The Lost Hours by Karen White--Book Review

Engrossing, powerful, and mysterious, The Lost Hours by Karen White is sure to win this talented author more awards.

When Piper Mills was only six years old, her parents died and she moved in with her grandparents in Savannah. Years later, her grandmother gave her a mysterious box that Piper and her grandfather buried in the backyard; an event that would soon be forgotten.

After the death of her grandparents, and now a grown woman, Piper seeks the answers to questions she never had the courage to ask while her grandmother was alive. Digging up the mysterious box from the garden, Piper sets forth on a journey that uncovers her family's secrets and tells a story of past hurts, regrets, and the need for forgiveness.

After reading Karen White's The House on Tradd Street--which we reviewed here--I was eager to read her next novel. White definitely did not disappoint.

The Lost Hours combines Southern living and style with friendship, tragedy, and a quest for the truth.

As with The House on Tradd Street, this novel's characters move the story forward. Told from multiple points of view, the reader is totally captivated by the story of three girlfriends who are separated by a monumental tragedy and the granddaughter seeking to learn more about the grandmother she never really knew.

The Lost Hours is a powerful story that involves Alzheimer's disease, race relations in the 1930's, a charm necklace, a scrapboook and a love of horses. Piper was an accomplished equestrian, until a horrific accident left her scarred and afraid to get back in the saddle again.

In addition to Piper, readers will find a host of interesting and multifaceted characters. Helen, a blind daughter living at Asphodel Meadows, who has a flair for fashion; Tucker, Helen's brother, who has left his medical practice after a family tragedy; and Mr. Morton, Piper's family's attorney who pretends he's deaf, but really hears every word you say.

Perhaps the best part of The Lost Hours is how White is able to combine all these people, their pasts and their presents, to create an emotional story that will leave you satisfied, but also feeling sorry that you've read the last page.

The Lost Hours will make you run out and buy every book written by Karen White.


Title: The Lost Hours
Author: Karen White
Publisher: NAL Accent
ISBN: 978-0-451-22649-5
SRP: $15.00 (U.S.)