The Darkest Hour

I have read all of Barbara Erskine’s books and have loved them all. This one was a re-read so I knew the story but, it didn’t spoil my enjoyment by reading it again. This book followed the usual style of ghosts and duel time line and at times I actually felt shivers down my back as I was reading it,......more

Two and a half stars. This is a story told in two time periods – the present and the 1940s. It took me a while to get into the style of it. I wasn’t fussed on the way the narrative kept swapping so quickly from one time frame and one lot of characters to the other. It gave the book a fragmented feel.......more

Very unusually for me, I've only given this three stars ...... If you know Barbara Erskine's work then you'll know they are all time slip type novels where events from the past merge into the present day. I have loved her work for years and it's a genre she writes particularly well. The narrative fl......more

Yet another gem from Erksine! I have absolutely loved every other book I’ve read by her and this one was no different. I was completely absorbed right from the beginning and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what would happen next and what secrets would be revealed. I really loved ho......more

The characters are extremely one-dimensional, there are numerous gratuitous characters that serve no purpose at all (does she not have an editor??) and there are genuinely no likeable characters. The ending was largely predictable and Unsatisfying. It's grossly inconsistent with the character's prev......more