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The Small Hours
When Michael Virtue learns his close friend and colleague, Mason, is dead, he is deeply shaken, and when his wife and children leave only days later, he is thrown asunder. First come obsessive memories of his failure on a trip he took to solve the mystery of his uncle, Robert, presumed lost in the Spanish Civil War; then, he is inexplicably drawn to Mason's enigmatic girlfriend, Delia, whom he'd never met before Mason's death. Who is this woman and why, after she appears at his home one evening, does he find himself "married" to her, and on a flight to Spain with forged passports? Immediately, their time in Spain is full with involvements and events both complicated and difficult; Michael finds a friend, Maria del Carmen; Delia finds a lover, both struggle. Delia is clearly running from something dire. Michael can see only his quest. Separate paths take them to a juncture outside the village of La Jolla de Malaga where Michael and Delia reach respective resolutions.
Will Michael solve the mystery of his Uncle Robert's disappearance? Will Delia continue running and, should she? Will Maria del Carmen and the villagers of La Jolla de Malaga prevail in the covert continuation of the erstwhile civil war, or will the evil that lingers decades after any civil war ostensibly ends, proceed unchecked?
Will Michael solve the mystery of his Uncle Robert's disappearance? Will Delia continue running and, should she? Will Maria del Carmen and the villagers of La Jolla de Malaga prevail in the covert continuation of the erstwhile civil war, or will the evil that lingers decades after any civil war ostensibly ends, proceed unchecked?
463 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2025
About the author
Edward Averett
8 books6 followersI was born in the Pacific Northwest, in southwestern Washington State, but we moved around a lot when I was young. My father had migrated from the Oklahoma dustbowl to California in the 1930s, and migration never seemed to leave his blood. Adjusting to new schools, sometimes a few a year, was hard.
Reading got me through and became a passion. I gobbled up The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth, The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley, and many others.
My love of stories soon became a zeal for "getting things down on paper." At age 11, I started my first novel, The Canadian Calf. I had just finished reading The Yearling, so I figured a novel about a young boy in Canada who adopts an abandoned moose calf would be just the ticket. When my younger brother, Doug, got his smelting pole hung up on an old piling and fell into the frigid, fast-moving floodwaters of the Cowlitz River, I came up with the idea for my second novel, The Swift Stream, which concerned the art of smelt dipping in the Cowlitz using a woman's nylon stocking as a net.
I knew from then on that my life's goal was to publish fiction. Through adolescence, college, marriage, and children, I never lost sight of it. Sometimes life can throw curves and wavy lines at us, and I've seen my share, but I've never strayed from writing for long. In fact, armed with visions of authoring the great American novel as an expatriate, in 1981, I moved my family to a small village in the hills of southern Spain.
We planned to spend one year and stayed for nearly four. I learned the craft of writing; my wife conquered the language and made fast friends. My daughter was the first foreigner ever picked to be queen of the annual village fair, and my son was soon indistinguishable from the other young boys in the village. One of my most prized memories is of the day my wife Ed and Mary Averett at wedding and I were matron of honor and best man at the wedding of some close friends in the village church. The high walls of the traditional Catholic church were hung with precious oil paintings that had been torn during the Spanish Civil War. And still they hung there. We felt privileged to be a part of such an important occasion. Our experience in that part of the world was life-changing and stays with us to this day.
My novels are about how families work through grief and loss, which can occur in many forms. Besides grieving loved ones who have died, one can also grieve over a divorce, friends from an old neighborhood after moving away, a favorite pet who has died or gotten lost, the loss of status in the community, even losing one's place in the world in general. My belief that people can get through these transitions and find a better way of life is what informs and inspires my writing. It is the primary issue in my novel, The Rhyming Season.
Reading got me through and became a passion. I gobbled up The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth, The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley, and many others.
