Missing Hour by Robert Rutherford

‘Missing Hour’ is a fabulous book written by Robert Rutherford about a woman looking to avenge her husband over a scheme that goes deeper than she could ever imagine. After discovering the unsavory dealings of a company called HELIX, Maggie Brewer’s life seems to turn upside down. From the moment I started reading the book, I was hooked.

The descriptions and overall writing style is excellent, submerging you in the story right away. One of my favourite descriptions was “fine rain jewels the air” located at the beginning of the book. An excellent technique Rutherford used was the main character, Maggie Brewer, being written in first person while all the other characters were in third person. This immediately highlights her as the most important character and gives the readers a deeper insight into the story. Her feelings allow the readers to see the plot from a different angle and allows for her characterisation to flourish. The little light hearted comments scattered throughout also really added to it, keeping the book undulating with emotion.

Another excellent aspect of this book is the dialogue. It feels very real and rarely pulls you from the story. It adds a lot to the believability of the characters and pairs well with their realistic characterisation. Throughout reading, it was very easy to create an image of the characters, even without specific descriptions. This is something I just love in a book. I particularly liked the uneasy atmosphere around Declan Clay, a murderous helping hand to the leader of HELIX. His soft Irish accent was the complete juxtaposition to his actions and that translated very well over the page.

The tension is probably my favourite part of this book. Having Maggie’s first person account of her emotions adds so much to the scenes. While the tension continued throughout, it never became tiresome. The pace was fast and the situations were described wonderfully, adding or removing detail depending on the moment. 

Finally, the complexity of the plot is brilliant. I started reading, thinking it would be a simple thriller novel but I couldn’t have been more wrong. While, at times, the explanations of HELIX and its associated businesses were complex, it was not too hard to understand overall. I just wish there was more time to digest the information before a new piece was thrown at you.

In conclusion, Missing Hour by Robert Rutherford was excellent. It is fast paced and full of twists. The constant dialogue from Maggie paired with the more light-hearted comments kept the book varied with emotion and provided some release from the heavier scenes. If you love a book with beautiful descriptions and wracked with tension, this one is definitely for you!

4/5