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The Golden Hour
On a spring afternoon long ago, thirteen-year-old Wyn Davies took a shortcut through the woods in her New Hampshire hometown and became a cautionary tale. Now, twenty years later, she lives in New York, on the opposite side of a duplex from her ex, with their four-year-old daughter shuttling between them. Wyn makes her living painting commissioned canvases of birch trees to match her clients’ furnishings. But the nagging sense that she has sold her artistic soul is soon eclipsed by a greater fear. Robby Rousseau, who has spent the past two decades in prison for a terrible crime against her, may be released based on new DNA evidence—unless Wyn breaks her silence about that afternoon.
To clear her head, refocus her painting, and escape an even more present threat, Wyn agrees to be temporary caretaker for a friend’s new property on a remote Maine island. The house has been empty for years, and in the basement Wyn discovers a box of film canisters labeled “Epitaphs and Prophecies.” Like time capsules, the photographs help her piece together the life of the house’s former owner, an artistic young mother, much like Wyn. But there is a mystery behind the images too, and unraveling it will force Wyn to finally confront what happened in those woods—and perhaps escape them at last.
A compelling and evocative novel with an unsettling question at its heart, T. Greenwood’s The Golden Hour explores the power of art to connect, to heal, and to reveal our most painful and necessary truths.
To clear her head, refocus her painting, and escape an even more present threat, Wyn agrees to be temporary caretaker for a friend’s new property on a remote Maine island. The house has been empty for years, and in the basement Wyn discovers a box of film canisters labeled “Epitaphs and Prophecies.” Like time capsules, the photographs help her piece together the life of the house’s former owner, an artistic young mother, much like Wyn. But there is a mystery behind the images too, and unraveling it will force Wyn to finally confront what happened in those woods—and perhaps escape them at last.
A compelling and evocative novel with an unsettling question at its heart, T. Greenwood’s The Golden Hour explores the power of art to connect, to heal, and to reveal our most painful and necessary truths.
273 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 2017
295 people are currently reading
4012 people want to read
About the author
T. Greenwood
25 books1,814 followersT. Greenwood is the author of sixteen novels. She has received grants from the Sherwood Anderson Foundation, the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Maryland State Arts Council. She has won four San Diego Book Awards. Five of her novels have been IndieNext picks. BODIES OF WATER was finalist for a Lambda Foundation award and KEEPING LUCY was a Target Book Club selection.
She teaches creative writing for San Diego Writer's Ink and The Writer's Center. She and her family split their time between San Diego and Vermont. She is also a photographer.
More information on T. Greenwood can be found at her websites: http://www.tgreenwood.com
She teaches creative writing for San Diego Writer's Ink and The Writer's Center. She and her family split their time between San Diego and Vermont. She is also a photographer.
More information on T. Greenwood can be found at her websites: http://www.tgreenwood.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 246 reviews
October 16, 2017
I read this book with Norma as a Traveling Sisters read and that, as always, was a 5-Star experience. I love how reading a book with Norma always expands my perceptions! All Traveling Sisters reviews can be found at “Two Sisters Lost In a Coulee Reading": http://wp.me/p87LDU-ON.
Wyn is an artist, as is her estranged husband Gus and her best friend Pilar. When she was just 13 she experienced a trauma that resulted in a boy going to prison. For twenty years, Wyn kept a secret about that time that gradually caused corrosion in all of her relationships: with her parents, her husband, her best friend, and it was even affecting her 4 year old daughter.
When it appears that a new trial will open up her past again, Wyn takes refuge in an old house on a remote island in Maine. It is her friend Pilar’s house, but Pilar’s success as an artist has kept her away more often than she is with Wyn and her daughter. The house holds its own secrets and as those secrets are revealed to Wyn, she begins to gain insight about herself and the cost to her life of her own secrets.
This is a short read but is filled with a lot of action, including the parallel plot lines involving secrets. It is a lighter read than I was expecting, and there were times when I got impatient with the characters’ weaknesses, their stubbornness, and their unwillingness to communicate honestly with each other. It was difficult to empathize at times because many details were only forthcoming in small snapshots as the book progressed.
This technique didn’t work as well for me in this book because it felt passive-aggressive. As in, “I am going to make you not like these people much, but then you’re going to feel sorry down the road when you find out what really happened.” As a reader, I don’t respond well to that kind of manipulation unless it is done extremely well, and this one missed the mark for me in that respect.
Having said that, this was still a good story overall and I enjoyed Ms Greenwood’s writing. There are times when her descriptions are so lyrical and yet so real that it’s like a magic carpet ride. There were also times, though, where the sentences were somewhat awkward and where I couldn’t relate well with the characters. Overall, this was a 3.5 read for me and because of those magical moments, I rounded it up to 4.
Wyn is an artist, as is her estranged husband Gus and her best friend Pilar. When she was just 13 she experienced a trauma that resulted in a boy going to prison. For twenty years, Wyn kept a secret about that time that gradually caused corrosion in all of her relationships: with her parents, her husband, her best friend, and it was even affecting her 4 year old daughter.
When it appears that a new trial will open up her past again, Wyn takes refuge in an old house on a remote island in Maine. It is her friend Pilar’s house, but Pilar’s success as an artist has kept her away more often than she is with Wyn and her daughter. The house holds its own secrets and as those secrets are revealed to Wyn, she begins to gain insight about herself and the cost to her life of her own secrets.
This is a short read but is filled with a lot of action, including the parallel plot lines involving secrets. It is a lighter read than I was expecting, and there were times when I got impatient with the characters’ weaknesses, their stubbornness, and their unwillingness to communicate honestly with each other. It was difficult to empathize at times because many details were only forthcoming in small snapshots as the book progressed.
This technique didn’t work as well for me in this book because it felt passive-aggressive. As in, “I am going to make you not like these people much, but then you’re going to feel sorry down the road when you find out what really happened.” As a reader, I don’t respond well to that kind of manipulation unless it is done extremely well, and this one missed the mark for me in that respect.
Having said that, this was still a good story overall and I enjoyed Ms Greenwood’s writing. There are times when her descriptions are so lyrical and yet so real that it’s like a magic carpet ride. There were also times, though, where the sentences were somewhat awkward and where I couldn’t relate well with the characters. Overall, this was a 3.5 read for me and because of those magical moments, I rounded it up to 4.
February 15, 2017
This is the story Wyn, an artist, living in a duplex with her 4 year old daughter and her ex Gus, who lives next door.
Wyn was raped when she was 13 yrs old and this story shows how the rape has held her back in her relationships and her paintings.
We meet Wyn's longtime friend Pilar, who sends Wyn to her isolated home on a bluff in Maine, to get away from her everyday life, and while there, she comes across a discovery that brings another story into the picture.
This is my second book by
T. Greenwood and I plan on reading more of her work. I enjoyed this book.
Thank you to NetGalley. Kensington Books, and author T. Greenwood for the opportunity to read this advanced e-read.
Wyn was raped when she was 13 yrs old and this story shows how the rape has held her back in her relationships and her paintings.
We meet Wyn's longtime friend Pilar, who sends Wyn to her isolated home on a bluff in Maine, to get away from her everyday life, and while there, she comes across a discovery that brings another story into the picture.
This is my second book by
T. Greenwood and I plan on reading more of her work. I enjoyed this book.
Thank you to NetGalley. Kensington Books, and author T. Greenwood for the opportunity to read this advanced e-read.
February 7, 2017
The Golden Hour, just at twilight, when the amber hues of fading light play upon the focus of nature's panorama. So strangely how this gentle light falls upon breathless beauty and upon the blighted squalor simultaneously.
Wyn Davies is a walking dichotomy conflicted by her present existence and the suffocating reality of her past. She is an artist in search of that illusive twilight glow upon her canvases. Wyn surrounds herself with tubes of various paints and artistic implements. She selects. She decides. She executes her design according to will.
And yet, Wyn's fate was decided for her when she was a mere thirteen years old. While taking a shortcut home through the New Hampshire woods, she was accosted and brutally raped. Twenty years later, Wyn must come face-to-face with the shocking news that her rapist may be set free because of new DNA evidence. Throughout the story you will peer into details of that night that Wyn has never divulged to another living soul. What really happened?
When the opportunity arrives for Wyn to stay with her best friend, Pilar, in a rundown cabin in Bluffs Island, Maine, she jumps at the chance. Her marriage to fellow artist, Gus, is on the skids and they need time away from each other. With four year old daughter, Avery, in hand, Wyn takes on a mounting challenge. Little does she realize, flames do singe no matter the locale.
T. Greenwood presents a multi-layered storyline here. Wyn is a very complicated main character. Her reactions are not always predictable. Greenwood also inserts a twisty backstory based on some canisters of film that Wyn finds from the 1970's in the cellar of this cabin. This is quite the undertaking of a marriage gone bad, professional jealousies, mysterious photos, a lost identity, and an impending new criminal trial.
But Greenwood is up to the task in crafting her story with inserts of artist techniques and stylistic variances. You see, you feel, you sense, with uncanny acuity, the anguish of her characters. My only concern was the abruptness of the ending. And that may well have been the intention of Greenwood all along. Looking forward to more from this talented author.
I received a copy of The Golden Hour through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Kensington Books and to T. Greenwood for the opportunity.
Wyn Davies is a walking dichotomy conflicted by her present existence and the suffocating reality of her past. She is an artist in search of that illusive twilight glow upon her canvases. Wyn surrounds herself with tubes of various paints and artistic implements. She selects. She decides. She executes her design according to will.
And yet, Wyn's fate was decided for her when she was a mere thirteen years old. While taking a shortcut home through the New Hampshire woods, she was accosted and brutally raped. Twenty years later, Wyn must come face-to-face with the shocking news that her rapist may be set free because of new DNA evidence. Throughout the story you will peer into details of that night that Wyn has never divulged to another living soul. What really happened?
When the opportunity arrives for Wyn to stay with her best friend, Pilar, in a rundown cabin in Bluffs Island, Maine, she jumps at the chance. Her marriage to fellow artist, Gus, is on the skids and they need time away from each other. With four year old daughter, Avery, in hand, Wyn takes on a mounting challenge. Little does she realize, flames do singe no matter the locale.
T. Greenwood presents a multi-layered storyline here. Wyn is a very complicated main character. Her reactions are not always predictable. Greenwood also inserts a twisty backstory based on some canisters of film that Wyn finds from the 1970's in the cellar of this cabin. This is quite the undertaking of a marriage gone bad, professional jealousies, mysterious photos, a lost identity, and an impending new criminal trial.
But Greenwood is up to the task in crafting her story with inserts of artist techniques and stylistic variances. You see, you feel, you sense, with uncanny acuity, the anguish of her characters. My only concern was the abruptness of the ending. And that may well have been the intention of Greenwood all along. Looking forward to more from this talented author.
I received a copy of The Golden Hour through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Kensington Books and to T. Greenwood for the opportunity.
October 2, 2019
Traveling Sisters Group Read with Jaline! Thank you so much for a wonderful 5-star reading experience! I love it through these discussions I have become a much better reader!
