This story had me hooked, even though slow burns aren’t usually my thing. The author builds tension so deliberately, and it’s impossible not to get drawn in as each layer of mystery unfolds at just the right pace. Normally, I’m not a fan of love triangles or difficult characters, but here, these elements are handled with such skill that they add to the story’s richness.

I’m always drawn to stories featuring artists, and this one didn’t disappoint. The creative layers added depth to the characters, weaving art into the suspense in a way that felt fresh and fascinating. Despite my usual preferences, I found myself fully invested in the complex dynamics and the secrets that were so carefully revealed.

And the setting—a remote Scottish island—was just perfect. Scotland’s rugged beauty and haunting isolation set the mood for every twist, almost as if the landscape itself were a part of the plot. The island’s wild, moody atmosphere added so much to the suspense, pulling me even deeper into the mystery. The ending, though, left me a bit uncertain, but it intrigued me anyway.

Rather disappointing, expected more from Paula Hawkins. Best part of this book were the descriptions of the island and the sea around it. Very atmospheric. I disliked all the characters, not very interesting and deeply flawed.

This was a slow burn. I was hoping for some more action. It wasn't the right book at the right time for me. Moody and dark with characters that I never liked.

I was a huge fan of The Girl on the Train and all of the twists it produced, So when I saw Paula Hawkins new book, I gladly requested it. If you were expecting the same type of book as The Girl on the Train, this is not it. It does have potential as it is super atmospheric and takes place on an isolated Scottish island that once was home to a mysterious artist. Just those two things alone usually have me hooked. I love mystery and I love atmosphere. However, there is a ton of artsy speak that I just couldn’t get into and in my opinion hindered the plot. The storyline seemed kind of linear to me, The mystery is there, questions are asked and mystery is solved. There really is no deviation, everything is very straightforward. I think this will work for readers who like that style, but I kind of like a lot of twists and turns along the way that have me guessing and felt this did not really tick those boxes. This also alternates between past and present timelines and I have to say the past timeline interested me more than the present timeline. Overall, I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would, but believe other readers will enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy this book. I think I might even like parts of it (the story, that is—not the characters). Atmospheric, cramped, & inescapable.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

Really enjoyed this arc of The Blue Hour! I’ve loved Paula Hawkins since reading The Girl on the Train back in 2015, so I was beyond excited to see she had another book coming out this year. It did not disappoint. While there were a few things I might have rearranged, the story was solid—moody and atmospheric, set on a dreary island in Scotland. The way you slowly piece together what’s really going on is just so satisfying. Estate dealings, art dealings, affairs, and what I can only describe as a vindictive vigilante who could definitely have used some therapy for her attachment issues. Very good! Huge thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an ARC of Hawkins’s new novel. Pub day is October 29th, and this one definitely scratched my thriller itch.

If atmospheric is your jam, this one is for you! An island that’s dark, remote, and creepy. An artist with a missing husband. A reclusive women living on her own on the island. A recent discovery that brings a stranger to the island. This book has vibes!

The pace of the book is a little slow. No fast past twist and turns but it works with establishing the creepy tone. Dual timelines and journal entries help move things along. All of the relationships are complicated to say the least. You never know who the believe but it adds to the suspenseful nature throughout.

I don’t typically change my reading habits seasonally and I definitely don’t partake in “spooky season”. The eeriness of this book, however, felt perfect for the darker days of fall.

A remote Scottish Island is the perfect, evocative setting for long-kept secrets, dark emotions and moody artwork. James Becker, our primary narrator is the creative director for an art foundation with deep connections to the provocative artist, Vannessa Chapman. When a human bone is identified in one of her sculptures, Becker travels to her island home to learn more about that work and others that are missing from her collection.

Hawkins does a masterful job, y creating a dynamic sense of place while allowing the reader to slowly peel back the layers of the central mystery. Along the way, we meet a unique cast of characters, with compelling back stories that help to shape and describe the diversity of individual, lived experiences.

