The Blue Hour is the latest thriller from the author of The Girl on the Train.
A work by the deceased reclusive artist Vanessa Chapman is on display at the Tate when a visitor alerts the gallery that it contains a human bone, not a deer as described on the label. The gallery contacts the artist’s representatives, who leap into action.
Chapman lived on Eris, a Scottish island with only one house, one way out and unreachable from the mainland for twelve hours a day. Her notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared twenty years ago and is presumed dead. James Becker, who runs the foundation responsible for Chapman’s works, is sent to Eris in order to quell a possible scandal and meet with Grace, Chapman’s close friend who lives on the island. Grace, a former doctor, fiercely protects Chapman’s legacy. She is meant to be sorting through Chapman’s belongings, separating personal items from those relevant to the foundation but is reluctant to part with anything. Becker hopes that by reading Chapman’s diaries, he will discover the origin of the bone.
The story is revealed through a combination of Chapman’s letters and Becker and Grace’s perspectives. It is an atmospheric slow burn, drip-feeding the background story. Chapman’s letters describe in detail her work and thoughts as an artist and her complicated, often suffocating relationship with Grace. In the background, Becker’s wife is pregnant, and his loyalties are divided between his love for her and his obsession with Vanessa’s life and work. It is a well-written character study of all three main characters, with the island emerging as a fourth character as its hidden secrets begin to emerge.
The book is more than just a thriller. We learn about the complications of artist’s estates and the foundations that run them. Vanessa emerges as a prickly personality, her difficulties with dealers, critics, and personal relationships. The Blue Hour asks questions of ambition, power, art and perception.
About the author
Paula Hawkins was a journalist for fifteen years before writing her first novel. Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Paula moved to London in 1989. Her first thriller, The Girl on the Train, has sold over 23 million copies worldwide. Published in over fifty languages, it has been a Number 1 bestseller around the world and was a box office hit film starring Emily Blunt.
Paula’s thrillers, Into the Water and A Slow Fire Burning, were instant Number 1 bestsellers too.
The Blue Hour by Paul Hawkins, 336 pages, published by Transworld Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 9781529938067