3.5 stars rounded up to 4!
THE GOLDEN HOUR by T. GREENWOOD is a compelling, interesting, suspenseful, and an action-packed read that has us following along Wyn’s journey to find courage to face the truth of her traumatic past through the healing powers of art.
T. GREENWOOD delivers an impressive, atmospheric and descriptive multi-layered story here that is beautifully written with a dual storyline weaving together past and present seamlessly. T. Greenwood’s style of writing is spellbinding. She has such a way with words that really is extraordinary and so relatable to me.
This is a lighter read and isn’t necessarily a fast-paced thrilling read but the descriptive words used, the setting, and the symbolisms used throughout with the use of art was quite fascinating and enjoyable to read. We both ended up at times being a little annoyed with some of the characters’ stubbornness and their unwillingness to communicate honestly with each other. It seemed like they would rather walk away from each other than to actually resolve any of their issues which made it really difficult for us to empathize for them at times. It does become more clear to us in the end but we still would have liked to have felt a little more emotion so we could relate better to the characters.
T. Greenwood is one of our favourite authors and we both have read a few of her books and we look forward to reading more in the future!
To sum it all up it was an enjoyable, short, steady-paced, quick and easy read with a satisfying ending. Would recommend!!
All of our Traveling Sisters Reviews can be found on our sister blog:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
3.5 stars rounded up to 4!
THE GOLDEN HOUR by T. GREENWOOD is a compelling, interesting, suspenseful, and an action-packed read that has us following along Wyn’s journey to find courage to face the truth of her traumatic past through the healing powers of art.
T. GREENWOOD delivers an impressive, atmospheric and descriptive multi-layered story here that is beautifully written with a dual storyline weaving together past and present seamlessly. T. Greenwood’s style of writing is spellbinding. She has such a way with words that really is extraordinary and so relatable to me.
This is a lighter read and isn’t necessarily a fast-paced thrilling read but the descriptive words used, the setting, and the symbolisms used throughout with the use of art was quite fascinating and enjoyable to read. We both ended up at times being a little annoyed with some of the characters’ stubbornness and their unwillingness to communicate honestly with each other. It seemed like they would rather walk away from each other than to actually resolve any of their issues which made it really difficult for us to empathize for them at times. It does become more clear to us in the end but we still would have liked to have felt a little more emotion so we could relate better to the characters.
T. Greenwood is one of our favourite authors and we both have read a few of her books and we look forward to reading more in the future!
To sum it all up it was an enjoyable, short, steady-paced, quick and easy read with a satisfying ending. Would recommend!!
All of our Traveling Sisters Reviews can be found on our sister blog:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
June 4, 2017
3.5
Hm. I should have stuck to my Must Read Soon pile. Now, I’m just pissed off that I wasted precious reading time on an unscheduled, mediocre book. Oh, it drew me in at first, that sneaky thing. Here’s part of the gorgeous second paragraph:
“But what color is thirteen? Is it the cinder brown of wide eyes, the crimson flush of hot cheeks? Maybe a dollop of peach for the chipped nail polish on ragged fingernails, that same fleshy pink for thin legs as they run across that endless green.”
See? How could I resist? And immediately after this sort of long prose-poem intro, we learn that our heroine, Wyn, when 13, had been walking through the woods when a guy raped and almost killed her. Now, 15 years later, her imprisoned attacker may get a retrial. She freaks, with good reason, but the tension is ratcheted up when it’s apparent she has a secret about the day of her attack. Plus, the bad guy is trying to reach her and spook her. Okay, so by now, I’m all in. Gorgeous language combined with the tension of a thriller—wow! I was glued to the page.
I read on gleefully for a while. Wyn, an artist, is separated from her artist husband, who lives in the other half of her duplex in Queens. They have a four-year-old daughter, Avery. The ex is nice, the kid is nice. Yada yada yada.
A freaked-out Wyn takes Avery and they hide out on a remote island in Maine (though Dad doesn’t love the plan, he accepts it because he’ll get Avery for a chunk of time later). Wyn discovers a huge stash of film canisters, and while trying to finish up a commissioned painting, she gets fixated on developing the film and trying to understand the story that the photos tell.
Wait. So what happened to the evil guy who may be set free and come back to finish what he started? Well, I’m trying to hold on. But my problem is that as Wyn gradually gets the film developed, she describes Every. Single. Photo. Every single shadow, grimace, light ray, pose. And then she’ll take a break and start describing her painting in detail. It’s pure torture. Like someone telling you their long dream. The film canisters cover years and years, and as she develops the next year’s worth of photos, and the next, I’m twitching. Can’t we stop now? Do I have to hear about Every. Single. Photo? This is not Art Appreciation 101. This is a novel! What’s going on with the retrial? Is Wyn in danger? Who cares about the damn art?
Maybe that’s my whole problem: I am not a painter or a photographer. (Taking pictures on my smart phone is about my speed.) I predict that painters and photographers will just LOVE this book. Besides describing the art of capturing images (both on canvas and in photos) in painstaking detail, the book is overflowing with rich imagery and beauteous language. The main character, her ex, her best friend, and the mysterious woman who took all the photos in the canisters—all artists. Art class, my friends, Art class. Here it is.
Scattered throughout the story are bits and pieces of the traumatic event of Wyn’s past, and we do eventually learn of her secret. But when I think of this book, I mostly think about those damn film canisters! The story that started out sizzling ended up fizzling.
Okay. I can see it’s time for my Complaint Board. I’m feeling the need for a list. Okay, so besides the art course that I didn’t sign up to take, here are more things I whined about:
Complaint Board
-Bait and switch: Where’s the hot plot? I got pulled in, thinking it was one hot thing, and instead the plot went in a totally mundane and boring direction. This is not a plot about a crazy evil guy coming back into Wyn’s life, which is what I was expecting and excited about. It’s about Wyn trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. Create boring commissioned art and keep selling out? (as her ex accuses), or get brave and do art from her heart and soul? Should she try to get back with her ex? And then there’s the whole mysterious plot about the photographs. I was patient when Wyn described her own art, telling myself that soon we would get back to the story of her attacker. But when I saw that she was going to go on and on about the photographs, and that this was in fact a story that she would not let go of, I got mad. The story of the photos was decent, but I was already disgruntled about what I was missing.
-If there’s a little kid, there’s liable to be some Hallmark. The kid was cute, the near constant mom worry was realistic. Wyn painted Avery a super cool room, and I have to say it was so well described I had a vivid picture of it. And I wanted a room like that—with a sky and stars on the floor (an “upset down” room). But then these Hallmark-y moments would bug me:
“And as she buried her little body into me, my heart reeled. She smelled of paste and cocoa and shampoo. Her little fingernails with chipped pink polish, her tiny teeth and tangled hair. I missed every inch of her.”
Oh god, just too sweet. Whenever I read a paragraph like that, I want to run to Greenwich Village and bathe myself in edge.
-Things an editor can’t stand to see. There were a few logistic problems and several dupe phrases. These aren’t deal-breakers but the fact that I was noticing them means that the editor was sloppy.
-You can’t expect me to believe THAT! There was one (small) event that seemed totally unbelievable. Again, not a deal-breaker, but it bugged me.
-I KNEW that was what would happen! The decisions Wyn makes are predictable. A surprise here and there would have been nice.
-A list of artist suicides? What??? Seriously, there is a list of real-life artists who committed suicide, including the method and a tiny bit of info about it. This would have been totally fascinating had it not been placed smack in the middle of a NOVEL! I don’t like to have real life thrown into my make-believe.
So this book just didn’t deliver. Because the language was so damn pretty sometimes and because I was mildly interested in what would happen, it gets a 3 from me. Here is what I like the most: complex characters, good dialogue, sharp inner monologues, a well-paced plot, edginess, surprises, and excitement. (Of course, one book doesn’t have to have all those things.) This book was mostly description, with a plot on the side—and not the plot it promised to be.
I’m thinking the writer must be an artist as well—her passion for and knowledge of art is prominent and impressive.
Hm. I should have stuck to my Must Read Soon pile. Now, I’m just pissed off that I wasted precious reading time on an unscheduled, mediocre book. Oh, it drew me in at first, that sneaky thing. Here’s part of the gorgeous second paragraph:
“But what color is thirteen? Is it the cinder brown of wide eyes, the crimson flush of hot cheeks? Maybe a dollop of peach for the chipped nail polish on ragged fingernails, that same fleshy pink for thin legs as they run across that endless green.”
See? How could I resist? And immediately after this sort of long prose-poem intro, we learn that our heroine, Wyn, when 13, had been walking through the woods when a guy raped and almost killed her. Now, 15 years later, her imprisoned attacker may get a retrial. She freaks, with good reason, but the tension is ratcheted up when it’s apparent she has a secret about the day of her attack. Plus, the bad guy is trying to reach her and spook her. Okay, so by now, I’m all in. Gorgeous language combined with the tension of a thriller—wow! I was glued to the page.
I read on gleefully for a while. Wyn, an artist, is separated from her artist husband, who lives in the other half of her duplex in Queens. They have a four-year-old daughter, Avery. The ex is nice, the kid is nice. Yada yada yada.
A freaked-out Wyn takes Avery and they hide out on a remote island in Maine (though Dad doesn’t love the plan, he accepts it because he’ll get Avery for a chunk of time later). Wyn discovers a huge stash of film canisters, and while trying to finish up a commissioned painting, she gets fixated on developing the film and trying to understand the story that the photos tell.
Wait. So what happened to the evil guy who may be set free and come back to finish what he started? Well, I’m trying to hold on. But my problem is that as Wyn gradually gets the film developed, she describes Every. Single. Photo. Every single shadow, grimace, light ray, pose. And then she’ll take a break and start describing her painting in detail. It’s pure torture. Like someone telling you their long dream. The film canisters cover years and years, and as she develops the next year’s worth of photos, and the next, I’m twitching. Can’t we stop now? Do I have to hear about Every. Single. Photo? This is not Art Appreciation 101. This is a novel! What’s going on with the retrial? Is Wyn in danger? Who cares about the damn art?
Maybe that’s my whole problem: I am not a painter or a photographer. (Taking pictures on my smart phone is about my speed.) I predict that painters and photographers will just LOVE this book. Besides describing the art of capturing images (both on canvas and in photos) in painstaking detail, the book is overflowing with rich imagery and beauteous language. The main character, her ex, her best friend, and the mysterious woman who took all the photos in the canisters—all artists. Art class, my friends, Art class. Here it is.
Scattered throughout the story are bits and pieces of the traumatic event of Wyn’s past, and we do eventually learn of her secret. But when I think of this book, I mostly think about those damn film canisters! The story that started out sizzling ended up fizzling.
