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

A perfect gothic, big-house mystery that kept me turning the pages. Very well written - I really enjoyed it

It's wonderful - the dark suspense and evocative descriptions are perfect

The parallel stories of Fenix House governess Harriet Jenner and her granddaughter Grace had me absolutely gripped. Intelligent, poignant, unexpected: highly recommended

Beautifully written and utterly compelling, I loved this

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.

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

Headily atmospheric Victorian gothic detail brings to life the house which holds secrets and memories in its dim rooms, and conjures up a world of hot house flowers and stifled passions. Certain images stay with you - Riordan richly juxtaposes a measured, scientific world of steam trains, comets and clocks with the wild: flooded quarries, ice storms, and the irresistible desire for love and revenge which defies rationality. It's all in the detail - jewelled Indian daggers, sunlight on red gold hair, claustrophobic mazes and ice houses, and mysterious sounds in the night. From the utterly gripping prologue, The Shadow Hour transports you back in time, and shows how a few minutes here or there can catastrophically change a life

Rich and atmospheric, like Rebecca this novel casts an enduring spell

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

We loved last year's The Girl in the Photograph and this latest atmospheric sage is just as thrilling

The delight for the reader is many, not least spotting the cross-over between the two stories, and the changes in those characters that feature in both. 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

I would recommend it to anyone who wants an intriguing mystery that will keep them reading all night!

A wonderful novel. I loved the atmospheric setting and the way the mystery is built up, switching back and forth through time

I loved The Girl in the Photograph but I adore The Shadow Hour more, it has the perfect balance of tragedy and intrigue and all the story lines are woven together expertly. You don't want to miss this

A detailed, textured mystery

There is no doubt that Kate Riordan is a marvellous storyteller with a fantastically plotted book

Another beautifully told story form Kate Riordan *****

You are drawn in and held there, as the story unfolds, a beautiful literary touch within a novel that is quite the page turner

An absorbing and atmospheric read. I enjoyed his one so much that I have already started reading her previous novel

The author has such a wonderful way with words...beautifully written and very atmospheric

An atmospheric and tense tale of two families bound by the secrets held within Fenix House, a stately home where the past seems to collide with the present

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

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

This subtle, off-kilter foray into John le Carré territory—a chilling, thoughtful, deeply romantic drama about the collateral damage suffered by those on the periphery of world events—displays Dunmore's gifts as one of today’s most elegant and versatile storytellers.

Exposure is a beautifully written novel that really showcases this author’s talents.

Exposure is a great spy thriller with an emotional side to it ... it gives you great character's and a beautiful setting. Lily Carrington is one of the best character's I have read about in a book in a long while.

A wonderfully descriptive tale of three rich characters and serves as a great way of bringing the private fears and realities of the Cold War period to life and this novel is a story of that time, as much as anything else.

Exposure is about the drive to protect one’s family and the devastating consequences of abruptly finding oneself on the wrong side.

Exposure is a brilliantly plotted novel, it’s enormously compelling and I gulped it down. Dunmore builds the tension slowly, the atmosphere of fear and creeping shadows is chillingly well done.

Just as thrilling and just as unputdownable as any Le Carré

A compelling read

A surprising and fulfilling read

Exciting, with a touch of Graham Greene

Few novelists can rival Dunmore

With a poet’s intensity for minutia and symbolism and an always hungry precision for the right word, she creates a real and thoroughly vivid world, a living place, grim and claustrophobic, full in small ways of menace.

Reading Helen Dunmore is like uncovering an old, intimate secret. Her historical detail is flawless. Her narrative focus is never so much on the big public bluster as it is on the private fragility of the human heart - and her latest novel might be her finest yet.

Clever and moving