REVIEW: THE IN-BETWEEN HOUR, BY BARBARA CLAYPOLE WHITE

 

Hannah Linden and Will Shepard are two damaged souls, brought together by circumstances and bound by the legacies of their broken lives.

Will, a best-selling author, has left Manhattan to go to North Carolina to deal with his aging father Jacob, who is being evicted from his assisted living home, while Hannah, a holistic veterinarian, is coping with her suicidal son Galen.

Will is also carrying the burden of a deep dark secret, the loss of his five-year-old son Freddie.

Hannah rents a cottage to Will and his father, on the recommendation of Hannah’s friend Poppy, who was an art teacher at the facility where Jacob lived, so the connections begin to form between them.

The In-Between Hour is a character-driven story of people dealing with their tragedies and their losses. Set in rural North Carolina, I could smell the scents of the wooded area and see the beautiful colors of the “gloaming,” described in this passage:

“As they crossed the gravel, a thrush–nature’s flautist–announced the gloaming. Another thirty minutes and darkness would fall, but right now the house and the cottage were suspended between day and night, caught in that moment when nothing was defined and everything seemed possible.”

The author’s characters were flawed human beings learning to deal with the effects of the past, with the tragedy of mental illness in their loved ones, and with terrible losses. At the same time, they are struggling to find ways to connect with others, even when their first instincts are to pull away and isolate themselves. A story I recommend for those who enjoy books about relationships, family dynamics, and dealing with loss. 4.5 stars.