Book #38: The Distant Hours

I thought I'd save this one for a holiday - it just had that kind of feel about it... but needless to say I couldn't wait that long! And anyway, it was probably too heavy a book to take on holiday. Best propped up on my knees in bed instead!

But after making my way through all 600+ pages of The Distant Hours, by Kate Morton, I was left wondering why it needed to be so long? A healthy 300 pages would have done. An interesting story about a strained relationship between mother and daughter, which becomes even more so when daughter finds mother has a secret from her childhood. Yet, as daughter goes about uncovering that secret, the relationship strengthens and a much tighter bond forms. Relatively predictable but still nice to have happen!

I just spent the entire time waiting for a real twist to occur in the book, but instead it was a little bit of a nothing ending unfortunately. And I got a bit frustrated with reading about every step our main character took. The pages were filled with descriptions of her thoughts, her movements, her conversations, her research - which meant there was very little left for the imagination.

I'm not sorry I read this, and I certainly didn't feel like it was a waste of time. In fact I did quite enjoy it  - even though the above description probably doesn't sound like it - and I LOVE the cover. I just think it was probably best saved as a holiday read. After all, one can still prop a book up on one's knees while lying on a sun lounger!