Hawkins brought the unreliable narrator to center stage with The Girl on the Train. The Blue Hour builds on that suspenseful element that in a fresh, mature manner. This was an atmospheric suspense novel and is the perfect read for rainy, fall afternoon.

Paula Hawkins does it again! This story was told with amazing pacing and it was riveting. The premise was unique and was pieced together in a way tat kept me engaged throughout the book. This was a great story and thriller lovers will love it!

Thanks to Mariner books for The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins. I loved the postcards and painted canvas bookmark that I received with the book and it really helped me feel like I was on Eris Island. I love books with remote island settings, especially in Scotland which is why I was drawn to this book.

This book was so atmospheric and a slow burn. I was hooked trying to figure out what the characters could be hiding from each other and trying to unravel their history. They are all unlikeable and I wasn't sure who to trust. This was a quick read and the ending was both predictable and surprising at the same time. I really liked the diary elements from the past.

I enjoyed Paula Hawkins writing style and liked the mystery element. This isn't a thriller but more a suspenseful mystery with a great atmospheric setting.

Eris is an isolated Scottish island with only one house on it and only one way out. In addition, it is only accessible to the mainland for 12 hours a day. Vanessa was an infamous artist who used to live there, whose unfaithful husband disappeared 20 years ago. Grace currently inhabits the house on the lonely island, and is content to be there alone. However, when an appalling discovery is made in a London art gallery, someone comes knocking, and secrets start to unravel. This was a unique and fast-paced novel I won't soon forget!

I have been a long-time Paula Hawkins fan. Her books are immersive, and I love her writing style. This dark, layered, slow-burn mystery kept me intrigued, wondering what would happen next.

The world-building was fantastic. The remote Eris island setting was atmospheric and vividly depicted, giving the story an eerie sense of moodiness and isolation. I felt like I was there and could hear the rain and envision the way the tide rolled in. The island was a character in itself, and I enjoyed seeing its secrets revealed.

Told in multiple POV, the characters are complicated, flawed, and not very likable, but I found their drama, complex relationships, and questionable actions compelling to read. And, I always enjoy books that delve into the art world and are populated with artists. Hawkins wrote the sense of foreboding and suspense in the story well and kept me interested. I thought the ending was somewhat abrupt, and I would have liked an epilogue, but overall, I enjoyed this. I think it will appeal to those who enjoy gothic mysteries and domestic suspense.

Thank you to Mariner Books for the gifted ARC!

Eris Island used to be the home and studio of the reclusive artist Vanessa Chapman, but now belongs to her friend and carer. After Vanessa's death, she left the island and house to Grace, but all of her art and related works were supposed to go to the Fairburn Foundation, where Becker works as an expert on Vanessa. An anthropologist contacts the museum where one of Vanessa's sculptures is on display to let them know that the bone in the piece appears to be a human rib, opening a can of worms. Becker gets in contact with Grace, who has only grown more isolated after Vanessa's death, to discuss the origins of the work and try to recover the artwork that should be at the Foundation but never arrived there. He delves into the mysteries of what happened to Julian Chapman, Vanessa's unfaithful husband who disappeared from the island years before, and what happened to the missing artwork.

The setting and writing of this book was excellent. Eris Island feels so claustrophobic, but you can also get a sense of the beauty that inspired Vanessa in her art. The story was told in alternating perspectives, mostly of Becker and Grace, with some parts set in the past when the disappearances were happening and others set in the present as Becker tries to solve all the mysteries. There were also sections from Vanessa's journals and letters, which really helped flesh out her character and make her come alive. The tone was really tense and it felt like the story was winding itself up and up until it was just going to explode. This is my favorite Hawkins novel that I've read so far; I was really impressed. This is a great one for those who enjoy moody, atmospheric mysteries.

I loved The Girl on the Train, so I really had high hopes for this one. Something about this one just didn’t click with me though, at least not until the end. The first half of the books the cast of characters just were very disjointed and it didn’t seem like they would come together, and all around just kind of dragged for me.

