The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Edie Burchill, protagonist of this spine-tingling novel, has always considered her mother, Meredith, to be rather staid–until the evening a letter, written to Meredith in 1941 and lost for a half-century by the Royal Mail, arrives at the Burchills’ London home. Meredith’s emotional reaction shocks her daughter, but not nearly as much as the revelations that follow. It seems Meredith was one of thousands of children evacuated from London at the onset of World War II. She was billeted at Milderhurst Castle, the crumbling country estate of the wealthy and eccentric Blythe family. Eager for more insight into her mother’s past, Edie travels to Milderhurst to dig deeper into the Blythes’ colorful history. What she uncovers is a shadowy legacy of madness, murder, and betrayal. (KG)