{"id":13585,"date":"2020-11-17T19:49:32","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T00:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=13585"},"modified":"2025-10-01T16:12:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T20:12:47","slug":"the-deadly-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13585","title":{"rendered":"The Deadly Hours"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Deadly Hours<\/a><\/em> (2020) Susanna Kearsley, Anna Lee Huber<\/a>, Christine Trent<\/a>, C.S. Harris<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Theses are four novellas, each connected by a cursed time piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeapon of Choice\u201d by Susanna Kearsley
\n\u201cIn a Fevered Hour\u201d by Anna Lee Huber<\/a>
\n\u201cA Pocketful of Death\u201d by Christine Trent<\/a>
\n\u201cSiren\u2019s Call\u201d by C.S. Harris<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWeapon of Choice\u201d by Susanna Kearsley<\/strong>
\nSet in Portofino, Italy in 1733<\/p>\n

The anthology opens with Susanna Kearsley’s story with her characters Hugh and Mary, from her book A Desperate Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A storm and a purported curse forces their ship into port where they meet with a pirate and an assassin. The pirate has a gold watch, La Sir\u00e8ne<\/em>, created from gold looted from the sacking of Cartagena, that is said (even by the pirate) to be cursed. <\/p>\n

This was an interesting mystery (even if I saw the murder & mystery coming from a mile away) but I had some difficulty with the characters, since I had not read their book, an I felt like I was missing something at times.
\nRating: 6.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn a Fevered Hour\u201d by Anna Lee Huber <\/strong>
\nSet in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1831<\/p>\n

This story features Lady Darby and her husband Sebastian Gage, soon after their wedding. Bonnie Brock Kincaid comes to Lady Darby asking for her help in finding a cursed watch he inherited. While visiting them he falls ill–possibly from the curse and possibly from an illness going around the city. Lady Darby calls Kincaid’s sister (whom she was instrumental in rescuing in an earlier book) to help care for him and she and Gage try to find the watch.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed this story, because I like Lady Darby and Gage, and because Kincaid and his sister are interesting characters. <\/p>\n

I also liked how the Typhus outbreak was worked into the story.
\nRating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA Pocketful of Death\u201d by Christine Trent <\/strong>
\nSet in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1870<\/p>\n

I eventually realized I’d read the first book in this series. <\/p>\n

And I didn’t like it.<\/p>\n

I didn’t like this novella any more than I liked the the first book I read, and will not be seeking out any further books in her series.<\/p>\n

Violet simply does not feel like a woman of her time. She insists upon using the front door despite being told not to (and the family continues to let her in), keeps coming back to the house for the flimsiest of reasons (and the family KEEPS letting her in).<\/p>\n

She makes ridiculous statements and everyone just lets her, which I just don’t believe that would have happened at that time. IN short, I don’t like her, and I don’t believe her as a character of the 1870s.<\/p>\n

Also, I thought the mystery was ridiculous and unbelievable.<\/p>\n

In short, I found the whole thing aggravating and irritating, but I had to keep reading, since the events were tied to the next story.
\nRating: 3.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSiren\u2019s Call\u201d by C.S. Harris<\/strong>
\nSet in Kent, England in 1944<\/p>\n

The final story, however, was written by one of my favorite authors, and was a stand-alone novella, not tied to any existing series.<\/p>\n

It’s WWII and Major Crosby has been killed. The two MI5 agents sent to the area to find a spy who has been sending encrypted messages to Germany are sure the murder is tied to the spy they are searching for, but they can’t make any sense of how or why.<\/p>\n

Rachel moved back to the area to help care for her grandmother who is wheelchair bound after the explosion that killer her daughter–Rachel’s mother. Still mourning the death of her brother in the war, Rachel is somewhat at loose ends, and has been trying to convince the major to place his collection in storage.<\/p>\n

This is not a cozy story. One of the MI5 agents, Jude, is forced to deal with the fact his partner is willing to use any means necessary in his attempts to find the spy–whether the person he wants the information from is likely guilty or not.<\/p>\n

Both Rachel and Jude wonder precisely how they have arrived where they are.<\/p>\n