My love of stories soon became a zeal for "getting things down on paper." At age 11, I started my first novel, The Canadian Calf. I had just finished reading The Yearling, so I figured a novel about a young boy in Canada who adopts an abandoned moose calf would be just the ticket. When my younger brother, Doug, got his smelting pole hung up on an old piling and fell into the frigid, fast-moving floodwaters of the Cowlitz River, I came up with the idea for my second novel, The Swift Stream, which concerned the art of smelt dipping in the Cowlitz using a woman's nylon stocking as a net.
I knew from then on that my life's goal was to publish fiction. Through adolescence, college, marriage, and children, I never lost sight of it. Sometimes life can throw curves and wavy lines at us, and I've seen my share, but I've never strayed from writing for long. In fact, armed with visions of authoring the great American novel as an expatriate, in 1981, I moved my family to a small village in the hills of southern Spain.
We planned to spend one year and stayed for nearly four. I learned the craft of writing; my wife conquered the language and made fast friends. My daughter was the first foreigner ever picked to be queen of the annual village fair, and my son was soon indistinguishable from the other young boys in the village. One of my most prized memories is of the day my wife Ed and Mary Averett at wedding and I were matron of honor and best man at the wedding of some close friends in the village church. The high walls of the traditional Catholic church were hung with precious oil paintings that had been torn during the Spanish Civil War. And still they hung there. We felt privileged to be a part of such an important occasion. Our experience in that part of the world was life-changing and stays with us to this day.
My novels are about how families work through grief and loss, which can occur in many forms. Besides grieving loved ones who have died, one can also grieve over a divorce, friends from an old neighborhood after moving away, a favorite pet who has died or gotten lost, the loss of status in the community, even losing one's place in the world in general. My belief that people can get through these transitions and find a better way of life is what informs and inspires my writing. It is the primary issue in my novel, The Rhyming Season.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 2, 2026
A contemplative and layered novel in which a man’s search for his lost uncle weaves together the stories of multiple characters and their connection with and experiences of the Spanish Civil War, and prompts consideration about guilt, memory, and complicity.
The Spanish Civil War and the atrocities committed as a part of it play a central role, and I thought it was handled excellently. Honestly it made me realise how little I really know about the Spanish Civil War - I swear when I hear it brought up it is usually in the context of “and so and so also went to fight against the fascists during the Spanish Civil War”. Generally when we talk about the fascism of the 20th century, media tends to focus on World War 2, so it’s interesting to deal with a context in which fascism “won”, and how this then impacts the lives and memories of the people who continue to live alongside the victors. In particular, the role of memory and trauma is explored with great depth and nuance, as well as an interrogation of complicity, guilt, and how trauma is buried and silenced. Broadly it also seems to deal with ideas of motivation and drive - why we do the things we do - and how small or seemingly insignificant or spontaneous decisions can have irrevocable impacts on ours and others lives.
The character work is overall particularly excellent. Although Michael is ostensibly the main character, in that it is his actions and path we follow most directly, there are 4 other characters who are given a great amount of focus and exploration. Michael is actually the most ‘boring’, as the things he is dealing with are comparatively mundane: the loss of a friend, the fizzling out of his marriage, the uncertainty of what he wants out of life. But he is an inviting and easy character to follow, and feels believable in his earnest if clumsy attempts to unravel a mystery and connect with other characters. Whilst enjoyable to follow, his motivations and character background feel perhaps a bit underdeveloped or confused, especially since characters like Carmen and Robert, and even villain Eugenio, have backgrounds that feel well-constructed and prompt great questions about guilt, memory, and legacy. Similarly, I thought Delia’s character history was pretty interesting in explaining her motivations and neuroses, and I like her as a comparison in terms of the idea of fleeing your past and the weight of guilt, but at times her story felt a little divorced from the rest of the characters.
