«The Shadow Hour» by Kate Riordan

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Shadow Hour by Kate Riordan, read by Eve Webster, Rachel Bavidge, Andy Secombe, Roy Mcmillan, Helen Fraser, Daniel Weyman and Steven France.

Nineteen twenty-two. Grace has been sent to the stately and crumbling Fenix House to follow in her grandmother's footsteps as a governess. But when she meets the house's inhabitants, people who she had only previously heard of in stories, the cracks in her grandmother's tale begin to show. Secrets appear to live in the house's very walls and everybody is resolutely protecting their own.

Why has she been sent here? Why did her grandmother leave after just one summer? And as the past collides with the present, can Grace unravel these secrets and discover who her grandmother, and who she, really is?

Praise for The Shadow Hour

'I was immediately drawn in by this beautifully written tale. I loved the sense of intrigue and the air of mystery at Fenix House, and was itching for answers as the two narratives unfolded' Dinah Jefferies author of The Tea Planter's Wife

'I'm a sucker for unreliable narrators, crumbling country houses stuffed full of secrets and a story that veers between the present and the past, so it was a delight to curl up with The Shadow Hour over the course of a rainy weekend' Red Online

'It's wonderful - the dark suspense and evocative descriptions are perfect' Liz Fenwick, author of Under a Cornish Sky

'We loved last years The Girl in the Photograph and this latest atmospheric saga is just as thrilling' Essentials

'The parallel stories of Fenix House governess Harriet Jenner and her granddaughter Grace had me absolutely gripped. Intelligent, poignant, unexpected: highly recommended' Louise Candlish, author of The Sudden Departure of the Frasers

'Beautifully written and utterly compelling, I loved this' Katie Fforde

'Gorgeously written - I was instantly drawn in to the mysteries of Fenix House and Kate's evocative storytelling held me rapt until the very end' Lucy Diamond

'Full of dark intrigue, rich description and haunting secrets, this kept me reading and reading! Beautifully written and compelling until the end. I adored it' Ella Harper, author of The Years of Loving You

'What a beautiful and evocative writer she is! I adored the richness of her descriptions, the faint sense of menace just below the surface, and the huge skill with which she wove in clues, questions and little fragments of information. It was a thoroughly absorbing read' Iona Grey

'The language is lyrical and yet accessible, the plot intricate but satisfying. There is romance, period detail, and dark secrets. This book has TV adaptation written all over it! A great book-club read with loads to discuss' The Cheltonian