl on the Train & Into The Water, so I was very excited when Netgalley & Mariner Books approved me for this ARC. I can say that this is definitely not my favorite by Hawkins. The book follows Becker, an art director, who is interested in Vanessa Chapman's work. Vanessa is a famous artist whose work is missing and the art director is determined to find it, but Vanessa has died a few years back, and Becker confides in Grace, who was closest to Vanessa at the time of her death. The deeper Becker digs into trying to find the work, the more he realizes he may be unraveling more than he can handle.

The book starts out slow, introducing Becker, and all the background characters. The story truly takes off when he meets Vanessa's companion, Grace. The plot is very basic. An artist who becomes friends with a lonely woman who becomes obsessed with Vanessa and jealous of anyone else who is attached to her, especially her partners. The only true suspenseful thing in the whole book is that the island where Vanessa's house is, the one where Grace lives now, is only available during certain parts of the day due to the tide. The background characters, in my opinion, have nothing to do with the actual story itself. I was only interested in Becker & Grace, and everything happening on the island. Becker has a wife, who is pregnant and works with Sebastian, who was his wife's former lover. It felt like Hawkins was just trying to fill pages since his wife and Sebastian's storyline had nothing to do with the art plot itself. You start to figure out things slowly throughout the book, and by the time I was finishing up the last pages of the book, I already had everything figured out. The ending was such a disappointment. I kept going back to make sure I didn't miss anything because it ended abruptly. I'm giving this three stars because even though the main plot was intriguing, the rest of the book wasn't executed well enough for me to give it any more stars.

I read The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins

While this book started slow for me and took me a bit to get into it. The last half more than made of for it. I was in a state of panic for the remainder of the story and WOW what a ride. This is a for sure reread for me just so I can make better sense of the emotions I am feeling right now. This would have for sure been a 5 star for me but needed the beginning to grab me sooner. I will be rereading and this may change.

As much as I love P. Hawkins, I'm sorry to say this was a bit of a miss for me. The pacing felt sedated and the excitement & anticipation you covet when reading a book was nearly non-existent.
Regardless, this will not deter me from reading her work in the future.

I was grateful for the opportunity to read this arc, as always. So thank you netGalley and Mariner Books!

Pub Date: 10.29.24.

A gothic story for the ages!

Hawkins gives us the perfect storm - aristocratic inheritors, infamous artist and love triangles on an island accessible only twice a day due to tides.

Vanessa, the controversial artist left her work to one of her dealer and potential lover. Grace, her best friend resides at the island where she painted. The heir of the inheritance, the child of the dealer demands that Grace release works that she has hidden. And in the middle of it all is James, who absolutely worships Vanessa's work and is the devoted caretaker of her work. A storm rolls in and this slow burning tense story comes to a head.
All the while, Hawkins writes eloquently about art, the works and the Vanessa's eye for beauty.

A perfect story for thriller lovers, Hawkins does it again!

#mariner #thebluehour #mariner

An artist who lived a reclusive life as the lone inhabitant on an island accessible only during low tide dies and leaves her works to be exhibited by her former lover’s foundation rather than leaving them to a woman who had been a confidante for years. A bone believed to be human is discovered as part of one of her pieces. Could it belong to her ex husband who mysteriously disappeared years ago? To investigate that and the fact that there seem to be some of her works missing, a young employee of the foundation, enthralled with the artist, is dispatched to meet with the confidante. But, there is so much more to this story…

There is a sense of something ominously foreboding throughout this novel. It is a study of insecurity, obsession, friendship, gender, love, the artistic process, loneliness, pathology. Written with multiple POVs and timelines and interspersed with the artist’s journal entries, there are twists and turns that are slowly revealed. I had a difficult time engaging with any of the characters or the plot. Fans of the author and art enthusiasts may well enjoy the story more than I did.

