Waiting on Wednesday #22 - The Distant Hours by Kate Morton.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly awaited upcoming releases.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Publisher: Mantle

Hardcover, 320 pages.

Release date: October 15th 2010

Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives one Sunday afternoon with the return address of Millderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect that her mother’s emotional distance masks an old secret. 

Evacuated from London as a thirteen year old girl, Edie’s mother is chosen by the mysterious Juniper Blythe, and taken to live at Millderhurst Castle with the Blythe family: Juniper, her twin sisters and their father, Raymond. In the grand and glorious Millderhurst Castle, a new world opens up for Edie’s mother. She discovers the joys of books and fantasy and writing, but also, ultimately, the dangers. 

Fifty years later, as Edie chases the answers to her mother’s riddle, she, too, is drawn to Millderhurst Castle and the eccentric Sisters Blythe. Old ladies now, the three still live together, the twins nursing Juniper, whose abandonment by her fiancé in 1941 plunged her into madness. 

Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother’s past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Millderhurst Castle, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. The truth of what happened in the distant hours has been waiting a long time for someone to find it . . .

I love Kate Morton's books and with the long winter nights (boo!) coming soon, this will be the perfect read to curl up with.  I much prefer the UK cover for this one - the US cover is pretty, but much too twee and fairytale for my liking - not something that would attract my attention at the book store, but I'd instantly be drawn to the UK cover.  What's your favourite cover on this one?

Share your thoughts and Waiting on Wednesday picks in comments!