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The Secret Hours

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About this listen

Arethusa Clayton has always been formidable, used to getting her own way.

On her death, she leaves unexpected instructions. Instead of being buried in America, on the wealthy East Coast where she and her late husband raised their two children, Arethusa has decreed that her ashes be scattered in a remote corner of Ireland, on the hills overlooking the sea.

All Arethusa ever told Faye was that she grew up in a poor farming family and left Ireland, alone, to start a new life in America, as did so many in those times of hardship and famine. But who were her family in Ireland and where are they now? What was the real reason that she turned away from them? And who is the mysterious benefactor of a significant share of Arethusa’s estate?

Arethusa is gone. There is no one left to tell her story.

Faye feels bereft, as if her mother’s whole family has died with her. Leaving her own husband and children behind, she travels to the picturesque village of Ballinakelly, determined to fulfil her mother’s last wish and to find out the reason for Arethusa’s insistence on being laid to rest in this faraway land.

©2019 Santa Montefiore (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Women's Fiction Heartfelt Marriage
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I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Secret Hours'. A little predictable, but nevertheless most enjoyable and very we'll narrated.

A lovely summer's read

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I enjoyed the book, at the beginning I wasn't too interested, but it got better

nice story

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This is my first Montefiore and I may well listen to more. She is a great story teller and knows how to describe beautiful landscapes. Her characters too come to life beautifully, and the narrator, Genevieve Swallow, does a wonderful job creating these in her work.

I've just got a couple of nags: some names are not pronounced properly and that should be part of the preparation a narrator does - or should be given the opportunity to do - before s/he starts recording. And on the part of the author I really felt the main 'present day (1961)' character Faye was a bit very whimpish. In the end I was almost screaming at her for her indecision!

With regard to the previous Deverill books: I have not read them and don't feel I've missed anything, so if you want you can read this as a stand-alone and enjoy it as much as I did! It just lost a star for the couple of nags I have because they go right through the book and they annoyed me. Otherwise it would have been a heart-felt 5 stars!

Great story, also as stand-alone

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Many happy hours with this series.....a joy to listen too by an excellent narrator. Can't wait to read more !

A wonderful continuing story of The Deverills....

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struggled at times, did not like narration it had no feelings, some chapters seem lost

not as good

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