Okay. I can see it’s time for my Complaint Board. I’m feeling the need for a list. Okay, so besides the art course that I didn’t sign up to take, here are more things I whined about:
Complaint Board
-Bait and switch: Where’s the hot plot? I got pulled in, thinking it was one hot thing, and instead the plot went in a totally mundane and boring direction. This is not a plot about a crazy evil guy coming back into Wyn’s life, which is what I was expecting and excited about. It’s about Wyn trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. Create boring commissioned art and keep selling out? (as her ex accuses), or get brave and do art from her heart and soul? Should she try to get back with her ex? And then there’s the whole mysterious plot about the photographs. I was patient when Wyn described her own art, telling myself that soon we would get back to the story of her attacker. But when I saw that she was going to go on and on about the photographs, and that this was in fact a story that she would not let go of, I got mad. The story of the photos was decent, but I was already disgruntled about what I was missing.
-If there’s a little kid, there’s liable to be some Hallmark. The kid was cute, the near constant mom worry was realistic. Wyn painted Avery a super cool room, and I have to say it was so well described I had a vivid picture of it. And I wanted a room like that—with a sky and stars on the floor (an “upset down” room). But then these Hallmark-y moments would bug me:
“And as she buried her little body into me, my heart reeled. She smelled of paste and cocoa and shampoo. Her little fingernails with chipped pink polish, her tiny teeth and tangled hair. I missed every inch of her.”
Oh god, just too sweet. Whenever I read a paragraph like that, I want to run to Greenwich Village and bathe myself in edge.
-Things an editor can’t stand to see. There were a few logistic problems and several dupe phrases. These aren’t deal-breakers but the fact that I was noticing them means that the editor was sloppy.
-You can’t expect me to believe THAT! There was one (small) event that seemed totally unbelievable. Again, not a deal-breaker, but it bugged me.
-I KNEW that was what would happen! The decisions Wyn makes are predictable. A surprise here and there would have been nice.
-A list of artist suicides? What??? Seriously, there is a list of real-life artists who committed suicide, including the method and a tiny bit of info about it. This would have been totally fascinating had it not been placed smack in the middle of a NOVEL! I don’t like to have real life thrown into my make-believe.
So this book just didn’t deliver. Because the language was so damn pretty sometimes and because I was mildly interested in what would happen, it gets a 3 from me. Here is what I like the most: complex characters, good dialogue, sharp inner monologues, a well-paced plot, edginess, surprises, and excitement. (Of course, one book doesn’t have to have all those things.) This book was mostly description, with a plot on the side—and not the plot it promised to be.
I’m thinking the writer must be an artist as well—her passion for and knowledge of art is prominent and impressive.
June 18, 2017
3★
Wyn Davies is struggling with a lot of things, like a lot of artists, like a lot of young mothers, like a lot of victims of rape. Hello? What was that last one?
As a 13-yo girl, she took a shortcut through the woods and was attacked and raped. Her rather strange, 13-yo classmate was found guilty and has been in jail for the last 20 years, but now some do-gooder organisation has decided to lobby for a retrial and ask for DNA evidence.
Wyn freaks out. She’s a painter, as is Gus, her slightly estranged (but not strange) husband and father of their cute 4-yo daughter, Avery.
Wyn has limited herself to painting for her Etsy shop and craft fairs - ”quirky birches, the frazzled skittish sky. . . thick white branches, steady limbs . . . A painting you could just as easily hang in a child’s room as a dentist’s office. The kind of painting you buy to match your sofa or blinds.”
In other words (Gus’s words), she’s sold out for the income. He’s a signwriter by day but he paints his real stuff in his own time. She just doesn’t have an 'own' time. So they kind of split up, living in two halves of an old duplex, with Avery darting back and forth.
Meanwhile, her best friend, Pilar, is becoming an acclaimed painter, which is great, but then Pilar doesn’t have a family to support, does she?
When Wyn gets a threatening phone call about the past attack, that does it. She tells nobody, but she accepts Pilar’s offer to take a break and clear her head in an old ramshackle house Pilar owns on an island off the coast of Maine. She tells Gus she just wants to get away for a while, but he’s not happy about it, and both are obviously conflicted about the “break-up”.
She finally tells him about the possible retrial of her attacker, and he is furious and worried about her.
”He stooped down to my height, clutched my elbows in his hands.
And suddenly I was eighteen years old again, peering up into his sweet face, the black freckle below his eye making it impossible to do anything but love him.”
See? Conflicted.
She convinces him to let her take Avery, she visits her parents along the way, finds the ramshackle house in worse condition than Pilar remembered, and Avery suddenly starts wetting the bed. She discovers hidden rolls of film in the house, meets the strange couple next door, freaks out when she’s contacted again, and so it goes.
We see flashbacks to the incident intermittently between chapters of story, until finally the flashbacks and today merge at the end. The second story about the photographs seems unnecessary. Perhaps romance and chick lit fans will enjoy this more than I did.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted (so quotes may have changed).
Wyn Davies is struggling with a lot of things, like a lot of artists, like a lot of young mothers, like a lot of victims of rape. Hello? What was that last one?
As a 13-yo girl, she took a shortcut through the woods and was attacked and raped. Her rather strange, 13-yo classmate was found guilty and has been in jail for the last 20 years, but now some do-gooder organisation has decided to lobby for a retrial and ask for DNA evidence.
Wyn freaks out. She’s a painter, as is Gus, her slightly estranged (but not strange) husband and father of their cute 4-yo daughter, Avery.
Wyn has limited herself to painting for her Etsy shop and craft fairs - ”quirky birches, the frazzled skittish sky. . . thick white branches, steady limbs . . . A painting you could just as easily hang in a child’s room as a dentist’s office. The kind of painting you buy to match your sofa or blinds.”
In other words (Gus’s words), she’s sold out for the income. He’s a signwriter by day but he paints his real stuff in his own time. She just doesn’t have an 'own' time. So they kind of split up, living in two halves of an old duplex, with Avery darting back and forth.
Meanwhile, her best friend, Pilar, is becoming an acclaimed painter, which is great, but then Pilar doesn’t have a family to support, does she?
When Wyn gets a threatening phone call about the past attack, that does it. She tells nobody, but she accepts Pilar’s offer to take a break and clear her head in an old ramshackle house Pilar owns on an island off the coast of Maine. She tells Gus she just wants to get away for a while, but he’s not happy about it, and both are obviously conflicted about the “break-up”.
She finally tells him about the possible retrial of her attacker, and he is furious and worried about her.
”He stooped down to my height, clutched my elbows in his hands.
And suddenly I was eighteen years old again, peering up into his sweet face, the black freckle below his eye making it impossible to do anything but love him.”
See? Conflicted.
She convinces him to let her take Avery, she visits her parents along the way, finds the ramshackle house in worse condition than Pilar remembered, and Avery suddenly starts wetting the bed. She discovers hidden rolls of film in the house, meets the strange couple next door, freaks out when she’s contacted again, and so it goes.
We see flashbacks to the incident intermittently between chapters of story, until finally the flashbacks and today merge at the end. The second story about the photographs seems unnecessary. Perhaps romance and chick lit fans will enjoy this more than I did.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted (so quotes may have changed).
February 10, 2017
I adore everything T. Greenwood writes. She has a lush, mesmerizing way with words and characters that are real and richly drawn. There are multiple mysteries that unfold in The Golden Hour, each as captivating as the next. Readers will empathize with Wyn and be easily drawn into the story of a mother and recent-divorcee trying to escape a traumatic past. I highly recommend.
July 20, 2018
A mesmerizing story about an artist who must paint not only the light but also the shadows, and find the truth in the contrast between the light and the dark.
SUMMARY
It was a beautiful grasshopper green spring afternoon with a cerulean blue sky when 13-year-old Wyn Davies took a shortcut through the birch woods in her New Hampshire hometown. The truth about what really happened in those woods would become a secret she promised not to tell. Now, twenty years later, she lives in Brooklyn, New York on the opposite side of the duplex from her husband, with her adorable 4-year-old daughter, Avery, shuttling between the two of them. Wyn makes her living painting commissioned canvases of birch trees to match her clients furnishings. She is at home painting when she gets a google alert that Robbie Rousseau, who has spent the past two decades in prison for his confessed crime against her, may be released based on new DNA evidence, unless she will agree to testify against him.
To escape the media frenzy, clear her head and focus on her painting, Wyn agrees to help her best friend, Pilar, fix up her newly purchased ramshackle house on a remote island in Maine. The house has been empty for years and in the basement Wyn discovers a box of film canisters labeled “Epitaphs and Prophecies.” Like time capsules the photographs help her piece together the life of the house’s former owner an artistic young mother much like Wyn. But there is a mystery behind the film images and unraveling it will force Wyn to finally confront what really happened to her in those woods twenty years ago.
“I am haunted by the birches, by what lives beyond the edges of the canvas, by those things for which there are no colors to paint.
REVIEW
The golden hour is that magical time in the evening just before sunset, when the the reflection of the sun bathes the earth in a beautiful honeyed hue. It was the golden hour when Wyn hears the news about Robbie, and it was in this same hour that she knew that her carefully held promise about what happened in the woods would be broken. As an avid sunset photographer, I love the book title and how the golden hour was woven throughout the book. Right from the start this book grabbed me and would not let go. It’s tender, it’s riveting and it’s gut-wrenching.
Wyn’s character comes to life on the pages, her story is timely and compelling. She evocatively propels the narrative with her struggles as a wife, a mother, an artist and a victim of a violent crime. All the characters are well drawn, best friend Pilar, and husband Gus in particular. My absolutely favorite, however, was daughter Avery, who brings lightness and joy to the story. I listened to the Audible version of the book and narrator Thérèse Plummer did a great job, particularly with Avery’s voice. Fell in love with that little girl.
Author T. GREENWOOD’s writing is beautiful. The story is smartly structured and expertly layered. She skillfully transports us to Pilar’s house on a bitterly cold island off the coast of Maine, only accessible by ferry. I felt as if I was there. I could hear the old floors creak, see the crumbling stairs, and feel the whoosh of the pilot light of the furnace. One of my favorites layers of the story is Wyn’s discovery, investigation and decision regarding the truth about the film canisters found in the basement. Greenwood has truly captured a story that mesmerizing and immensely satisfying.
Publisher Kensington/Random House Audio
Published February 28, 2017
Narrator Thérèse Plummer
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com
“This is the thing about a lie: over time, it not only obscures the truth but consumes it. Those who pursue veracity(those dogooders, those seekers) see truth not as an abstract thing but something concrete. Strong, vivid, with an unassailable right to prevail. But those who fight for it, who fight in the name of it, do not understand that truth is anemic, weak. Especially in the hands of an accomplished liar. Especially over years. A lie, in collusion with time, can overpower the truth. A good lie has the power to subsume reality. A good lie can become the truth.”
SUMMARY
It was a beautiful grasshopper green spring afternoon with a cerulean blue sky when 13-year-old Wyn Davies took a shortcut through the birch woods in her New Hampshire hometown. The truth about what really happened in those woods would become a secret she promised not to tell. Now, twenty years later, she lives in Brooklyn, New York on the opposite side of the duplex from her husband, with her adorable 4-year-old daughter, Avery, shuttling between the two of them. Wyn makes her living painting commissioned canvases of birch trees to match her clients furnishings. She is at home painting when she gets a google alert that Robbie Rousseau, who has spent the past two decades in prison for his confessed crime against her, may be released based on new DNA evidence, unless she will agree to testify against him.