The writing style is interesting, in that when I started reading it, I quite immediately thought “I don’t know if I’m going to get on with this”. On first impression it leans towards overly verbose, and my thought was that it was going to go purple or feel sort of overwrought or like it was trying too hard. I ended up actually liking it a lot. It constantly pulled back just from the brink of being too much, and instead resulted in a quite distinctive expressive quality in the way it meandered towards description. It’s introspective in taking it’s time to dig into each character’s emotions, and really lingers in letting little things unfold out, creating a fully realised atmosphere. There’s also quite a lot of dry humour, and there were multiple moments I found myself surprised by how funny I’d found a line.
The plot drifts between different perspectives and time periods, and whatever time period or event is being explored, the narrative voice feels deeply sunk into each particular moment. It has a more contemplative, leisurely pace, an almost sluggishness that somehow matches with the atmosphere of a hazy, sun-baked, sedate Spanish village. In the moments of higher tension, like the violent scenes of wartime brutality or emotional pain, the same sluggishness works to create a kind of gauzy sense of disassociation, recreating the unreality of seeing or experiencing something deeply traumatic, the feeling of time needing to move unrelentingly forward even through a nightmare. At times it maybe meanders a bit too slowly, and could’ve done with some bursts of momentum to vary the pacing, but generally I think it works in allowing the experiences to really sit with the reader. The direction of the conclusion feels quite obvious but it winds it’s way towards it in a way that keeps an element of tension and surprise. Overall an emotionally complex and contemplative novel with a strong and enjoyable writing style.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Spanish Civil War and the atrocities committed as a part of it play a central role, and I thought it was handled excellently. Honestly it made me realise how little I really know about the Spanish Civil War - I swear when I hear it brought up it is usually in the context of “and so and so also went to fight against the fascists during the Spanish Civil War”. Generally when we talk about the fascism of the 20th century, media tends to focus on World War 2, so it’s interesting to deal with a context in which fascism “won”, and how this then impacts the lives and memories of the people who continue to live alongside the victors. In particular, the role of memory and trauma is explored with great depth and nuance, as well as an interrogation of complicity, guilt, and how trauma is buried and silenced. Broadly it also seems to deal with ideas of motivation and drive - why we do the things we do - and how small or seemingly insignificant or spontaneous decisions can have irrevocable impacts on ours and others lives.
The character work is overall particularly excellent. Although Michael is ostensibly the main character, in that it is his actions and path we follow most directly, there are 4 other characters who are given a great amount of focus and exploration. Michael is actually the most ‘boring’, as the things he is dealing with are comparatively mundane: the loss of a friend, the fizzling out of his marriage, the uncertainty of what he wants out of life. But he is an inviting and easy character to follow, and feels believable in his earnest if clumsy attempts to unravel a mystery and connect with other characters. Whilst enjoyable to follow, his motivations and character background feel perhaps a bit underdeveloped or confused, especially since characters like Carmen and Robert, and even villain Eugenio, have backgrounds that feel well-constructed and prompt great questions about guilt, memory, and legacy. Similarly, I thought Delia’s character history was pretty interesting in explaining her motivations and neuroses, and I like her as a comparison in terms of the idea of fleeing your past and the weight of guilt, but at times her story felt a little divorced from the rest of the characters.
The writing style is interesting, in that when I started reading it, I quite immediately thought “I don’t know if I’m going to get on with this”. On first impression it leans towards overly verbose, and my thought was that it was going to go purple or feel sort of overwrought or like it was trying too hard. I ended up actually liking it a lot. It constantly pulled back just from the brink of being too much, and instead resulted in a quite distinctive expressive quality in the way it meandered towards description. It’s introspective in taking it’s time to dig into each character’s emotions, and really lingers in letting little things unfold out, creating a fully realised atmosphere. There’s also quite a lot of dry humour, and there were multiple moments I found myself surprised by how funny I’d found a line.
