We Bring You an Hour of Darkness

by Michael Bourne

The endangered lynx is at the center of an eco-terrorist plot that leaves a small town newspaper to solve the crimes.

"We Bring You an Hour of Darkness is my favorite kind of thriller — one that combines urgent social themes with smart dialogue and a page-turning mystery.” —Lauren Nossett, author of The Resemblance and The Professor

It’s 1993, and the ski company that runs Franklin, Colorado, plans to build a massive new resort in a pristine wilderness home to an endangered wildcat. When eco-terrorists begin a series of attacks on infrastructure and property, the FBI sets up a national task force. While the local police and politicians are melting down, five intrepid reporters at the town’s struggling newspaper must step in to solve the crime. With her newspaper on the brink of collapse, editor Tish Threadgill is under pressure from a rival publication to sell. But a local literary malcontent turns out to have a ringside seat to the eco-terrorist plot. While trying to stave off the town’s power brokers who would very much like her pesky paper gone, Tish soon finds the mystery at the heart of the attacks is far too close to home.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller

288 pages, Paperback

Published October 14, 2025

Reviews

[August Baughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ but I rounded up because I really love the things that make this book unique: the crime-solving team being entirely composed of women and the fact that the mystery progression is followed by journalists rather than police. I appreciate that the author wanted to make it a female-centered book, but many points felt very much like a man writing what he thinks women want to hear or how he thinks they think, which was distracting and not great (romance did not need to be pushed so hard in this book imo; the proposal felt ill-placed and forced).

*Explicit spoilers below*
I also feel like it was a great sentiment to have the mystery be climate-crisis focused, but there were a lot of loose ends at the end for me. Is the lynx extinct? How do we know that Terry was the leader and what happened to the rest of Jack Frost? And who were they aside from Troy? We didn’t really get a wrap-up with Bill Blanning or several other characters, either, like Gemma (she just disappeared mysteriously and that’s all we get?). It could have been wrapped up a bit better with a few more chapters, I think.

Overall, I liked the ideas that this book presented a lot, I just think the story was lacking some necessary detail.

[Lauren Nossett · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Bring You an Hour of Darkness is my favorite kind of thriller--one that combines urgent social themes with smart dialogue and a page-turning mystery. Strongly recommend!

[Eva Busza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and especially enjoyed the strong women characters who figure it all out!

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Bring You an Hour of Darkness is one of those books I couldn’t t stop reading, and I didn't want it to end. I loved how this story unfolded, and I felt like I knew these characters, their strengths and their flaws. The world of a small-town newspaper in 1993 — before the internet changed everything — was funny, fascinating and nostalgic. As the strings of this mystery came together, I sat up late into the night telling myself “just a little bit more” over and over. Highly recommend this smart and compelling mystery!

[Anne Belden · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who worked at community newspapers in the late '80s and early '90s, I have loved diving into the pre-internet and sadly bygone era of journalism in "We Bring You an Hour of Darkness." I am constantly amazed how Michael's research, writing style and attention to detail take me back 30-some years and plop me in the middle of a small-town newsroom full of strong women characters working to solve an intriguing eco-terrorism mystery. And this character-driven thriller kept me guessing to the very last page.

[Julia Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great winter read! WBYAHOD transported me to the Colorado mountains and the ‘90s like a well-crafted tv show (hint, hint, any streaming services listening?). The story jumps from character to character at the perfect clip, keeping me hungry for each new lead (and for Tish’s blueberry yoplait!). The perfect page-turner to read beside a cozy fireplace in the mountains, or for some escapism on your lunch break. And if you can get your hands on the audiobook read by Andrew Litzky, I’d recommend that too!

[Steve Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

How nice to run into author Michael Bourne while spending a day in Frisco, Colo., visiting our son for his birthday. I had a chance to speak with Bourne for a bit about working as a reporter in the early 1990s and the subject of his book. He generously and thoughtfully signed my copy. I then read it over spring break to California and enjoyed the connection to a small-town newspaper caught up in the coverage of a major event that draws the attention of the FBI and national news outlets.

[Letitia Moffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. The author was selling and signing books at a Barnes & Noble I happened to be at, so I purchased a copy -- and I'm glad I did. This was well crafted, intelligent, and full of suspense, with plenty of twists. I think it will particularly appeal to people (like me) who remember when newspapers were THE source of news and All the President's Men made everyone wish they could be a journalist. Good stuff.

[Mark Schwalm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book after meeting the author in a bookstore in Colorado. What a fantastic book! The characters were all interesting and three-dimensional, the plot was fun, the ski-town setting interesting, and the pacing was just right. This was one of my most enjoyable reads of the past year, and I recommend it.

[illiterate_biped · Rating 3 out of 5]

i DO enjoy an investigative journalism story, it must be said, although i find that often the best part is the last 50 pages. and you know what. those last 50 pages had me HOOKED