To escape the media frenzy, clear her head and focus on her painting, Wyn agrees to help her best friend, Pilar, fix up her newly purchased ramshackle house on a remote island in Maine. The house has been empty for years and in the basement Wyn discovers a box of film canisters labeled “Epitaphs and Prophecies.” Like time capsules the photographs help her piece together the life of the house’s former owner an artistic young mother much like Wyn. But there is a mystery behind the film images and unraveling it will force Wyn to finally confront what really happened to her in those woods twenty years ago.
“I am haunted by the birches, by what lives beyond the edges of the canvas, by those things for which there are no colors to paint.
REVIEW
The golden hour is that magical time in the evening just before sunset, when the the reflection of the sun bathes the earth in a beautiful honeyed hue. It was the golden hour when Wyn hears the news about Robbie, and it was in this same hour that she knew that her carefully held promise about what happened in the woods would be broken. As an avid sunset photographer, I love the book title and how the golden hour was woven throughout the book. Right from the start this book grabbed me and would not let go. It’s tender, it’s riveting and it’s gut-wrenching.
Wyn’s character comes to life on the pages, her story is timely and compelling. She evocatively propels the narrative with her struggles as a wife, a mother, an artist and a victim of a violent crime. All the characters are well drawn, best friend Pilar, and husband Gus in particular. My absolutely favorite, however, was daughter Avery, who brings lightness and joy to the story. I listened to the Audible version of the book and narrator Thérèse Plummer did a great job, particularly with Avery’s voice. Fell in love with that little girl.
Author T. GREENWOOD’s writing is beautiful. The story is smartly structured and expertly layered. She skillfully transports us to Pilar’s house on a bitterly cold island off the coast of Maine, only accessible by ferry. I felt as if I was there. I could hear the old floors creak, see the crumbling stairs, and feel the whoosh of the pilot light of the furnace. One of my favorites layers of the story is Wyn’s discovery, investigation and decision regarding the truth about the film canisters found in the basement. Greenwood has truly captured a story that mesmerizing and immensely satisfying.
Publisher Kensington/Random House Audio
Published February 28, 2017
Narrator Thérèse Plummer
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com
“This is the thing about a lie: over time, it not only obscures the truth but consumes it. Those who pursue veracity(those dogooders, those seekers) see truth not as an abstract thing but something concrete. Strong, vivid, with an unassailable right to prevail. But those who fight for it, who fight in the name of it, do not understand that truth is anemic, weak. Especially in the hands of an accomplished liar. Especially over years. A lie, in collusion with time, can overpower the truth. A good lie has the power to subsume reality. A good lie can become the truth.”
February 17, 2024
The 30 Best Books of 2017
Master storyteller T. Greenwood returns following (2016) Where I Lost Her — my Top 50 Books of 2016 with her latest masterpiece, THE GOLDEN HOUR, another gripping spellbinding suspense page-turner and complex tale of family secrets.
With finesse, a skillful blending of symbolism, metaphors, and artistry; equally, character and plot-driven, a mix of literary, historical and women’s fiction; mystery, suspense, and psychological thriller, rolled into one.
THE GOLDEN HOUR is a compelling saga with dual storylines. Greenwood ensnares you from the first page to the finale. She weaves deftly between past and present with highly charged topics. A story of friendship, lies, and dark secrets. As usual, with Greenwood’s signature lyrical style, she uses vivid mysterious settings, elements of nature, and the power of art.
Wyn is a wife and mother, and yet she struggles with a tragic event when she was thirteen years old. The day in the woods in New Hampshire. Her life changed. No one knows the truth about what happened. She has kept silent. Someone’s secret and her own.
Now she paints birches. (“woods” and forest, also another reference throughout the book). Living in Queens in a duplex, Wyn, is a mother of a four-year-old daughter, Avery. Next door on the other side of the duplex— is her husband (ex), Gus.
She is an artist. However, she is not painting what she loves. She has turned to paint "quirky birches"(trees) to match her clients home décor. Boring, yet she was grateful for the work and the commission jobs to take care of the bills.
Gus is a good father, (they still love one another), and share custody and keep the bills down, they are living next door to one another. He is a free-spirit and owns a sign shop. An artist as well.
Wyn knows this living arrangement cannot last forever, being this close to one another. He had inherited it from his grandmother, and when the tenant moved out on the other side, Wyn moved on the other side of the wall.
She realizes something must change. Even though they were not legally divorced, or even separated for that matter. He wanted Wyn to focus on real painting and not the stupid birches. She was thirty-three years old and would not go back to working at a bar. This would have to do for now. They had split up over the stupid tree paintings. (among other things). The last straw.
She is feeling particularly uneasy. She has just received the news: Robert J. Rousseau. He was charged with rape years ago. A local activist solicits help from New Hampshire Innocence Project (a former social worker), who insists he was falsely accused —in the 1996 crime.
Now twenty years later, she must re-live the nightmare. They want to test for DNA. Back then, he confessed. He was never supposed to get out. He was supposed to rot in prison. That is what the New Hampshire family lawyer had promised. Her entire world —shattered. Back then and now once again.
Had she sold her soul back then, to the devil? She was a scared young girl. Now, a fearful and frightful woman.
Her mom, dad, brother, friends, and Gus are worried about her. The media is hovering. She wants to escape. She cannot allow this to happen. Then she begins receiving sick phone calls and emails, threatening her and her family. The caller is a man and says he knows she has a little girl. She had to get away. Gus does not know the real truth.
In the meantime, while she is in denial, her friend Pilar, had left her a message about joining her in Maine. She decides this may be a way to hide out. She and Pilar have been friends for years and in college, as well as Gus. They all attended art school together at Rhode Island School of Design fifteen years earlier.
While Wyn had resigned herself to painting those happy birches and Gus used his skills to make metal signs, Pilar’s career had moved at a steady pace, and then the following year a collector fell in love with her work, and suddenly she was an artist with a capital A. The NYT had featured a showing at a gallery, and all changed for her. Has Pilar changed?
Pilar has recently purchased a crumbling clapboard cottage which sits atop a rocky cliff on Bluffs Island, a remote islet far off the coast of Maine. She had bought it on a whim one summer after she sold some paintings for a high five figures.
Wyn was no longer a free-spirit as they had been back in college. She was afraid. She had been running away for twenty years. She was doing it once again. It had been twenty years since she cast the first lie. But what was the truth?
She finally persuades Gus into allowing her to take Avery to Maine after three weeks. She, of course, does not tell him nor anyone the reason for leaving, nor about the phone calls. However, once she arrives, she discovers the home is in great need of work, very remote, and Pilar does not often visit, due to the weather, traveling, and her work.
However, instead of painting as she had planned, she has time on her hands and procrastinates. Time for worry and stress about the event years ago which changed her life. What will happen when the truth comes out?
Instead of thinking about the petition for retrial and the thought of testifying—and the possibility of this monster going free and what she may have to face— she escapes into another world, when she discovers film in a box, in the old crumbled house’s basement. She becomes protective of this person's work. It is intimate. Delicate. Sensitive.
Roll after roll of 35mm film. Undeveloped. Who takes 50 rolls of film and doesn’t get them developed? She cannot figure out this mystery. She is intrigued. A distraction for her.
First, let me say, the house is very mysterious, and the guy next door. (what a brilliant addition to the story and tie-in). Up to this point, the mystery is what happened twenty years earlier. Readers know something is not right and Wyn is hiding something. Some secret. Some lie. She is worried and afraid for her family.
Rather than dwelling on this, Wyn becomes obsessed with the film and the lives in the photos. She has a few rolls developed and is further intrigued. A mysterious woman. Did this woman live in this house? She was a photographer. It appears there was possibly a lover and a baby. This is like "wow", another saga! This storyline takes front and center. What happened to the woman?
Gus comes to visit to take Avery for a few weeks over the holiday and Wyn gives him the film for their friend back home to develop in his dark room. When she receives the negatives, further pulled into the mystery and intrigue of what happened to Sybil, the woman. (so was I) …
She and Pilar are invited to the large mansion (Gatsby) home (loving this) for a New Year’s Eve party and begins to try and piece together the mystery of the woman in the photo. Who is this wealthy man? Their second home. The wife seems very odd. However, Pilar does not visit often, and now she is alone at this house, while Avery is with Gus.
However, what she learns about the woman in the photo and her discovery may just give her the strength to return to her hometown in New Hampshire and face her fears. Change her perspective. Will she finally have the courage, to tell the truth, and not be afraid? To heal —from the pain.
The secrets of Wyn, Rick, Robby, Sybil, and Seamus. The cost of silence. Waiting for the lies to come unraveled. Guilt. A dangerous path. Humanity’s darker side.
A lot to love here! From the dark thickness of trees, path through the woods, (heart-pounding) forest, running for safety, snow, fire, water, the old Cliffside Gatsby-like mansion, mermaid tears, the rocky cliff, the bluffs, the crashing waves, the danger lurking, evil, the cottage, a death, a rape, the emotion, a mysterious man next door, and two very dark secrets. The author executes it brilliantly. Would make a great movie or series!
Greenwood is a pro at blending all these elements and palettes of color . . . (you can tell she is a photographer) . . . Building suspense and keeping you on the edge-of-your-seat. All the while you are so caught up in the second mystery at the Bluffs from long ago, you almost forget about the mystery behind what happened to Wyn when she was thirteen (this comes towards the ending).
All consuming, compelling, and atmospheric. With the dual timelines-Greenwood slowly reveals in detail the events leading up to the rape, the raw emotions and fear of a young girl, her struggles, her near-death experience, and the secret and guilt she has had to live with.
Also, we learn of the Bluffs Island secret. The Epitaphs and Prophecies box. What happened to the woman who lived in the house. Murder, scandal, suicide? The house had been sitting for thirty-five years. Each photo captures the essence. Present. Past. End. Beginning.
Ongoing themes—of before and after. At heart, a human story; a timely tragic issue of consent, rape, bullying, the scars, both literal and emotional; the repercussions. From memorable characters—surrounded by a web of deceit, fractured families, destructive secrets, lies- bringing characters to life—keeping you captivated from the first page to the last. 5 Stars ++
Am strongly reminded of Robert Frost's early poem, "Birches". Wyn is using the Maine house, her birches, her secret, and the mystery she discovers as an escape. However, like the poem, she does not wish to be left out on a limb. For the poet, he looks at bent trees and imagines another truth.
An avid Greenwood fan for years (one of my favorite authors), have read ALL her books and anxiously await the next. Each one is a rare treat. When I begin one of her books, I know it will be a gift, knowing to mark out uninterrupted time before beginning. I am like a "giddy kid" and "over the moon" when being granted an early reading copy. (thank you Kensington)
An ideal choice for book clubs and further discussions (a great reading guide included). Highly recommend! For fans of Mary Kubica, Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, Karen White, Jodi Picoult, Heather Gudenkauf, Diane Chamberlain, and Amy Hatvany.
A VERY special thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for an early reading copy. (Love the cover.)