I’m incredibly disappointed in this book.
The story is told in three POV’s. Becker, our MMC who is an art expert with a special interest in artist Vanessa Chapman. His POV’s are in present time.
Grace who was Vanessa’s closest friend. Her POV’s are told in the present with some random chapters throughout the book set in different times during Grace’s life.
Lastly, we have Vanessa Chapman’s POV told through diary entries.

The story was very low paced and extremely predictable.
When I got to the last page, I was so confused. The story couldn’t possibly just end there? But, it did.
Everything was left up in the air, there was no conclusion to this story.
Some books have ambiguous endings done so beautifully that it adds more depth to the story as a whole. This was not that.
It felt like the book stops in the middle of a page.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me. The characters were unlikeable, the plot dragged on and on, and I struggled to push through until the end.

It just wasn’t for me.

What a book, quite atmospheric. Set partially on a remote island that is accessible only during certain times of the tides. There are multiple mysteries but are introduced slowly. This is not a quick paced thriller, instead it is nuanced.

The book centers on the late artist Vanessa Chapman. She surprisingly willed all her creative works to the foundation run by Douglas Lennox. He was a sort of patron, and lover, of Vanessa before things turned very disagreeable.

Add in the director of the foundation, James Becker, who came from a working class background and still amazed at his fortune being among the upper class. And Grace Haswell, friend, doctor, and executor of Vanessa’s will, who lives in the house and island left to her. Grace hasn’t been the forthcoming with handing over the art work, her letters or journals, creating more disputes.

The book was well written. I found it hard to put down and just wanted to keep reading until the end.


tags: Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Art, Artist, Missing persons, Islands, Scotland

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book. I loved her other book, "The Girl on the Train," but I could not, for the life of me, get into this book. None of the characters were compelling, and I did not know what was going on with the story from the start. I had to stop about halfway, and I don't think I have the interest to start again.

** Did not finish

I will purchase this title, as it was written by Paula Hawkins. I personally could not finish this book, but I am willing to try again in the future. The description was exciting, but I couldn't get past the character names and how confusing the book itself was.

Thank you NetGalley and Mariner Books for this ARC.

I thought about stopping many times but kept reading, hoping it would get better. I was waiting for the last half to pick up. Sadly, the ending was predictable.

As a fan of Paula Hawkins The Girl On The Train, it’s sad to say this book didn’t meet my expectations. The characters felt flat, and I couldn’t connect with them. I needed to have a reason to care if they lived or died or what the driving purpose was behind the killer being a killer. The plot was uneventful: a struggling artist meets a lonely old woman who becomes clingy and jealous of the artist’s male relationships. There’s also a curator with a troubled family who wants the artist’s final works from the unstable old woman. He ends up uncovering secrets.

This book didn’t feel like a thriller; it lacked excitement and surprises. However, I did like the idea of the island that can only be accessed at certain times of the day, adding an interesting element of potential entrapment.m

Recieved a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

The Blue Hour follows in the footsteps of Paula Hawkins backlist, serving up an eerie setting with an even more eerie mystery bringing together cagey characters to give you the ride of your life.

This was a really slow moving read. VERY atmospheric, remote island that isn't accessible 27/7. Sometimes, I think that "trope" has been overdone but it works for this book. Paula Hawkins showed a different type of writing style here but it wasn't my favorite. I think this would probably translate really well into a film. Thanks to NG for this ARC.

Short synopsis: A world renowned artist dies, after her works are donated there’s speculation surrounding one of the pieces.

My thoughts: This book is very atmospheric (being on an island only accessible for part of the day), I really liked the artistic input, and the letters and artist notes interspersed throughout. But I hoped for more. I found myself not connecting with any characters and it was too much of a slow burn to hold my interest.

Read if you love:
- Slow burns
- Remote locations
- Atmospheric reads
- Artists and their works

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Mariner Books for an advance copy of this thriller set in the Scottish isles, dealing with the crimes of the past, who owns a person's legacy, and secrets that are taken to graves, but don't stay there.

