The Distant Hours cover art

The Distant Hours

 Preview

Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Distant Hours

By: Kate Morton
Narrated by: Louise Brealey
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

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 ...

©2010 Kate Morton (P)2023 Bolinda Publishing 20th Century Historical Romance Mystery Fiction Suspense

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)

What listeners say about The Distant Hours

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Anonymous User

Poor narration

Morton seems to be consistently ill-served with (expensive) performers who don’t match the task. I deliberately chose this version to escape Caroline Lee’s strangulated attempts at ‘accents’. Louise Brearely’s flat, inexpressive narration almost made me long for Lee (without the ‘accents’ please).

Always a shame as Morton’s book’s are generally evocative family sagas made to to lose yourself in - but difficult to do when the narration is so irritating.

(Also, as I’m finishing a Morton binge, take care with repetition! Overuse of London 1941 … & the phrase ‘truth be told’!)

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.