THE LOST HOURS by Karen White
Author Karen White doesn’t write about simple situations, she goes for the big complex ones. In her latest novel THE LOST HOURS she delves into the past to unlock the mysteries of the present. Peeling away the layers of lies and deception her characters used, she unveils a fascinating story about how the “roots of the present lie deep in the past.”
Earline “Piper” Mills once thought the world was her oyster. She was an accomplished rider but a tragic accident ended all of her dreams of Olympic gold. Now she lives in the home of her grandparents and traces genealogical charts for a living. Her social life is non-existent and she feels her life has no purpose.
Then she remembers a box she and her grandfather buried in the backyard twelve years ago. Sorting through the items contained in it she stumbles upon a mystery that piques her interest. It is a mystery concerning three best friends and how their lives were torn apart by a horrific event.
Piper’s grandmother is dead but she discovers one of the two friends is alive and living in Savannah, where Piper also lives. She tries to contact the woman but is rebuffed. Taking matters into her own hands she assumes an identity other than her own and gets into the woman’s good graces. Then she begins to try to solve the mystery.
Of course when she goes to the elderly woman’s home she finds a new life full of friendship and possibly romance. There is a grandson, Tucker, who seems to take a liking to Piper. He is a widower with two young daughters. They want to learn to ride and this restores a need in Piper to get back up on a horse.
All of the relationships in this story are complex, as are the characters. Lillian is the elderly woman Piper seeks out. She seems reluctant to talk about the past but Piper is persistent in her investigation. She is aided by Helen, Lillian’s granddaughter and Tucker’s sister.
Helen is a fascinating character. She lost her sight as a child due to an illness but she has refused to see it as a handicap. She is independent and upbeat. She refuses to let others mother or smother her.
With the city of Savannah as a backdrop, and colorful characters from the past and present cropping up, this is a book to be savored. Karen White knows how to draw her readers into her stories and this one is no exception. You will be intrigued from the first pages till the last.
Karen White is not just a good writer, she is a consistently good writer and that is what elevates her to the top rung of storytellers. THE LOST HOURS is just the latest spell-binding book from her.
THE LOST HOURS is published by NAL Accent. It contains 368 pages and sells for $15.00.