The ending also just felt so unresolved. There was so much build up and so much more that felt like needed to happen.

I had high expectations for The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins because, well, it's by Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train. However, I found this book to be a disappointment.

First of all, the plot was very thin: a piece of human bone is found in a sculpture after the reclusive artist's death. Is it really human? Where did it come from? How did it get in the piece? The story was told with a slow pace, and I couldn't connect with the characters, as they were not developed very well.

On the other hand, the writing was solid and the setting of a remote island accessible by land for only twelve hours per day did make for an unsettling atmosphere.

The biggest flaw was the ending: not only did I not like it, but it did not resolve the story. I actually flipped forward and back to make sure my ebook wasn't missing some pages. Unfortunately, I will not be recommending this one, but I look forward to more by Paula Hawkins.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

James Becker is an art historian for a private foundation that owns the work of his favorite artist, Vanessa Chapman. When a museum that holds one of her sculptures claims that it is made out of a human bone, James travels to the remote island that she lived and worked on (prior to her death) to hunt for clues. While there, he must also negotiate with Vanessa’s companion, Grace, who is holding on to Vanessa’s art and journals, even though she is legally obligated to give them to the Fairburn Foundation. While there, superfan James is blinded to some of the stranger parts of Grace’s personality as he explores the place that his favorite artist found so inspiring. Through flashbacks and journal entries, the reader learns about Grace and Vanessa’s complicated lives and relationships while also trying to figure out whether the bone is a red herring or a legitimate mystery.

I enjoyed reading this book, but it was a much slower burn than I was anticipating. I flew through The Girl on the Train, but this book was more character-driven and the plot didn’t get exciting until close to the end. The descriptions of the setting were beautiful, and the characters were interesting and well-drawn, yet I wasn’t quite as invested as I hoped to be. All in all, this is a solid mystery that I’d recommend to fans of the genre or fans of Paula Hawkins, but it won’t go on my list of top mysteries for the year.

Eekkk... I wanted to love this, but just did not. It is told from multiple perspectives, which works in the sense that I was never confused, always knew the point of view, etc But... I think it also made it difficult to connect with any of the characters. They were all flat to me and I found that I was really disconnected from the story for the majority of the book. All that being said, I never really trusted the characters, their stories or even the book itself. It felt dark and creepy from the start. The ending was semi surprising, which is always nice. I think that if there were fewer perspectives and that I connected more with the characters I would have enjoyed the book more.
A bone is discovered in the artwork being shown in a London Gallery... which brings us to Eris. An isolated island with only one home. Previously home to an infamous artist and the last known location of her missing husband. Today home to a woman who enjoys her solitude. When a human bone is discovered, the island's secrets are exposed.
Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

I really loved this book… I read it in one day. The story and mystery and the writing style was so good. I gave 4 stars because the ending felt abrupt and lacking.

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins transports readers to the remote island of Eris, a mysterious place with a single house, a single inhabitant, and secrets buried beneath its isolated shores. Grace, who now calls the island home, lives a life of solitude, far removed from the rest of the world. But when a startling discovery in a London art gallery brings an unexpected visitor to Eris, the past begins to unravel. The island was once home to Vanessa, a famous artist whose husband vanished under suspicious circumstances two decades ago, and now those long-hidden secrets are poised to surface.

Paula Hawkins masterfully blends suspense and atmosphere, creating a gripping and eerie tale that keeps you on edge from start to finish. The isolated setting, paired with complex characters, evokes a sense of unease and tension reminiscent of classic psychological thrillers. If you enjoy a slow-burn mystery with layers of intrigue and suspense, The Blue Hour will pull you in and keep you guessing until the final page.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
While I have enjoyed Paula Hawkins books in the past, I struggled with this one. I found the characters to be dull and pretentious. My lack of emotional investment in the characters meant that at no point could I muster up the interest to care where the bone came from or how the missing party vanished. Made it through and didn’t feel any sense of resolution.