JDCMustReadBooks
Can't wait for Rust & Stardust Coming Aug 7, 2018. 5 Stars + and top books of 2018!
Master storyteller T. Greenwood returns following (2016) Where I Lost Her — my Top 50 Books of 2016 with her latest masterpiece, THE GOLDEN HOUR, another gripping spellbinding suspense page-turner and complex tale of family secrets.
With finesse, a skillful blending of symbolism, metaphors, and artistry; equally, character and plot-driven, a mix of literary, historical and women’s fiction; mystery, suspense, and psychological thriller, rolled into one.
THE GOLDEN HOUR is a compelling saga with dual storylines. Greenwood ensnares you from the first page to the finale. She weaves deftly between past and present with highly charged topics. A story of friendship, lies, and dark secrets. As usual, with Greenwood’s signature lyrical style, she uses vivid mysterious settings, elements of nature, and the power of art.
Wyn is a wife and mother, and yet she struggles with a tragic event when she was thirteen years old. The day in the woods in New Hampshire. Her life changed. No one knows the truth about what happened. She has kept silent. Someone’s secret and her own.
Now she paints birches. (“woods” and forest, also another reference throughout the book). Living in Queens in a duplex, Wyn, is a mother of a four-year-old daughter, Avery. Next door on the other side of the duplex— is her husband (ex), Gus.
She is an artist. However, she is not painting what she loves. She has turned to paint "quirky birches"(trees) to match her clients home décor. Boring, yet she was grateful for the work and the commission jobs to take care of the bills.
Gus is a good father, (they still love one another), and share custody and keep the bills down, they are living next door to one another. He is a free-spirit and owns a sign shop. An artist as well.
Wyn knows this living arrangement cannot last forever, being this close to one another. He had inherited it from his grandmother, and when the tenant moved out on the other side, Wyn moved on the other side of the wall.
She realizes something must change. Even though they were not legally divorced, or even separated for that matter. He wanted Wyn to focus on real painting and not the stupid birches. She was thirty-three years old and would not go back to working at a bar. This would have to do for now. They had split up over the stupid tree paintings. (among other things). The last straw.
She is feeling particularly uneasy. She has just received the news: Robert J. Rousseau. He was charged with rape years ago. A local activist solicits help from New Hampshire Innocence Project (a former social worker), who insists he was falsely accused —in the 1996 crime.
Now twenty years later, she must re-live the nightmare. They want to test for DNA. Back then, he confessed. He was never supposed to get out. He was supposed to rot in prison. That is what the New Hampshire family lawyer had promised. Her entire world —shattered. Back then and now once again.
Had she sold her soul back then, to the devil? She was a scared young girl. Now, a fearful and frightful woman.
Her mom, dad, brother, friends, and Gus are worried about her. The media is hovering. She wants to escape. She cannot allow this to happen. Then she begins receiving sick phone calls and emails, threatening her and her family. The caller is a man and says he knows she has a little girl. She had to get away. Gus does not know the real truth.
In the meantime, while she is in denial, her friend Pilar, had left her a message about joining her in Maine. She decides this may be a way to hide out. She and Pilar have been friends for years and in college, as well as Gus. They all attended art school together at Rhode Island School of Design fifteen years earlier.
While Wyn had resigned herself to painting those happy birches and Gus used his skills to make metal signs, Pilar’s career had moved at a steady pace, and then the following year a collector fell in love with her work, and suddenly she was an artist with a capital A. The NYT had featured a showing at a gallery, and all changed for her. Has Pilar changed?
Pilar has recently purchased a crumbling clapboard cottage which sits atop a rocky cliff on Bluffs Island, a remote islet far off the coast of Maine. She had bought it on a whim one summer after she sold some paintings for a high five figures.
Wyn was no longer a free-spirit as they had been back in college. She was afraid. She had been running away for twenty years. She was doing it once again. It had been twenty years since she cast the first lie. But what was the truth?
“This the thing about a lie: over time, it not only obscures the truth but consumes it . . . A lie, in collusion with time, can overpower the truth. A good lie has the power to subsume reality. A good lie can become the truth . . . However, lies are also precarious things. Each twist and, each flutter of a wing, each protest threatening to tear the intricate construction apart.”
She finally persuades Gus into allowing her to take Avery to Maine after three weeks. She, of course, does not tell him nor anyone the reason for leaving, nor about the phone calls. However, once she arrives, she discovers the home is in great need of work, very remote, and Pilar does not often visit, due to the weather, traveling, and her work.
However, instead of painting as she had planned, she has time on her hands and procrastinates. Time for worry and stress about the event years ago which changed her life. What will happen when the truth comes out?
Instead of thinking about the petition for retrial and the thought of testifying—and the possibility of this monster going free and what she may have to face— she escapes into another world, when she discovers film in a box, in the old crumbled house’s basement. She becomes protective of this person's work. It is intimate. Delicate. Sensitive.
Roll after roll of 35mm film. Undeveloped. Who takes 50 rolls of film and doesn’t get them developed? She cannot figure out this mystery. She is intrigued. A distraction for her.
First, let me say, the house is very mysterious, and the guy next door. (what a brilliant addition to the story and tie-in). Up to this point, the mystery is what happened twenty years earlier. Readers know something is not right and Wyn is hiding something. Some secret. Some lie. She is worried and afraid for her family.
Rather than dwelling on this, Wyn becomes obsessed with the film and the lives in the photos. She has a few rolls developed and is further intrigued. A mysterious woman. Did this woman live in this house? She was a photographer. It appears there was possibly a lover and a baby. This is like "wow", another saga! This storyline takes front and center. What happened to the woman?
Gus comes to visit to take Avery for a few weeks over the holiday and Wyn gives him the film for their friend back home to develop in his dark room. When she receives the negatives, further pulled into the mystery and intrigue of what happened to Sybil, the woman. (so was I) …
She and Pilar are invited to the large mansion (Gatsby) home (loving this) for a New Year’s Eve party and begins to try and piece together the mystery of the woman in the photo. Who is this wealthy man? Their second home. The wife seems very odd. However, Pilar does not visit often, and now she is alone at this house, while Avery is with Gus.
However, what she learns about the woman in the photo and her discovery may just give her the strength to return to her hometown in New Hampshire and face her fears. Change her perspective. Will she finally have the courage, to tell the truth, and not be afraid? To heal —from the pain.
The secrets of Wyn, Rick, Robby, Sybil, and Seamus. The cost of silence. Waiting for the lies to come unraveled. Guilt. A dangerous path. Humanity’s darker side.
“The funny thing about the truth is, it always seems to have a way of getting free. For two decades, I could practically hear the beatings of wings against those invisible threads, gossamer snapping, coming undone.”
A lot to love here! From the dark thickness of trees, path through the woods, (heart-pounding) forest, running for safety, snow, fire, water, the old Cliffside Gatsby-like mansion, mermaid tears, the rocky cliff, the bluffs, the crashing waves, the danger lurking, evil, the cottage, a death, a rape, the emotion, a mysterious man next door, and two very dark secrets. The author executes it brilliantly. Would make a great movie or series!
Greenwood is a pro at blending all these elements and palettes of color . . . (you can tell she is a photographer) . . . Building suspense and keeping you on the edge-of-your-seat. All the while you are so caught up in the second mystery at the Bluffs from long ago, you almost forget about the mystery behind what happened to Wyn when she was thirteen (this comes towards the ending).
All consuming, compelling, and atmospheric. With the dual timelines-Greenwood slowly reveals in detail the events leading up to the rape, the raw emotions and fear of a young girl, her struggles, her near-death experience, and the secret and guilt she has had to live with.
Also, we learn of the Bluffs Island secret. The Epitaphs and Prophecies box. What happened to the woman who lived in the house. Murder, scandal, suicide? The house had been sitting for thirty-five years. Each photo captures the essence. Present. Past. End. Beginning.
Ongoing themes—of before and after. At heart, a human story; a timely tragic issue of consent, rape, bullying, the scars, both literal and emotional; the repercussions. From memorable characters—surrounded by a web of deceit, fractured families, destructive secrets, lies- bringing characters to life—keeping you captivated from the first page to the last. 5 Stars ++
Am strongly reminded of Robert Frost's early poem, "Birches". Wyn is using the Maine house, her birches, her secret, and the mystery she discovers as an escape. However, like the poem, she does not wish to be left out on a limb. For the poet, he looks at bent trees and imagines another truth.
An avid Greenwood fan for years (one of my favorite authors), have read ALL her books and anxiously await the next. Each one is a rare treat. When I begin one of her books, I know it will be a gift, knowing to mark out uninterrupted time before beginning. I am like a "giddy kid" and "over the moon" when being granted an early reading copy. (thank you Kensington)
An ideal choice for book clubs and further discussions (a great reading guide included). Highly recommend! For fans of Mary Kubica, Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, Karen White, Jodi Picoult, Heather Gudenkauf, Diane Chamberlain, and Amy Hatvany.
A VERY special thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for an early reading copy. (Love the cover.)
JDCMustReadBooks
Can't wait for Rust & Stardust Coming Aug 7, 2018. 5 Stars + and top books of 2018!
March 21, 2017
Wow, what a terrific new (to me) author. T. Greenwood's writing is beautiful, and with an economy of words presents believable characters and understandable situations. Greenwood descriptions put you there. The emotional impact of events are real. This is one of those books I didn't want to put down and when I had to, couldn't wait to get back to it. Even though at times I got angry at Wyn, through whom the story is told, I felt her fear, her sorrow and her desperation. We learn, early on that Wyn had a horrible experience as a young girl, and as the story progresses, we learn more and the reason for her reaction to life. Wyn is an artist with promise, but sells herself short as she agrees to do commissioned pieces rather than what her heart desires. There is so much packed into this rather short (270 p.) book. Also interspersed among the chapters are several stand-alone chapters that seemingly have no relation to the plot, but on reflection bring an awareness of what Wyn is experiencing. One of such chapters is a list of artists who were mentally unstable and whose works are a frenzy of certain subjects. Another tells of famous artists who committed suicide. This is a book that I will tell everyone I talk to about and encourage them to read. I loved this book--the best I've read this year. And I can look forward to the rest of Greenwood's books.
May 8, 2017
Wynnie’s alone, at their home in Queens, painting another commission piece, when she notices the time of day, the magical light that is beginning to shine in the little corner of the living room where she is working. The golden hour. The light taking on that amber glow which photographers loved, painting everything with an enchanted blushing glow.
Four year-old Avery, her daughter, was next door with her ex, Gus. She was alone, lost in her painting, lost in the birches, her paintings that she sold at craft fairs, on etsy, for commission, money to make ends meet. Lost in her thoughts about Gus’s accusation that she’s sold out, when the alert email arrived in her inbox about Robby Roussea. The headline read:
”LOCAL ACTIVIST SOLICITS HELP FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE INNOCENCE PROJECT—FORMER SOCIAL WORKER INSISTS ROBERT J. ROUSSEAU FALSELY ACCUSED IN 1996 CRIME”
And in that instant, Wyn is pulled back twenty years in time, back to that day, back to the years that followed, the endless questioning, the trial. Snippets of memories that haunted her still.
