The Golden Hour

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I adore a story that brims with deliciously delivered and sensory-rich settings like those in this book—the Bahamas, Germany, England, and Scotland.

I found myself continually looking back to try to figure out whether the chapter I was about to read came before or after a previous chapter about these same characters. While mixing in with the wealthy set that surrounds the Windsors, Lulu meets a man whose work is war-related but mysterious and, not surprisingly, love blossoms. Her talent for creating dovetailed stories—stories that beckon and badger me to keep reading to see where and how and why the characters will collide—is unparalleled, which is why her newest, The Golden Hour, shimmers like the sun. I must say that I had no idea what happened to the former King Edward when he abdicated from the throne to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson. I thought it was intriguing how the author made the Windsors, somewhat, central and key, along with the real murder mystery of Henry Oakes; little moments in history that aren't completely solved are fun to read different takes on.

The first, which takes place in the early 1900s, is about Elfriede, an 18-year-old German beauty who marries a baron and suffers horribly from postpartum depression. The Thorpes are no less dedicated to the women they love, although war and duty are of critical importance too.

Now, I have to admit that I love plenty of her books, but that one just rocked my world as I listened to the audio version. I would recommend this book to any historical fiction fans out there, but I would also recommend it to everyone else aw well! The stories of two remarkable women a generation apart are cleverly intertwined in Williams’s sweeping family saga.

When real-life philanthropist Harry Oakes is found murdered on the island in 1943, the duke takes a particular interest in the case. To avoid spoilers, I’ll just say there is a series of highly improbable events that take place during World War 2 and involve both narratives.

Williams thoroughly captured the atmosphere of the 1900s to 1916 and the 1940s in London, Switzerland, Scotland, the Bahamas, and Florida.Which is key to this book seeing as Manuel being an impressive photographer is essential to the story and his coping mechanisms, with key moments framed in a drawn-on rectangle to imply looking through a camera.