As a person, ok a nerd, with a large variety of interests, I do wonder what will happen to all the many wonderful things I have collected over the years. Comics, collectibles, vinyl albums, cassettes, laser discs, toys all the stuff I liked over my life, that I find hard to part with. My brother is happily married and given up his nerding ways, and my nephews well they are not of the same interests as I. I'd like to think there is something more than a dumpster awaiting stuff I have accumulated over a lifetime. This is something faced by a character in this book. Should the art be let go? Maybe set up a trust to protect the artist's legacy. However who could be trusted to oversee this trust, a longtime companion, or a person with plenty of reasons not to do best for the artist. Also, what happens when the art starts telling secrets. The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins is a gothic-style thriller, with creepy old houses, mysterious deaths, class battles, and questions about who should oversee the memory and who should avenge those who have gone into that sweet goodnight.

Vanessa Chapman was an artist of rare skill, and a raw reputation, filled with love affairs, spats, and a husband whose disappearance rocked the world years earlier. Chapman spent most of her life on Eris, a tidal island that can only be traveled to twelve hours a day. Chapman has died, leaving her assistant and companion, Grace, as the only occupant on the island Grace lives in a small house, left to her by Chapman. A foundation controls the art collection, a foundation run by a woman who really doesn't like Chapman. When something is found in a display James Becker travels to Eris to meet with Grace to find out what could have happened. Becker has been infatuated with Chapman's art, and sees an opportunity to make a splash in the world, if he can find answers to his many questions. Questions that might come back to haunt him.

A different kind of story for Paula Hawkins. This is more of a slow-burn gothic-style thriller, with lots of characters and motivations. There are the usual untrustworthy narrators, though the story unfolds slower than Hawkins usually does. The story is told from Chapman's view of the past, with the more modern telling of the story. The locale is unique, and island that is cut off for certain times of the day is a good setting. I remember this from another book, a short story, but I can't remember where. Which is fine, as it works well with the gothic narrative. This is also a story about class, and responsibility, to the dead, and to ourselves. The art background is explained well, and the story after a time really starts moving.

A different kind of book from Hawkins which is I enjoyed as who needs to read the same story over and over. Spooky atmosphere, interesting setting, and a lot of greed make for a really good story.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I was very excited to dive into this as I have enjoyed other of Hawkins novels. However, I am left with lukewarm feelings toward this book. The story was well written and she set the setting spectacularly. I could easily see this being made into a movie. However, the story itself was slow moving, and just didn’t hold my attention the way I would hope. I’m confident that many will love this novel about a reclusive artist and the aftermath of her estate.

Paula Hawkins proves why she's one of my favorites in The Blue Hour. The story is unusual, twisty, surprising, heart-pounding. The plot is difficult to follow at times and requires re-reading certain parts, but all of Hawkins' are like that for me. It's worth it. If you are a fan of her work, you'll devour The Blue Hour. If you've never read her before (like, where have you been?), this will seal the deal.

To be honest, I’m disappointed in this book. I’ve considered DNFing so many times, but I kept going hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel. The only plot twist is that there is no light at the end of the tunnel- the ending was very predictable in my opinion. Being a fan of Paula Hawkins, I’m sad that this book didn’t hit the spot.

The characters are flat and I didn’t have any connection with them.

Nothing really happens in this book.

The plot is basic. Basically a struggling artist meets a lonely old woman with abandonment issues. Lonely old woman becomes attached and won’t leave her alone. She’s jealous of the artist’s male lovers and becomes even more unhinged. And there’s a random curator with his own messed up family, trying to make the crazy old lady give him the artist’s final works after she dies. He ends up finding out things that he shouldn’t.

I wouldn’t call this a thriller. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat and there was no surprising twist for me. However, I really did like the idea of the island and how you can only access it during certain parts of the day. Of course, that means you can easily get trapped there too.

A great thank you goes out to Paula Hawkins, Mariner, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.