This can’t be happening to her, not now, not ever. He was never supposed to get out of prison. The small New Hampshire town where she grew up, where her parents still lived, had demanded that sentence.
Messages were piled up on her phone, already. Her mother, more than once. Her father. Younger brother. Two hang-ups.
Shaken to her core, she calls her best friend Pilar. No answer, but leaving her a message that if Pilar still wants her to go with her to Maine, she’s ready.
Pilar’s recently bought an old dilapidated cottage on an islet off the coast of Maine, Bluff’s Island, buying it with the money from the sale of one her triptych paintings. Pilar thinks of this as a smaller Grey Gardens, perched on a rocky sea cliff, secluded and untouched for over thirty years.
There are many layers to this story, unfolding with a hazy memory of Wyn’s rape when she was just thirteen; the story of the cottage, it’s former owner-inhabitant, and the discovery of a box containing years of film dating back to the 1970s, never developed; Wyn and Gus struggling through the aftermath of going from “I Do” to “I’m Done,” trying to leave as few marks on Avery’s psyche as possible. There’s love, but Wyn was a bit of a mess before the alert, but now… well, her days and nights are filled with the snips and bits of pieces of that day, what happened, bringing those memories back to the surface. She’s never talked about it, and now they are trying to convince her she has no choice.
This is the first novel by T. Greenwood that I’ve read, and I was impressed with her lyrical, mesmerizing writing, and how effortlessly the story weaves in and out of time. I loved the slow unveiling, Greenwood eliminating one filtering veil at a time until all secrets are revealed.
Recommended!
Four year-old Avery, her daughter, was next door with her ex, Gus. She was alone, lost in her painting, lost in the birches, her paintings that she sold at craft fairs, on etsy, for commission, money to make ends meet. Lost in her thoughts about Gus’s accusation that she’s sold out, when the alert email arrived in her inbox about Robby Roussea. The headline read:
”LOCAL ACTIVIST SOLICITS HELP FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE INNOCENCE PROJECT—FORMER SOCIAL WORKER INSISTS ROBERT J. ROUSSEAU FALSELY ACCUSED IN 1996 CRIME”
And in that instant, Wyn is pulled back twenty years in time, back to that day, back to the years that followed, the endless questioning, the trial. Snippets of memories that haunted her still.
This can’t be happening to her, not now, not ever. He was never supposed to get out of prison. The small New Hampshire town where she grew up, where her parents still lived, had demanded that sentence.
Messages were piled up on her phone, already. Her mother, more than once. Her father. Younger brother. Two hang-ups.
Shaken to her core, she calls her best friend Pilar. No answer, but leaving her a message that if Pilar still wants her to go with her to Maine, she’s ready.
Pilar’s recently bought an old dilapidated cottage on an islet off the coast of Maine, Bluff’s Island, buying it with the money from the sale of one her triptych paintings. Pilar thinks of this as a smaller Grey Gardens, perched on a rocky sea cliff, secluded and untouched for over thirty years.
There are many layers to this story, unfolding with a hazy memory of Wyn’s rape when she was just thirteen; the story of the cottage, it’s former owner-inhabitant, and the discovery of a box containing years of film dating back to the 1970s, never developed; Wyn and Gus struggling through the aftermath of going from “I Do” to “I’m Done,” trying to leave as few marks on Avery’s psyche as possible. There’s love, but Wyn was a bit of a mess before the alert, but now… well, her days and nights are filled with the snips and bits of pieces of that day, what happened, bringing those memories back to the surface. She’s never talked about it, and now they are trying to convince her she has no choice.
This is the first novel by T. Greenwood that I’ve read, and I was impressed with her lyrical, mesmerizing writing, and how effortlessly the story weaves in and out of time. I loved the slow unveiling, Greenwood eliminating one filtering veil at a time until all secrets are revealed.
Recommended!
October 15, 2021
Greenwood's tale is gorgeously written, balanced between childhood trauma and a present-day mystery. The novel follows as Wyn confronts her past and as the secrets she holds spill over into her adult life. An incredibly realistic and thought-provoking book, there is tangible imagery that seamlessly blends with contemplative language to invite the reader to linger over this fast-paced story.
When she was 13 years old, Wyn Davies experienced horrendous trauma when she was attacked in the woods on her way home from school. Now, 20 years later, she is an adult with a young daughter. Wyn discovers that a group is pushing for her attacker to receive a new trial based on uncovered DNA evidence. Wyn and her daughter relocate to a remote Maine island in order for Wyn to make decisions about what to do next.
August 16, 2017
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I am clearly in the minority here with The Golden Hour. I have read T. Greenwood before and have thoroughly enjoyed her books. However, I just could not get into this one. I felt like everything was so obvious, there was entirely too much time spent on describing Wyn painting and quite frankly, Wyn was just down right whiney.
I was disappointed by The Golden Hour and wish I would have enjoyed it more.
I am clearly in the minority here with The Golden Hour. I have read T. Greenwood before and have thoroughly enjoyed her books. However, I just could not get into this one. I felt like everything was so obvious, there was entirely too much time spent on describing Wyn painting and quite frankly, Wyn was just down right whiney.
I was disappointed by The Golden Hour and wish I would have enjoyed it more.
May 3, 2017
This book is the first I've read by this author. I'm anxious to read her other works. This was a short and engaging story. I enjoyed the story line the most and the ease her characters possessed. This had some subplots that pulled me right in with their creativity. I also liked the constant suspense/creepy vibe. The author also knew when to end her story. This could have gone on much longer than it did, but I loved her finesse in finishing it the way she did.
I really did like this book. However, two things kept this from 4 stars. One is the repetition. So many things were often repeated, from art, to relationships, to scenery, and much much more. The second thing was the guy next door. I liked his past story and how it intersected Wyn's story (the MC), but his present story felt tacked in. That part didn't seem believable or relevant, but it was necessary to get the back story in there. I'm not sure if less or more info would have helped. Overall, this was 3 stars for me.
I really did like this book. However, two things kept this from 4 stars. One is the repetition. So many things were often repeated, from art, to relationships, to scenery, and much much more. The second thing was the guy next door. I liked his past story and how it intersected Wyn's story (the MC), but his present story felt tacked in. That part didn't seem believable or relevant, but it was necessary to get the back story in there. I'm not sure if less or more info would have helped. Overall, this was 3 stars for me.
May 19, 2017
A quick Greenwood read. I enjoyed!
February 8, 2017
Ohhh...I've found a new favorite author
I had never read anything by author Greenwood before this and by the time I was halfway through this book, I had ordered copies of all of her other books. This author has quite a talent with the written language.
In THE GOLDEN HOUR the protagonist is Wyn Davies. She is at a crossroads in her life. She lives in New Hampshire, has separated from her husband, has a 4 year-old daughter, and is an artist that feels like she's sold out because all she paints are decorative accessory wall paintings.
She is also going through a very traumatic time because memories of crimes against her when she was 13 years old are back to haunt her.
So when her best friend offers her the use of her newly acquired house on an island in Maine, she can't run away fast enough. But some things you just can't run away from.
I loved the word pictures that the author created. I could totally visualize the story as it progressed. And the characters were ordinary people with all their quirks and idiosyncrasies and I could relate to what was happening in the story.
My ONLY negative (and the reason I rated this 4 stars rather than 5) was the abrupt ending. I believe the author wrote it this way on purpose so the reader could imagine their own ending but I would have liked an epilogue or at least a firmer ending.
Now I just have to find the time to fit in the reading of the author's books because they all have great sounding blurbs giving hints about the stories.
I received this book from Kensington Books through the Amazon VINE program in exchange for my unbiased review.
I had never read anything by author Greenwood before this and by the time I was halfway through this book, I had ordered copies of all of her other books. This author has quite a talent with the written language.
In THE GOLDEN HOUR the protagonist is Wyn Davies. She is at a crossroads in her life. She lives in New Hampshire, has separated from her husband, has a 4 year-old daughter, and is an artist that feels like she's sold out because all she paints are decorative accessory wall paintings.
She is also going through a very traumatic time because memories of crimes against her when she was 13 years old are back to haunt her.
So when her best friend offers her the use of her newly acquired house on an island in Maine, she can't run away fast enough. But some things you just can't run away from.
I loved the word pictures that the author created. I could totally visualize the story as it progressed. And the characters were ordinary people with all their quirks and idiosyncrasies and I could relate to what was happening in the story.
My ONLY negative (and the reason I rated this 4 stars rather than 5) was the abrupt ending. I believe the author wrote it this way on purpose so the reader could imagine their own ending but I would have liked an epilogue or at least a firmer ending.
Now I just have to find the time to fit in the reading of the author's books because they all have great sounding blurbs giving hints about the stories.
I received this book from Kensington Books through the Amazon VINE program in exchange for my unbiased review.
April 21, 2017
Between childhood and adulthood. Between truth and lies. This is the thing about a lie; over time, it not only obscures the truth but consumes it. Those who pursue veracity (those do-gooders seekers) see truth not as an abstract thing but something concrete. Strong, vivid, with an unassailable right to prevail. But those who fight for it, who fight in the name of it, do not understand that truth is anemic, weak. Especially in the hands of an accomplished liar. Especially over years. A lie, in collusion with time, can overpower the truth. A good lie has the power to subsume reality. A good lie can become the truth. The Golden Hour is that magical hour that comes before dusk...where all things come to light.
I have to admit I was somewhat frustrated with this read until I got it. I think that is the genius of it. Greenwood is an accomplished writer. She has a way with words that she can take something ordinary and with words make it extraordinary.
Wynn Davis is running from the truth of what happened to her 13 year old self. She is now married, separated from her husband, both living in the same duplex sharing their daughter Avery. The pain of long ago comes crashing back into her life when a boy from her past now a man is up for a new trial. Thru most of her running (maybe therein lies my frustration, I was getting worn out) from her marriage and past, she ends up in Maine, in a house that has been abandoned for years and finds photographs that tell of a haunted woman and her secrets.
Without giving to much away, it is finding the truth about the mysterious woman that she finds the courage to face the truth that she has been running from. It is only then she can face her truth without fear.
A Special Thank You to Kensington and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
I have to admit I was somewhat frustrated with this read until I got it. I think that is the genius of it. Greenwood is an accomplished writer. She has a way with words that she can take something ordinary and with words make it extraordinary.
Wynn Davis is running from the truth of what happened to her 13 year old self. She is now married, separated from her husband, both living in the same duplex sharing their daughter Avery. The pain of long ago comes crashing back into her life when a boy from her past now a man is up for a new trial. Thru most of her running (maybe therein lies my frustration, I was getting worn out) from her marriage and past, she ends up in Maine, in a house that has been abandoned for years and finds photographs that tell of a haunted woman and her secrets.
Without giving to much away, it is finding the truth about the mysterious woman that she finds the courage to face the truth that she has been running from. It is only then she can face her truth without fear.
