My thanks to NetGalley and publisher HarperCollins UK, Harper Fiction, for the ARC.

WOW! I feel as if I've just binge-read/watched a fabulous TV series. I didn't want to put it down at all, but this certainly is a very long read - not, I hasten to add, that it was unnecessarily padded-out - it wasn't, the writing is excellent and, although the main characters, especially Annie do a lot of thinking, this purposefully feeds into the plot.

It's December 2019 and the reader is taken into the heart of the Crayce family on Hanley Court Estate, high on Exmoor. Annie and David, together with their three children, have a thriving shooting school and entertainment facility. David's widowed father Dickie lives in the gatehouse cottage and David's brother Henry and wife Julia live further over the moor. with Henry and Dickie working with the shooting school and organised moorland shoots across the country and Julia running stables and a donkey sanctuary and helping Annie with the business administration. Annie's parents live not far away, as do Julia's mother and aunt (I'm deliberately describing this family because there are a lot of characters to get to grips with as central to this complex plot).
This is a very close and loving family on the surface but gradually insecurities within relationships begin to surface, so perhaps all is not what it seems.
Their world is blown apart by a familial DNA match being made by the police between the unsolved murder of Karen Lomax, a promiscuous 17yr-old whose body was found 20 years previously, and one of the Crayce men. David is subsequently dramatically arrested but, until individual DNA swab results are returned in a period of 2 weeks - well, was it Dickie, Henry or David?
Amidst the inevitable questioning and recriminations within the family Annie is determined to find proof that David couldn't be responsible, whilst DS Natalie Rundle is equally determined to prove that he was. Can they remember what they were all doing 20 years previously when Karen disappeared? David has problems with that stemming from his days in the Army and realises there would be no way to prove his innocence. How can Annie help him? Why can he not explain himself?

I loved the way the characters are brought to life; the frenetic business and family life - even the dog, Cassie. DS Natalie Rundle has her own insecurities to confront, as well as an attraction to her boss DCI Gould. She's a no-nonsense go-getter, but she's got a heart.
Now, I know some may say that, following the conclusion of this explosive story with all it's twists and sensational revelations, the final chapters may not be necessary - oh, but they are, because this is what Susan Lewis does so well - there are no loose ends, everything is physically and emotionally tidied away.

This book is an emotionally-exhausting roller-coaster ride of a thriller.
A-maze-ing!

I enjoyed this book. It has an intriguing plot and engaging story line. It kept me guessing until the end and I didn’t predict the twist and dénouement. However, the beginning and end were both rather drawn out. The second chapter seemed to drag and introduce too many characters and factors to follow. Similarly, the end was rather drawn out after the resolution of the crime.

#TheLostHours #NetGalley
A phenomenal psychological thriller.
Annie and David Crayce have it all. A loving marriage, three beautiful children and a thriving family business. Life couldn’t be better. Until the unthinkable happens…
A perfect crime? A piece of damning DNA evidence has arisen, placing David as the prime suspect of a murder committed twenty-years ago. Annie is sure her David is innocent. But if he isn’t guilty, then either his father or brother must be.
As the police investigate the cold case, so does Annie.
I loved it very much. I would recommend this to everyone.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction for giving me an advanced copy.