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The Darkest Hour

By: Barbara Erskine
Narrated by: Sandra Duncan
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Summary

From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes an epic tale of love, passion and heartbreak.

In the summer of 1940, eyes are focussed on the skies above the South of England: the Battle for Britain has just begun. But Evie Lucas has eyes for no-one but a dashing young pilot called Tony. Evie has a glittering career as an artist ahead of her but seems only to be fascinated in sketching portraits of him…

Seventy years later, recently widowed art historian Lucy is putting the pieces of her life back together, and to do that she needs to uncover the mystery surrounding a painting in her home. As Lucy ties up the loose ends of one lifetime, she stirs up a hornet’s nest of history in another. Suddenly, Lucy finds herself in danger from people past and present who have no intention of letting an untold truth ever surface.

Some stories are buried in the darkness forever. Some are just waiting to be told…

©2014 Barbara Erskine (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
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Critic reviews

Praise for Barbara Erskine:

‘Her forte is mood, atmosphere and the toe-curling frisson’ Elizabeth Buchan, Sunday Times

‘Barbara Erskine’s storytelling talent is undeniable’ The Times‘

‘Marvellous escapist stuff’ Woman and Home

What listeners say about The Darkest Hour

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great ghost story, but v prim narration

I do love a ghost story and this is a great one. Well researched about the Battle of Britain. But the narration is forced and irritating.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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The sad story of a great Artist.

The story jumps between the present and the past. An author is studying the belonging of a good artist. The artist seems to have been quite unhappy with her life, she would love to do her own artistic work but is being presurised to paint certain things. Where are her painting now is the question.

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enjoyed the book

enjoyed this book very much . Had you thinking about the story from near the start

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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So poignant.

A book full of regrets about the past and things that happened, or didn't.

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1 person found this helpful

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Excellent!

Would have rated this as 5 stars for story but I did find it rather slow going at the start. The story quickly gathers momentum and as with all Barbara Erskine's titles I found I couldn't stop listening....
Excellent!!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I loved this

I loved this. Sandra Duncan's performance was flawless. The story was easy to follow and understand, even though it moved constantly between WW2 and the present day, which was important as I hadn't read the book first. Highly recommended.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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True Erskine style

This book is beautifully written and fantastic as ever. Barbara has never failed to grab my imagination and take my on a mystery trip.

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The darkest hour

Barbara Erskine never fails to thrill and delight readers.
Her knowledge of the supernatural in tandem with history is what I love about the unique and superb books she writes.
Thank you Barbara.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Sometimes cheesy

I like most of the author’s work for enjoyable escapism, although I often feel a little more urgency in progressing the tale would be welcome. In this novel she could not resist introducing quite improbable spitfire appearances and physical abuses by a spirit.
The character Lucy’s often irrational responses and behaviours left me rather irritated.
Nevertheless the cast is an interesting one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A wonderful read

I loved this book. The combination of the wartime love story and the modern-day mystery was a great one and I couldn't wait to go back to it.

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