A Special Thank You to Kensington and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
March 9, 2017
The Golden Hour is a new novel by T. Greenwood. Wyn Davies is a struggling artist is in her early thirties and lives in Queens, New York. Wyn lives in one half of a duplex while her husband, Gus lives on the other side. The pair split recently over a silly disagreement. Their daughter, Avery lives with Wyn during the week and Gus on the weekends. Wyn is an artist who has been busy making commissioned birch tree paintings that go with her client’s rooms. Gus feels that Wyn has sold out (at least she is earning money). Wyn finds out that Robby Rousseau might get a new trial. The Innocence Project has gotten involved in Robby’s case and they are testing the DNA from the case. The DNA was never tested because they had a confession. Wyn has never told anyone the truth about what happened that day twenty years ago in Haven, New Hampshire. When she receives a threatening phone call, it spurs Wyn to flee. She takes her friend, Pilar up on her offer to spend the winter in her home on Bluffs Island in Maine. Avery and Wyn head up to Bluffs Island. It can only be reached by ferry and there is no Wi-Fi service. It sounds perfect to Wyn. In the basement, Wyn discovers a box labeled “Epitaphs and Prophecies”. The box is full of undeveloped film rolls. The rolls are labeled with dates starting with 07/12/76. Wyn is intrigued and sends off two rolls to get developed (a friend develops the rest later). The film belonged to the former owner who disappeared thirty-five years ago. The pictures are unusual and Wyn gets a glimpse of her life. Wyn wants to find out more about this woman and starts seeking answers. Will the answers Wyn seeks help her with her own life? What happened to Wyn twenty years ago?
The Golden Hour is an odd novel. It sounded like a good mystery/suspense novel, but the execution was severely lacking. Wyn is a hard character to like. I know she suffered a horrible trauma, and I believe she could benefit from therapy. Her character reminds me of a person who might have a mental health problem. Wyn smokes pot (more than once when children are nearby), drinks, has trouble communicating (especially with her husband), pushes everyone away, prefers to flee than deal with life, jealous of her best friend’s success and lacks some common sense. Wyn goes to a house that has been deserted for thirty-five years with her four-year-old daughter (would you take a child to this house). I would make sure to arrive in daylight so I can what needs to be done. I am sure that the house would be dilapidated and filthy. Wyn has no idea how to turn light a pilot light for the heat and imagines there is a master switch (not on a system that old). She does not bring in the clothes from the car before falling asleep (guess what they need in the middle of the night). Wyn also fails to bring needed cleaning supplies (despite being told about the lack of shops and supplies in the “town”). Wyn seems more concerned about her needs than those of her daughter. In a way, I wish the author had not included a child in the story. I found some inconsistencies regarding the legal case. A thirteen-year-old boy confessed to the crime and then goes to trial. He gets a lengthy sentence and is still in jail twenty years later. Normally, if the perpetrator confesses, there is no trial. It would go to sentencing. Also, why would a juvenile still be in jail after the age of 18 (or at the latest 21). I am curious how he was convicted if Wyn did not testify and the DNA evidence was never tested. The incident that happened to Wyn is slowly revealed over the course of the novel. Most readers will be able to figure it out long before all the information is revealed. I give The Golden Hour 2 out of 5 stars (I did not enjoy it). I found the pace to be slow (good if you wish to go to sleep) and the pictures described are unusual (downright strange and inappropriate). I thought the novel to be dark and the ending disappointing. What happened regarding the prior owner is very upsetting and disturbing. I was just not drawn into this book. I kept hoping it would get better, but it did not. The Golden Hour was not the right novel for me.
The Golden Hour is an odd novel. It sounded like a good mystery/suspense novel, but the execution was severely lacking. Wyn is a hard character to like. I know she suffered a horrible trauma, and I believe she could benefit from therapy. Her character reminds me of a person who might have a mental health problem. Wyn smokes pot (more than once when children are nearby), drinks, has trouble communicating (especially with her husband), pushes everyone away, prefers to flee than deal with life, jealous of her best friend’s success and lacks some common sense. Wyn goes to a house that has been deserted for thirty-five years with her four-year-old daughter (would you take a child to this house). I would make sure to arrive in daylight so I can what needs to be done. I am sure that the house would be dilapidated and filthy. Wyn has no idea how to turn light a pilot light for the heat and imagines there is a master switch (not on a system that old). She does not bring in the clothes from the car before falling asleep (guess what they need in the middle of the night). Wyn also fails to bring needed cleaning supplies (despite being told about the lack of shops and supplies in the “town”). Wyn seems more concerned about her needs than those of her daughter. In a way, I wish the author had not included a child in the story. I found some inconsistencies regarding the legal case. A thirteen-year-old boy confessed to the crime and then goes to trial. He gets a lengthy sentence and is still in jail twenty years later. Normally, if the perpetrator confesses, there is no trial. It would go to sentencing. Also, why would a juvenile still be in jail after the age of 18 (or at the latest 21). I am curious how he was convicted if Wyn did not testify and the DNA evidence was never tested. The incident that happened to Wyn is slowly revealed over the course of the novel. Most readers will be able to figure it out long before all the information is revealed. I give The Golden Hour 2 out of 5 stars (I did not enjoy it). I found the pace to be slow (good if you wish to go to sleep) and the pictures described are unusual (downright strange and inappropriate). I thought the novel to be dark and the ending disappointing. What happened regarding the prior owner is very upsetting and disturbing. I was just not drawn into this book. I kept hoping it would get better, but it did not. The Golden Hour was not the right novel for me.
February 9, 2017
T. Greenwood's writing is very addictive for me. I read her new novel, The Golden Hour in one sitting. The characters are brought to life so sharply and the narrative's clarity often makes me want to weigh in and scream, "No, don't do that or please stop." Wyn Davies is an artist who lives in one half of the duplex she inherited in Queens. Her husband, Gus, from whom she recently separated, lives in the other half. Their four year old daughter, Avery, moves back and forth between her parents.
Wyn, her best friend, Pilar, and Gus all attended the Rhode Island School of Design fifteen years ago. Art is a big deal for these characters. Pilar is quickly acquiring the most commercial success with a show at the Pace Gallery in NY and the media has turned its attention to her. Gus works at a regular job and does his art work at night. Wyn does commission paintings of Birch trees, with a website and a store on Etsy. She is unhappy with orders to paint trees that will fit in with her customers' couches or wall colors. She has a wonderful child and that fills in some of the gaps but Wyn is still trying to survive a horrendous event from her childhood when she was raped by a kid at her school in New Hampshire. The boy has been in prison for twenty years but the Innocence Project in New Hampshire wants to run a new DNA test and reopen the case. When Wyn starts getting phone calls, she freaks out and wants to run away. Luckily, Pilar has recently purchased a rundown house on an island in Maine. Wyn accepts her invitation to go there to paint and wait to see what happen with the court case. She is blocked from painting what her soul wants to put on canvas and trapped with the Birch trees. Perhaps, the peace of the Maine island will allow her to find her muse.
The time in Maine is a big story and some of the layers of Wyn start to reveal themselves. Another mystery appears in the form of very old undeveloped film hidden in the basement of the Maine house. Wyn tries to work on her latest commission with pressure from her customer but events and thoughts take over in dramatic ways. It is impossible to stop reading until the resolution presents itself. This novel is complex and yet simple in the end. A wounded child can't get over her pain if the truth doesn't come out. TG's creation is yet another wonderful gift of writing. I can't wait for the next one!
ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corporation (February 28th 2017).
Wyn, her best friend, Pilar, and Gus all attended the Rhode Island School of Design fifteen years ago. Art is a big deal for these characters. Pilar is quickly acquiring the most commercial success with a show at the Pace Gallery in NY and the media has turned its attention to her. Gus works at a regular job and does his art work at night. Wyn does commission paintings of Birch trees, with a website and a store on Etsy. She is unhappy with orders to paint trees that will fit in with her customers' couches or wall colors. She has a wonderful child and that fills in some of the gaps but Wyn is still trying to survive a horrendous event from her childhood when she was raped by a kid at her school in New Hampshire. The boy has been in prison for twenty years but the Innocence Project in New Hampshire wants to run a new DNA test and reopen the case. When Wyn starts getting phone calls, she freaks out and wants to run away. Luckily, Pilar has recently purchased a rundown house on an island in Maine. Wyn accepts her invitation to go there to paint and wait to see what happen with the court case. She is blocked from painting what her soul wants to put on canvas and trapped with the Birch trees. Perhaps, the peace of the Maine island will allow her to find her muse.
The time in Maine is a big story and some of the layers of Wyn start to reveal themselves. Another mystery appears in the form of very old undeveloped film hidden in the basement of the Maine house. Wyn tries to work on her latest commission with pressure from her customer but events and thoughts take over in dramatic ways. It is impossible to stop reading until the resolution presents itself. This novel is complex and yet simple in the end. A wounded child can't get over her pain if the truth doesn't come out. TG's creation is yet another wonderful gift of writing. I can't wait for the next one!
ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corporation (February 28th 2017).
March 18, 2017
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you have been a victim of, or know someone else who has been, sexual assault, this book is NOT for you.
T. Greenwood does tend to take on subjects that are hard to read about - however, she has the skill to bring to the page excellent story telling of these subjects.
Wyn Davies, 33 of New York, who does commissioned artwork of birch trees, divorced (yet still living in the duplex shared by her ex) with Avery, her 4 year old daughter, must come to terms with the fact that the person who was involved in a sexual assault against her when she was 13, may very well be released from prison as new DNA evidence has come to light.
Pilar, Wyn's best friend from college days, has recently purchased a "cottage" on a remote island in Maine, and has offered Wyn and Avery the use of the place for the next several months, while Wyn is trying to decide what she should do with her life. The cottage is in a major state of disrepair, it's cold, and very isolated from the small village where the ferry lands. Finances are a concern, Pilar has become the "darling" of the international art world, so her plans to join Wyn keep getting put aside.
Wyn stumbles upon a cache of 35 undeveloped rolls of film in the basement, which, even with her limited finances, she decides to have some developed. The photos are of a time, place and subject matter very unsettling - as time goes by she has all the rolls developed.
Meanwhile, the case of the perpetrator is going forward, which means she will have to face that issue - which unravels before our eyes, this is very explicit in detail.
If you have been a victim of, or know someone else who has been, sexual assault, this book is NOT for you.
T. Greenwood does tend to take on subjects that are hard to read about - however, she has the skill to bring to the page excellent story telling of these subjects.
Wyn Davies, 33 of New York, who does commissioned artwork of birch trees, divorced (yet still living in the duplex shared by her ex) with Avery, her 4 year old daughter, must come to terms with the fact that the person who was involved in a sexual assault against her when she was 13, may very well be released from prison as new DNA evidence has come to light.
Pilar, Wyn's best friend from college days, has recently purchased a "cottage" on a remote island in Maine, and has offered Wyn and Avery the use of the place for the next several months, while Wyn is trying to decide what she should do with her life. The cottage is in a major state of disrepair, it's cold, and very isolated from the small village where the ferry lands. Finances are a concern, Pilar has become the "darling" of the international art world, so her plans to join Wyn keep getting put aside.