The plot drifts between different perspectives and time periods, and whatever time period or event is being explored, the narrative voice feels deeply sunk into each particular moment. It has a more contemplative, leisurely pace, an almost sluggishness that somehow matches with the atmosphere of a hazy, sun-baked, sedate Spanish village. In the moments of higher tension, like the violent scenes of wartime brutality or emotional pain, the same sluggishness works to create a kind of gauzy sense of disassociation, recreating the unreality of seeing or experiencing something deeply traumatic, the feeling of time needing to move unrelentingly forward even through a nightmare. At times it maybe meanders a bit too slowly, and could’ve done with some bursts of momentum to vary the pacing, but generally I think it works in allowing the experiences to really sit with the reader. The direction of the conclusion feels quite obvious but it winds it’s way towards it in a way that keeps an element of tension and surprise. Overall an emotionally complex and contemplative novel with a strong and enjoyable writing style.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 25, 2025
The Small Hours follows Michael Virtue, a psychologist whose life starts to unravel after the death of his closest friend and the slow collapse of his marriage. While he tries to keep himself afloat, he becomes drawn back into the long unresolved mystery of his uncle Robert, who vanished during the Spanish Civil War. The story moves between letters from the 1930s, Michael’s midlife turmoil in the late 1980s, and the old scars still lingering in Andalusian towns. The more he digs, the more he learns that war does not end when the guns go quiet. It stays in the people who survived it and in the families who never got answers.
The writing feels calm on the surface, but underneath it hums with grief and regret. I kept noticing how the author lets moments stretch out. A small gesture becomes heavy, and a stray memory turns sharp. It feels real. Michael is not a tidy hero. He stumbles. He doubts himself. He drinks too much. He tries to fix things he does not know how to fix. I found myself both frustrated with him and rooting for him. The letters from Robert were my favorite part. They carry this sweet mix of hope, fear, and youthful bravado. They made me ache because I already knew what Michael didn’t. The tone of the book is warm. It held me in a quiet sadness that felt honest rather than forced.
There were places where the story surprised me. Some characters walk in with very jagged edges. Delia, especially, knocked me off balance. She is blunt and unpredictable and sometimes a little wild, and she shakes Michael awake even when he doesn’t want to be awake. The Spanish sections were the most vivid. The villages feel sun-bleached and haunted. Every old stone seems to carry a memory. I could almost smell the dust and the sea air fighting each other. The pacing sometimes meanders, but I didn’t mind. It felt like wandering through someone’s emotional attic, bumping into things they forgot they had stored away. The author lets sorrow echo, and for me, that made the book feel relatable.
By the time I reached the end, I felt like I had sat with a friend who finally said something they had needed to say for twenty years. This book would be perfect for readers who like stories about family secrets, grief that does not behave, and the strange ways the past keeps tugging at the present. It is also a good fit for anyone who likes slow-burning emotional journeys and stories that blend personal history with real historical wounds.
The writing feels calm on the surface, but underneath it hums with grief and regret. I kept noticing how the author lets moments stretch out. A small gesture becomes heavy, and a stray memory turns sharp. It feels real. Michael is not a tidy hero. He stumbles. He doubts himself. He drinks too much. He tries to fix things he does not know how to fix. I found myself both frustrated with him and rooting for him. The letters from Robert were my favorite part. They carry this sweet mix of hope, fear, and youthful bravado. They made me ache because I already knew what Michael didn’t. The tone of the book is warm. It held me in a quiet sadness that felt honest rather than forced.
There were places where the story surprised me. Some characters walk in with very jagged edges. Delia, especially, knocked me off balance. She is blunt and unpredictable and sometimes a little wild, and she shakes Michael awake even when he doesn’t want to be awake. The Spanish sections were the most vivid. The villages feel sun-bleached and haunted. Every old stone seems to carry a memory. I could almost smell the dust and the sea air fighting each other. The pacing sometimes meanders, but I didn’t mind. It felt like wandering through someone’s emotional attic, bumping into things they forgot they had stored away. The author lets sorrow echo, and for me, that made the book feel relatable.
By the time I reached the end, I felt like I had sat with a friend who finally said something they had needed to say for twenty years. This book would be perfect for readers who like stories about family secrets, grief that does not behave, and the strange ways the past keeps tugging at the present. It is also a good fit for anyone who likes slow-burning emotional journeys and stories that blend personal history with real historical wounds.
