Introduction

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

"The best Paula Hawkins yet – by a tense and haunting mile." – Lee Child

"An atmospheric, stylish puzzle box of a thriller... truly exceptional." – Liz Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The God of the Woods

"A masterful exploration of the nature of obsession...I loved it." – Angie Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek

The propulsive and powerful new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

Welcome to Eris: an island with only one house, one inhabitant, one way out. Unreachable from the Scottish mainland for twelve hours each day.

Once home to Vanessa: A famous artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared twenty years ago.

Now home to Grace: A solitary creature of the tides, content in her own isolation.

But when a shocking discovery is made in an art gallery far away in London, a visitor comes calling.

And the secrets of Eris threaten to emerge....

A masterful novel that is as page-turning as it is unsettling, The Blue Hour recalls the sophisticated suspense of Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith and cements Hawkins’s place among the very best of our most nuanced and stylish storytellers.

"Atmospheric and marvelously twisty." – Danya Kukafka, author of Notes on an Execution

“Reminiscent of du Maurier: art, islands, missing spouses ... Hard to put down.” – Mick Herron

"A masterpiece! Gorgeous and chilling." – Shari Lapena

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Discussion Questions

1. Becker serves as an intermediary between two conflicting interests --- Grace’s and those of Fairburn House. How would you describe his own interests and motivations?

2. The tide is a prominent symbol throughout the novel. What do you think it represents? What other symbols did you notice in the text?

3. Lady Emmeline insinuates that, because Helena left Sebastian for Becker, she must be untrustworthy and is likely a serial cheater. Julian had multiple affairs, always returning to infidelity even after reconciling with Vanessa. Do you believe in the mantra “Once a cheater, always a cheater?” How do you think perpetrators can redeem themselves after a betrayal, if it’s possible?

4. How does class impact the relationships in THE BLUE HOUR?

5. How does Vanessa’s art practice reveal her emotional state at different times in her life?

6. THE BLUE HOUR depicts many relationships with disparities in power --- the most obvious being the abusive relationship between Marguerite and her late husband. Where are there other gradations of power between characters? How does power struggle manifest between characters in large and small ways?

7. How did Vanessa’s diary entries impact your reading experience? Did you feel more or less connected to her than the other characters? Did you view her as a reliable narrator of her own life, or did you ever doubt her reporting of the facts?

8. How does the disappearance of Vanessa’s husband change Vanessa and Grace’s relationship?

9. How does Paula Hawkins build and maintain suspense in this novel? How does it compare to other murder mysteries you have read?

10. Were you surprised at the ending?

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