The Blue Hour

I’m listening to this as an audio book since it was part of a 2 for 1 offer and I didn’t notice that the paperback was already in my to-be-read pile!

This is the complicated story of an artist, her missing, wastrel, debt-ridden ex-husband, her long time companion and those who were bequeathed all of her paintings — themselves a complicated family! It is also complex structurally, with multiple viewpoints and much told in flashbacks. A lot of the action (and plot devices) revolve around the island which is the artist’s home and which is only accessible at low tide.

Despite all that complexity the story is well told and not confusing. The narration is clear, enthralling (for reader) on as things are gradually revealed. It’s actually hard to characterise this or squeeze it into a genre as there are family and relationship issues, a missing person mystery, art history and the island itself all intertwined into a very satisfying whole. There are plenty of twists especially at the end (I had to listen to the final chapter twice to straighten out what happened) and our sympathies can vary over time and across characters as the author manipulates our emotions brilliantly.

Ms Hawkins is clearly an accomplished writer — I think I have The Girl on the Train on my Kindle and I’d like to compare that with this book and with the US transplanted movie that I recall watching a few years ago…