How had it happened<\/em>? she wondered, her throat closing painfully with grief and despair. How had a country as cultured, civilized, and prosaically sane as Germany allowed itself to fall under the spell of a fast-talking charlatan who seduced them with empty promises and twisted their fears and anger into a lethal hatred directed toward society\u2019s most vulnerable members?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is a darkness that exists within each of us, Mr. Lowe. All it takes is a seductive leader or the right circumstances to turn that darkness into evil.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Much of this story his extremely close to home right now.<\/p>\n

But it was a good story, and I enjoyed it despite the dark parallels to current times.
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a very interesting idea, and for the most part I enjoyed seeing the way the stories wove bits and pieces into each other. I just wish the third story had been stronger, since it drug down the rest of the anthology.<\/p>\n

Publisher : Poisoned Pen Press
\nRating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Deadly Hours (2020) Susanna Kearsley, Anna Lee Huber, Christine Trent, C.S. Harris Theses are four novellas, each connected by a cursed time piece. \u201cWeapon of Choice\u201d by Susanna Kearsley \u201cIn a Fevered Hour\u201d by Anna Lee Huber \u201cA Pocketful of Death\u201d by Christine Trent \u201cSiren\u2019s Call\u201d by C.S. Harris \u201cWeapon of Choice\u201d by Susanna […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,18,30,292,33,8,196],"tags":[114,59,729,115,560,898],"class_list":["post-13585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-anthology","category-british","category-ebook","category-historical","category-mystery","category-novella","tag-anna-lee-huber","tag-c-s-harris","tag-industrial-revolution","tag-lady-darby","tag-romantic-era","tag-ww-ii"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3x7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14187,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14187","url_meta":{"origin":13585,"position":0},"title":"A Wicked Conceit","author":"Michelle","date":"April 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A Wicked Conceit (2021) Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby Mystery #9) Set in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1832 Lady Darby is very pregnant at the start of this book, so it was clear she was going to the baby at the end of the book. \"Let's hope she doesn't end up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Wicked Conceit","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/A-Wicked-Conceit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/A-Wicked-Conceit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/A-Wicked-Conceit.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/A-Wicked-Conceit.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5873,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5873","url_meta":{"origin":13585,"position":1},"title":"A Pressing Engagement","author":"Michelle","date":"May 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A Pressing Engagement (2016) Anna Lee Huber Set in Edinburgh, Scotland in April 1831 This short story is Lady Darby's wedding to Sebastian Gage. Except it isn't really a short story, as much as it would truly be an excerpt from either the end of the previous book or the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"a_pressing_engagement","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/a_pressing_engagement.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9546,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9546","url_meta":{"origin":13585,"position":2},"title":"A Pressing Engagement","author":"Michelle","date":"January 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A Pressing Engagement (2016) Anna Lee Huber Set in Scotland in 1831 This is a short story, but you should think of it as an outtake from the novels, rather than a stand-alone story you could pick up to read if you are unfamiliar with the characters or want to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/a_pressing_engagement-e1511012727623.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11222,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11222","url_meta":{"origin":13585,"position":3},"title":"Treacherous Is the Night","author":"Michelle","date":"November 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Treacherous Is the Night (2018) Anna Lee Huber Set in Europe in 1919. The second Verity Kent story finds Verity and her husband trying to come to terms with each other--and decide if their marriage will survive his letting her think he was dead for more than a year. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Treacherous-Is-the-Night.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11825,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11825","url_meta":{"origin":13585,"position":4},"title":"An Artless Demise","author":"Michelle","date":"April 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"An Artless Demise (2019) Anna Lee Huber Set in London in November 1831 Kiera and Sebastian are in London, trying to settle into married life, but murder and body snatchers are reminding people who Kiera left in the first place, and Lord Gage is reminding Sebastian that his marriage to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/An-Artless-Demise.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19978,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19978","url_meta":{"origin":13585,"position":5},"title":"A Perilous Perspective","author":"Michelle","date":"May 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A Perilous Perspective (2022) Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby Mystery) Set in Scotland in 1832 The tenth Lady Darby book finds Kiera and Sebastian are in Scotland for the wedding of her friend Charlotte to her cousin Rye. Trouble comes with Kiera realizes that several of Lord Barbreck's paintings are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Perilous Perspective","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/A-Perilous-Perspective.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/A-Perilous-Perspective.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/A-Perilous-Perspective.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/A-Perilous-Perspective.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13585\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}