The Hidden Hours

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sarah Foster

Mystery | Psychological Suspense

352 pages

Publishing November 3, 2020 by Blackstone Publishing

Young, 21-year-old Eleanor is looking for a fresh start.  She packs up her belongings, scantly more than a suitcase a few articles of clothing, and heads off to London for a new life.  She’ll be living with her mother’s only sibling – an uncle Eleanor barely knows – in Uncle Ian’s tony home on Notting Hill, along with his wife and two young daughters.  What’s more, Aunt Susan’s publishing firm has an opening for an admin assistant that should be perfect for Eleanor.

But things start to go terribly wrong on a rainy evening at the company Christmas party.  Eleanor has only been in the UK and at the firm a few weeks and so hasn’t yet made any friends.  Determined to be merry and hopefully find some companionable souls, Eleanor is flattered when the beautiful, social butterfly Arabella, the belle of the publishing house, singles Arabella out for drinks and conversation.  But then the next day, Arabella is dead.  And Eleanor has no recollection of what happened after the party or even how she got home that night.

Frightened of The Hidden Hours in her subconscious, and how she may have been involved in Arabella’s death, Eleanor frantically attempts to recreate the tragic events of that night and salvage her future… while simultaneously outrunning the past that lives inside her mind as it were only yesterday.

My thoughts:

A chilling thriller of memory loss and secret lies by best-selling author Sara Foster who, with five novels under her belt, is proving to be a modern-day master of psychological suspense.  Shrouded in the moody, drippy weather of London in winter, this gripper sucks you into the story faster than green grass through a goose!

Not to be out done by the main murder-mystery plot is the fable-like, cautionary tale embedded in the immensely layered and deftly woven flashbacks to Eleanor’s childhood in Australia.  These are all the more powerful, as well, due to the contrast between the hot, dry landscape of the southern continent and the damp and dark bustle of the London metropolis.

If you’re a fan of chills and thrills, and things that go bump in the night, then you won’t be able to put this one down!  Desiree Reads really enjoyed the book and gives it a praise-worthy, four stars.

A big thank you to #SaraFoster, BlackstonePublishing, and #NetGalley for providing a free Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for this honest review.  Originally released in paperback and for Kindle in 2017, in an unusual move, this is the debut release of the hardcover edition for 2020. 

Support your indie books stores and pick up your copy of The Hidden Hours, releasing November 3rd, at BookShop.org – the online bookstore that gives away 75% of its profit to support local indie bookstores.  (Note: Desiree does receive a small commission should you purchase through this link, however, she shares this out of love and care for her local, corner bookstores everywhere.)

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