The Stolen Hours (The Wild Isle Series Book 2) by Karen Swan

Book Blurb

It’s the summer of 1929 and Mhairi MacKinnon is in need of a husband. As the eldest girl among nine children, her father has made it clear he can’t support her past the coming winter. On the small, Scottish island of St Kilda, her options are limited. But the MacKinnons’ neighbour, Donald, has a business acquaintance on distant Harris also in need of a spouse. A plan is hatched for Donald to chaperone Mhairi and make the introduction on his final crossing of the year, before the autumn seas close them off to the outside world.

Mhairi returns as an engaged woman who has lost her heart – but not to her fiancé. In love with the wrong man yet knowing he can never be hers, she awaits the spring with growing dread, for the onset of calm waters will see her sent from home to become a stranger’s wife.

When word comes that St Kilda is to be evacuated, the lovers are granted a few months’ reprieve, enjoying a summer of stolen hours together. Only, those last days on St Kilda will also bring trauma and heartache for Mhairi and her friends, Effie and Flora. And when a dead body is later found on the abandoned isle, all three have reason enough to find themselves under the shadow of suspicion . . .

My Review

The Stolen Hours is the second book in Karen Swan’s The Wilde Isle series, book one was The Last Summer. If like me you thought that this book would follow on directly from the cliffhanger ending of The Last Summer then you will be disappointed, but don’t worry you will soon get lost in this brilliant sequel. The Stolen Hours takes us back to the beginning, and the island of St Kilda, and the story of the evacuation of the Island from Mhairi’s perspective.

Mhairi featured in the first book as she was a friend of Effie. Whilst Effie just lived with her father, Mhairi is the eldest daughter of nine children so has to help her family both at home and out on the Island. Mhairi knows she is a burden to her father so when an opportunity of marriage comes along she knows she will have to take it, even though it will take her away from her family to the Isle of Harris. Whilst an arrangement is made, it is not her fiance’s heart she holds dear, it is someone else who she can’t have. Mhairi is a wonderful character, and one I really enjoyed getting to know. She is very much family oriented, hardworking and able to cope with the harshness of St Kilda including spending many months looking after the sheep and sleeping in a bothy. I found her story inspiring in parts, her strength and determination, and her willpower to never give up. One of the most fascinating parts was Mhairi’s reaction to life on Harris where she saw a tree for the first time, was amazed by the food you could buy like jam, cocoa and biscuits; she was literaly likea child in a sweet shop.

I really enjoyed being back on St Kilda, with its rugged and harsh landscape and the simple life of it’s residents. There is something wistful to this isle, being cut off from the outside world, having their own language, and the closness of the community; a complete opposite to our lives now. Regular readers of my blog know that I am a huge fan of Karen Swan’s books and how she brings both her characters and settings to life with her descriptive prose. She really captures the atmosphere of her locations, and her attention to detail makes me feel like I am there seeing and feeling what her characters are. Her research into this period of time, and the evacuation of the Island is wonderful, capturing the different emotions that the inhabitants must have felt leaving their homes and life behind for a modern world they knew nothing about. Whilst this maybe Mhairi’s story there is still the mystery of the missing Factor, who worked for the Laird of the isle, that was in the first book, adding suspense to the plot, and a new set of people who could be involved.

I will admit that when I first picked up The Stolen Hours I was a bit surprised that it didn’t continue with Effie’s story, but I soon forgot about that and fell in love again with St Kilda and with Mhairi’s story. I do love Karen Swan’s books and this series, in my opinion, is her best work to date. The mixture of adventure, love and suspense set against the stunning and wild beauty of St Kilda makes for a perfect read to get lost in. I’m now super excited to find out whose story is next, and more clues to the missing Factor. You can read my review of the first book The Last Summer here The Last Summer (The Wild Isle Series Book 1) by Karen Swan

I’d like to thank Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book in return for my review.