A mouldering castle in Kent, decades old secrets, mysterious disappearances, madness, and a long-ago romance: all these are elements of the tale that publisher's assistant Edie Burchill must unravel when she agrees to edit a novel called The Mud Man, her childhood favourite, being re-issued for the 75th anniversary of its publication.

There are so many strands to this story, and I have been reading for hours, coming back into my workaday world feeling dazed, wondering where the day has gone, somehow frightened by the dark of evening and the hours stretching in front of me. Kate Morton writes atmospheric fiction extremely well, and I am definitely under its spell.

It was a good book, not great, but good. Some of the secrets I guessed early on; some were a surprise right till the end. It was well written and certainly occupied huge chunks of my time. For all that, it wasn't as enjoyable a read as 'The Lake House', and I didn't get to know the characters as well as I had in that book, which was one of the reasons I enjoyed the other so much. In 'The Distant Hours' the readers get broad brush strokes of characterization instead of the detailed finer points that I would have preferred.

Still, a captivating story and one I'm glad I read. I look forward to more Kate Morton, but am going to take a break and read something humorous to relieve the heavy weight of atmosphere sitting upon my shoulders. ( )

This is another dual timeline historical mystery with a gothic feel to it, by award-winning Australian author Kate Morton, set in England in the 1940s and 1990s.

Edith Burchill begins to wonder about the time her mother spent at Milderhurst Castle in Kent, during her evacuation in the war, which she never speaks about. Edie finds herself drawn in by the three mysterious elderly Blythe sisters still living at the castle-Percy (Persephone), Saffy (Seraphina) and Juniper-and their famous father Raymond, who wrote "The True History of the Mud Man," which has always intrigued her. The three have formed a reclusive triangle caring for Juniper, who has never been the same since that pivotal night in 1941 when her fiancé did not arrive at the castle to announce their engagement.

The story does feel slower in pace and possibly not quite as good as Morton’s other works, but I still enjoyed the ride, and the ethereal, mysterious atmosphere, with castles, secrets, jilted lovers and writers. The thing lacking a little was the contemporary storyline in which Edie was a fairly one-dimensional character who mainly existed to uncover others secrets but was probably too boring to have any of her own. Still a four star read for me, and I’m keen to finish reading any Kate Morton stories I have missed. ( )

Family Drama

Beautifully written story sucked me right in. Gothic mystery and tragedy. Loved it. ( )

Normally, I love Kate Morton's books, but this one disappointed. Not sure if it was the book, or me. ( )