March 5, 2026
THE SMALL HOURS by Edward Averett is a haunting and atmospheric novel that skillfully combines historical mystery with a deep exploration of grief. The story centers on Michael Virtue, a psychologist whose life is falling apart after the death of his best friend and the breakdown of his marriage. In search of answers, Michael travels to Spain to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his uncle during the Spanish Civil War.
One of the novel's greatest strengths is its character work. Michael is a relatable and flawed protagonist, while the unpredictable Delia adds a sharp and necessary tension to the narrative. Averett's depiction of the sun-drenched Spanish countryside is vivid and evocative, making the setting feel as layered and complex as the characters themselves. The pacing is intentionally slow, favoring reflection over action, but it rewards patient readers with rich emotional depth. Although some may find the ending slightly rushed, the overall journey remains deeply satisfying.
At its core, THE SMALL HOURS is a story about loss and the way the past continues to shape the present. It is best suited to readers who appreciate thoughtful literary fiction, family secrets, and the long shadows cast by history.
One of the novel's greatest strengths is its character work. Michael is a relatable and flawed protagonist, while the unpredictable Delia adds a sharp and necessary tension to the narrative. Averett's depiction of the sun-drenched Spanish countryside is vivid and evocative, making the setting feel as layered and complex as the characters themselves. The pacing is intentionally slow, favoring reflection over action, but it rewards patient readers with rich emotional depth. Although some may find the ending slightly rushed, the overall journey remains deeply satisfying.
At its core, THE SMALL HOURS is a story about loss and the way the past continues to shape the present. It is best suited to readers who appreciate thoughtful literary fiction, family secrets, and the long shadows cast by history.
January 5, 2026
I was intrigued by the setting of this novel, and Edward Averett did not disappoint me with his description of the Spanish countryside or people. Their hardships and traditions came alive through the unfolding drama of a youngish American’s search for his past and for his place in the world.
Averett wove a brilliant tale of how the Spanish Civil War (and by extent ANY civil war) has long-reaching consequences and leaves untold psychic imprints not he participants and the successors to the conflict. His story opened my eyes to the brutality of the sheer atrocities that gave way to paintings such as “Guernica” and the personal scars left of the populace caught in the struggle between fascism and socialism.
Adding a femme fatale as a foil to the devout sheep herder was genius, in my opinion, as the soul of the protagonist hung in the balance. This story was brutal and gritty, but entirely necessary to reach the depths of feeling required to connect to the characters.
I appreciated the complexity of this novel and look forward to more from Edward Averett. I left this review voluntarily, in spite of being an advance reader who was provided a copy at no charge.
Averett wove a brilliant tale of how the Spanish Civil War (and by extent ANY civil war) has long-reaching consequences and leaves untold psychic imprints not he participants and the successors to the conflict. His story opened my eyes to the brutality of the sheer atrocities that gave way to paintings such as “Guernica” and the personal scars left of the populace caught in the struggle between fascism and socialism.
Adding a femme fatale as a foil to the devout sheep herder was genius, in my opinion, as the soul of the protagonist hung in the balance. This story was brutal and gritty, but entirely necessary to reach the depths of feeling required to connect to the characters.
I appreciated the complexity of this novel and look forward to more from Edward Averett. I left this review voluntarily, in spite of being an advance reader who was provided a copy at no charge.
February 27, 2026
THE SMALL HOURS is a reflective historical novel that explores personal grief against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. The story follows Michael Virtue, who struggles with the sudden death of his closest friend and the collapse of his marriage. In his fragile state, he reconnects with Delia and travels back to Spain, searching for answers about his uncle’s mysterious disappearance during the war.
Rather than focusing on battles or political conflict, the novel emphasizes themes of memory, healing, and unresolved history. Averett’s writing captures the atmosphere of a Spanish village with vivid detail and develops characters who feel layered and authentic. The historical setting enriches the narrative without overshadowing the intimate, personal story at its core.
