The Distant Hours

By: Kate Morton

Narrated by: Louise Brealey

Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long-lost letter arrives with the return address of Milderhurst Castle, Kent, Edie begins to suspect that her mother’s emotional distance masks an old secret.

Evacuated from London as a 13-year-old girl, Edie’s mother was chosen by the mysterious Juniper Blythe and taken to live at Milderhurst Castle with the Blythe family.

Fifty years later, as Edie chases the answers to her mother’s riddle, she too is drawn to Milderhurst Castle and the eccentric Blythe sisters. Old ladies now, the three still live together as the twins nurse Juniper, whose abandonment by her fiancé in 1941 plunged her into madness.

Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother’s past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Milderhurst Castle, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. The truth of what happened in the distant hours has been waiting a long time to be uncovered ...

2011, Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA), Winner

2010, Indie Next Pick, Winner

©2010 Kate Morton (P)2023 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"There's a rewarding, bittersweet payoff in the author's most gothic tale yet."(Kirkus)

"An enthralling romantic thriller...will stun readers." (Publishers Weekly)

"An absorbing and haunting read." (Woman & Home)

The characters

The novel was hard to put down. was The women are complex and like a good Victorian Gothic novel, utterly engaging. Family secrets

Loved the journey

One of her best . Looking forward anything she writes… story telling keeps you hooked ..didn’t want the book to stop

The suspense. What happens next!

The mystery of it all. Who killed who. I love these types of stories that go from present to past.

Hours of suspense and intrigue.

The author makes the English setting and the characters of Millhouse so vivid they appear to be real. Kate Morton is an exceptional author.

English Secrets

I loved every bit. The twists kept coming, even when I thought it had to be over!
Excellent narration.