Wyn stumbles upon a cache of 35 undeveloped rolls of film in the basement, which, even with her limited finances, she decides to have some developed. The photos are of a time, place and subject matter very unsettling - as time goes by she has all the rolls developed.
Meanwhile, the case of the perpetrator is going forward, which means she will have to face that issue - which unravels before our eyes, this is very explicit in detail.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2017
Twenty-years after a brutal attack, Wyn Davies must re-examine her past and gain the courage to reveal her secrets and save her soul. I'm a long-time fan of T. Greenwood's work, and this may--thus far--be her finest. Beautiful, terrifying, and true.
June 5, 2017
This book had an eerie quality to it making me think it would be more of a thriller. In the end it was more a character/marriage study set in a remote house. I absolutely kept reading but felt like the anticipation and foreshadowing didn't match the truth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2018
I'll readily admit that the reason for choosing this novel was the stunning cover. Then, when I realized that it was largely set on an island in Maine, the decision was made.
Wyn Davies is a thirty-three year-old artist. She works on commission to bring in some much needed funds. She lives in one side of a duplex, with her husband Gus living on the other side. They have separated. Not because she doesn't love him dearly, but because he has said she has 'sold out' by abandoning her art and taking commissions painting birch trees. Their four-year-old daughter, Avery, goes back and forth between the two halves of the house.
"How do you stay with someone who thinks you have sold your soul?"
"A good lie can become the truth".
Wyn has lots of personal baggage. When she was just thirteen years old she was raped and very nearly killed in the woods behind her childhood home in New Hampshire. Her schoolmate, Robert Rousseau confessed to the crime and has been in prison for the past twenty years. Now... new evidence has been discovered which could exonerate Rousseau. Always fearful, Wyn lives her life in the limbo between truth and lies. Her parents, her best friend Pilar, and her husband Gus, do NOT know the truth of what happened to Wyn in the woods that day.
"I hated myself around Gus. I deplored who I had become. And isn't that why we split up in the first place? It was like he'd turned a mirror and made me look at exactly who I was now."
Unable to tolerate the growing chasm between her and Gus, Wyn takes Pilar up on her offer of staying at her house in Maine for the winter. Pilar had bought it sight unseen. The house, which has been unoccupied for years, is located on the remote Bluff's Island. Upon arrival, Wyn and Avery find the house is ramshackle and in much need of serious repair. While in the basement trying to start the ancient furnace, Wyn notices a recessed area in the earthen wall containing a shoebox labelled "Epitaphs and Prophecies". The shoebox is filled with undeveloped film canisters.
"I felt a strange sense of responsibilty. I had somehow become the unofficial curator of this photographer's work. It was daunting."
Curiosity leads Wyn to develop some of the film. The photos reveal a young woman with a young child. Photos of the house she is living in...
Wyn and Avery pass the early winter days trolling the beach for sea glass. Avery seems to be adapting well to the move, but at night she has reverted to wetting the bed. Wyn wonders if she did the right thing moving here - away from Gus.
Then... Wyn begins getting threatening messages...... and the re-opening of the Rousseau case looms.
The title references that special time of day, before sunset, during which daylight is redder and softer than when the sun is higher in the sky. Painting during that spectacular time of day known as the “golden hour”, when light is at its best.
The first two-thirds of this novel had me absolutely riveted. I liked Wyn, her tiny daughter Avery, and the atmospheric house on Bluff's Island. I was curious and compelled to learn more about the mysterious woman who took the photos and how they would influence Wyn's life.
I felt that the last third of the book let me down. Although there was a resolution of sorts for Wyn's personal life, other aspects of the plot were not resolved to my satisfaction. As a result, my overall feelings for this novel suffered, along with my rating score.
Would I read another book by this author? Absolutely! Would I recommend this one? Yes, with some reservations.
My gratitude to Kensington Publishing via NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this novel for free – at my request. I provided this unbiased review voluntarily.
Wyn Davies is a thirty-three year-old artist. She works on commission to bring in some much needed funds. She lives in one side of a duplex, with her husband Gus living on the other side. They have separated. Not because she doesn't love him dearly, but because he has said she has 'sold out' by abandoning her art and taking commissions painting birch trees. Their four-year-old daughter, Avery, goes back and forth between the two halves of the house.
"How do you stay with someone who thinks you have sold your soul?"
"A good lie can become the truth".
Wyn has lots of personal baggage. When she was just thirteen years old she was raped and very nearly killed in the woods behind her childhood home in New Hampshire. Her schoolmate, Robert Rousseau confessed to the crime and has been in prison for the past twenty years. Now... new evidence has been discovered which could exonerate Rousseau. Always fearful, Wyn lives her life in the limbo between truth and lies. Her parents, her best friend Pilar, and her husband Gus, do NOT know the truth of what happened to Wyn in the woods that day.
"I hated myself around Gus. I deplored who I had become. And isn't that why we split up in the first place? It was like he'd turned a mirror and made me look at exactly who I was now."
Unable to tolerate the growing chasm between her and Gus, Wyn takes Pilar up on her offer of staying at her house in Maine for the winter. Pilar had bought it sight unseen. The house, which has been unoccupied for years, is located on the remote Bluff's Island. Upon arrival, Wyn and Avery find the house is ramshackle and in much need of serious repair. While in the basement trying to start the ancient furnace, Wyn notices a recessed area in the earthen wall containing a shoebox labelled "Epitaphs and Prophecies". The shoebox is filled with undeveloped film canisters.
"I felt a strange sense of responsibilty. I had somehow become the unofficial curator of this photographer's work. It was daunting."
Curiosity leads Wyn to develop some of the film. The photos reveal a young woman with a young child. Photos of the house she is living in...
Wyn and Avery pass the early winter days trolling the beach for sea glass. Avery seems to be adapting well to the move, but at night she has reverted to wetting the bed. Wyn wonders if she did the right thing moving here - away from Gus.
Then... Wyn begins getting threatening messages...... and the re-opening of the Rousseau case looms.
The title references that special time of day, before sunset, during which daylight is redder and softer than when the sun is higher in the sky. Painting during that spectacular time of day known as the “golden hour”, when light is at its best.
The first two-thirds of this novel had me absolutely riveted. I liked Wyn, her tiny daughter Avery, and the atmospheric house on Bluff's Island. I was curious and compelled to learn more about the mysterious woman who took the photos and how they would influence Wyn's life.
I felt that the last third of the book let me down. Although there was a resolution of sorts for Wyn's personal life, other aspects of the plot were not resolved to my satisfaction. As a result, my overall feelings for this novel suffered, along with my rating score.
Would I read another book by this author? Absolutely! Would I recommend this one? Yes, with some reservations.
My gratitude to Kensington Publishing via NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this novel for free – at my request. I provided this unbiased review voluntarily.
April 8, 2017
This is my absolute favorite T. Greenwood book, and all her books are very good. I made myself late for work twice, because I couldn't put it down. The author tapped that magic that feeds all creative work. I found myself setting the book down to paint or write, myself, like I'd been bashed with fairy dust. I loved this.
December 9, 2016
When Wyn Davies survives a rape and attempted murder at the age of 13, she buries the trauma deep inside. As an adult, Wyn, now the mother of a four-year old girl, and in a marriage that is teetering on the edge of broken, she flees to a friend's dilapidated house located on a small island off the coast of Maine. Wyn needs time and distance from her husband, her parents, and the impending spectre of her rapist being granted a new trial based on recently uncovered evidence.
Packing up her daughter, and her paints and canvases, Wyn settles in to begrudgingly finish a commissioned painting that will match her client's couch. She meets the odd (sinister?) couple who own the mansion next door, discovers a box of undeveloped film hidden in the basement, and receives a chilling email; all the while desperate to ease the continual panic she feels simmering underneath her skin.
The Golden Hour speaks to the horror of sexual assault, the despair of a relationship unraveling, the ability of the past to invade the present, the reasons lying is sometimes the only choice, the burden of secrets, art as a commodity, and the oppressive nature of fear. Greenwood is a master storyteller; able to smoothly unearth the grit and ugliness beneath the placid veneer of human nature. Excellent!
Packing up her daughter, and her paints and canvases, Wyn settles in to begrudgingly finish a commissioned painting that will match her client's couch. She meets the odd (sinister?) couple who own the mansion next door, discovers a box of undeveloped film hidden in the basement, and receives a chilling email; all the while desperate to ease the continual panic she feels simmering underneath her skin.
The Golden Hour speaks to the horror of sexual assault, the despair of a relationship unraveling, the ability of the past to invade the present, the reasons lying is sometimes the only choice, the burden of secrets, art as a commodity, and the oppressive nature of fear. Greenwood is a master storyteller; able to smoothly unearth the grit and ugliness beneath the placid veneer of human nature. Excellent!
February 2, 2017
A complex young woman with a dreadful childhood incident in her history, Wyn's story is an intriguing read that drew me back every night to keep turning the pages.
The characters were wonderfully drawn – likeable, realistic, flawed and fascinating. My only criticism was overload ... I felt like I was constantly being loaded with hooks – something happened in Wyn's childhood; uh oh, Wyn decides to go stay in a deserted home on a rough and rocky beach; mm, the neighbour knows something; there's a box of photos in the attic; and so on.
The original premise of the childhood incident and how it was unveiling itself in her adult life would have been enough for me. A very solid read. Thanks as always to Kensington Book for allowing me to read this title and kudos to the author!
The characters were wonderfully drawn – likeable, realistic, flawed and fascinating. My only criticism was overload ... I felt like I was constantly being loaded with hooks – something happened in Wyn's childhood; uh oh, Wyn decides to go stay in a deserted home on a rough and rocky beach; mm, the neighbour knows something; there's a box of photos in the attic; and so on.
The original premise of the childhood incident and how it was unveiling itself in her adult life would have been enough for me. A very solid read. Thanks as always to Kensington Book for allowing me to read this title and kudos to the author!
April 4, 2017
I love just about every novel by Ms. Greenwood. I have a few that I haven't read yet, but I'm working on it. The way she writes is so beautiful, I get sucked in to each book, just reading the first few pages. While I certainly love what some people call "chick lit", this is not a term I would use to describe any of her novels. They nearly all are beautiful, well crafted stories, sometimes with pain, but always honest and believable.
My only critical comment on this book would be that it was too short. I, like others, figured out what had happened to her in her youth, but I really wanted to know that things fell into place for her, once she was honest with herself. Maybe we will see that play out in a future novel.
My only critical comment on this book would be that it was too short. I, like others, figured out what had happened to her in her youth, but I really wanted to know that things fell into place for her, once she was honest with herself. Maybe we will see that play out in a future novel.
March 29, 2017
Page turner. Couldn't put it down.
October 15, 2017
So this author has joined the club of other authors that I will just read, good or bad I like the writing style. This was a story with another story in it!
January 21, 2022
I loved the way that this book went back and forth between two stories in the past. There is the story of Wyn who survived some horrible things in her past. Wyn learns about Sybil through old photos and it becomes a book about Wyn uncovering the truths of the past. This is a beautifully written book about when it escaping the past becomes more about facing the impact of it on the future and dealing with it. Beautiful writing and excellent story.
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