The pacing is deliberately slow, and the use of shifting timelines and letters may seem challenging at first. Yet readers who stay with the story will find the gradual unfolding both rewarding and meaningful. With its strong language and mature themes, this character-driven novel is best suited for those who enjoy thoughtful, introspective literary fiction.
Rather than focusing on battles or political conflict, the novel emphasizes themes of memory, healing, and unresolved history. Averett’s writing captures the atmosphere of a Spanish village with vivid detail and develops characters who feel layered and authentic. The historical setting enriches the narrative without overshadowing the intimate, personal story at its core.
The pacing is deliberately slow, and the use of shifting timelines and letters may seem challenging at first. Yet readers who stay with the story will find the gradual unfolding both rewarding and meaningful. With its strong language and mature themes, this character-driven novel is best suited for those who enjoy thoughtful, introspective literary fiction.
March 14, 2026
A quietly powerful journey through memory and mystery
The Small Hours is a deeply absorbing and thoughtful story that reflects on a wide array of issues including emotional reckoning, historical intrigue, and personal loss. Averett crafts the story around Michael Virtue whose life changes dramatically after a sudden loss in his life. He begins a complex journey searching for unfinished histories, his identity and other key memories.
The story is well intertwined with the historical issues and personal experiences and curiosity. Michael discovers a whole new world and history around his family, and the mysteries are key for him to resolve past conflicts and also define his identity. The environment lingers with tension, is unsettling, and the people are also resilient, which is key in shaping the narrative.
Averett does not rush the story, but instead measures his prose with careful thoughts that lack dramatic twists, and instead has a contemplative rhythm. It makes it easier to understand what it is all about as the characters confront their past and determine their future. This is the perfect book with a blend of emotional depth, history and mystery.
The Small Hours is a deeply absorbing and thoughtful story that reflects on a wide array of issues including emotional reckoning, historical intrigue, and personal loss. Averett crafts the story around Michael Virtue whose life changes dramatically after a sudden loss in his life. He begins a complex journey searching for unfinished histories, his identity and other key memories.
The story is well intertwined with the historical issues and personal experiences and curiosity. Michael discovers a whole new world and history around his family, and the mysteries are key for him to resolve past conflicts and also define his identity. The environment lingers with tension, is unsettling, and the people are also resilient, which is key in shaping the narrative.
Averett does not rush the story, but instead measures his prose with careful thoughts that lack dramatic twists, and instead has a contemplative rhythm. It makes it easier to understand what it is all about as the characters confront their past and determine their future. This is the perfect book with a blend of emotional depth, history and mystery.
January 1, 2026
“In God’s world, no one suffers without deserving it. Now confess.” This unsettling line reveals the tension throughout the novel, The Small Hours, by Edward Averett. The story places us into the turmoil of the main character, Michael Virtue’s, quest for discovery following the death of a best friend and flailing marriage. As he searches for answers to his uncle’s mysterious disappearance decades before during the Spanish Civil War, he and a cast of characters must question whether final solutions are something they need or even deserve. The Small Hours provides a measured and reflective style that tends to favor atmosphere over blazing momentum, though that manages to play into the novel’s strengths. Averett provides characters with emotional depth through thoughtful language that ultimately rewards in its themes of guilt and reckoning.
I received an advanced complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
I received an advanced complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
December 18, 2025
This is a story about a collision between two people who are suffering in their own particular ways. I really like the characters, most of the characters were complex but the plot demanded that.
The two main characters were excellent.
Although almost inevitably nowadays the plot switched between characters and between locations this was not overdone and suited the plot/ storyline.
Lots of the content was a hard read but again most of this was necessary considering the primary setting of the Spanish Civil War.
I really liked this book, I was close to giving it five stars, I did however think that the ending was a bit rushed and weak. Perhaps was to enable a follow up story.
Thanks to author for a very enjoyable read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The two main characters were excellent.
Although almost inevitably nowadays the plot switched between characters and between locations this was not overdone and suited the plot/ storyline.
Lots of the content was a hard read but again most of this was necessary considering the primary setting of the Spanish Civil War.
I really liked this book, I was close to giving it five stars, I did however think that the ending was a bit rushed and weak. Perhaps was to enable a follow up story.
Thanks to author for a very enjoyable read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
February 26, 2026
The Small Hours is a thoughtful, atmospheric novel that blends mystery, psychological drama, and historical intrigue into a compelling journey of loss and self-discovery. Michael’s grief and unraveling sense of reality are portrayed with emotional nuance, drawing readers into his restless search for meaning and truth. The shifting relationships and layered secrets keep the story engaging, while the Spanish setting adds depth and tension. At times the narrative feels deliberately slow, but this pacing allows the characters’ inner struggles to fully unfold. A reflective and haunting read that rewards patient readers with a satisfying, introspective resolution.
March 14, 2026
So many layers revealing inner turmoil after some traumatic events happen. I found it unsettling that the main character was drawn into Delias story without question. The throw back to the spanish war and the ever felt prescence of his Uncle Robert gave the book grit and suspense. I wasnt thrilled with the ending but I guess it gives some truth and finale to it all. Overall a good read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 29, 2026
Edward Averett’s The Small Hours is a thoughtful, emotionally layered novel that blends personal grief, historical intrigue, and a slow-burning journey toward understanding. When Michael Virtue loses both a close friend and, soon after, the stability of his family life, he becomes unmoored and vulnerable. What follows is a reflective and at times surreal path that pulls him into the orbit of Delia, a mysterious woman connected to his late friend. Their sudden entanglement and journey to Spain set the stage for a story that balances introspection with a broader historical backdrop tied to the lingering shadows of the Spanish Civil War.
The novel excels in its character work. Michael’s emotional unraveling and quiet determination feel authentic, and Delia’s guarded nature adds tension and intrigue throughout. Averett takes his time allowing the characters to develop, and while the pacing is intentionally slow, the gradual build creates a satisfying emotional payoff. Readers who appreciate a steady, reflective narrative will find the pacing rewarding rather than frustrating.
One of the book’s strongest elements is its educational and historical dimension. The exploration of Spain’s past and the lingering effects of civil conflict add depth without overwhelming the personal story. The village setting and supporting characters, particularly Maria del Carmen, enrich the narrative and provide warmth and perspective amid the heavier themes.
At its core, The Small Hours is a story about loss, memory, and the search for resolution, both personal and historical. The emotional weight of Michael’s journey, paired with the gradual unveiling of secrets, gives the novel a contemplative tone that lingers after the final page. With its strong characters, meaningful themes, and satisfying slow build, this is a rewarding read for those who enjoy reflective literary fiction with a touch of mystery and history.
The novel excels in its character work. Michael’s emotional unraveling and quiet determination feel authentic, and Delia’s guarded nature adds tension and intrigue throughout. Averett takes his time allowing the characters to develop, and while the pacing is intentionally slow, the gradual build creates a satisfying emotional payoff. Readers who appreciate a steady, reflective narrative will find the pacing rewarding rather than frustrating.
One of the book’s strongest elements is its educational and historical dimension. The exploration of Spain’s past and the lingering effects of civil conflict add depth without overwhelming the personal story. The village setting and supporting characters, particularly Maria del Carmen, enrich the narrative and provide warmth and perspective amid the heavier themes.
At its core, The Small Hours is a story about loss, memory, and the search for resolution, both personal and historical. The emotional weight of Michael’s journey, paired with the gradual unveiling of secrets, gives the novel a contemplative tone that lingers after the final page. With its strong characters, meaningful themes, and satisfying slow build, this is a rewarding read for those who enjoy reflective literary fiction with a touch of mystery and history.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews