The Black Hour By Lori Rader-Day

It was very difficult for me to put down Lori Rader-Day’s book The Black Hour, which I greatly admire. However, when you ask me what it has in common with other psychological thrillers I’ve previously enjoyed, I’m at a loss for words. Instead, let’s focus on the areas where this book falls short.

No, not a cute female lead or damsel in distress. While the reader can understand Amelia Emmet’s unpleasant situation, she continually displays nasty behaviour unfit for a teacher and drives away anyone who want to assist her. She is also quite dark and destructive of herself.

An underdog worth supporting? Actually, no. You want to like Nathaniel, but he is obviously a damaged good. Can you really trust him? The tiniest hint of something unexpected and shifty appeared on his boyish face as he watched me sob into the tissue. It might have been uncomfortable. Who would want to be present when I was sobbing in his presence? However, I didn’t think that was it.

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The white knight? Numerous characters have the ability to save Amelia, yet they have all either betrayed her or behaved in ways that may be considered stalking. High-speed, action-packed plot? Although there are some profound character exchanges, a large chunk of the narrative is retrospective and contemplative.

Artistic or literary prose? The writing of Rader-Day is remarkably unobtrusive. The speed at which a reader is drawn into the story’s telling is the only indicator of how capable and steady the hand behind the wheel of The Black Hour is. What then accounts for The Black Hour’s phenomenal debut?

The Black Hour separates out from the competition because it just gives the genre clichés a passing nod as it progresses towards something more natural. It’s downright astonishing how much murkiness Rader-Day has infused into the character relationships and the reader’s simmering scepticism of everyone involved, even people simply mentioned in passing, until the very last chapters. While by no means succinct, the switching between the two narratives creates natural tension.

About The Book

Amelia Emmet, a sociology professor in Chicago, had been researching violence before being shot by a student she had never met. Also, he killed himself. Now that he’s passed away, she is back on university, juggling her classes with her increasing pains addiction and the unanswerable question, “Why?”

She only wants her life to return to normal, but normal seems elusive. She is 38 years old and uses a cane to stutter. She sobs after her first encounter with a student (hers). Her ex—whom she may or may not still love—has moved on, and her fellow faculty members appear uneasy around her.

Here comes Nathaniel Barber, a PhD student who is preoccupied with the bloody past of Chicago. Nath is a serious student, but he is also a serious mess as a result of his first breakup, the death of his mother, and the displeasure of his father. As Amelia’s teaching assistant, Nath also conducts the research Amelia is unable to perform. The student attack on Amelia Emmet, which is the primary reason he entered graduate school, is the subject of his dissertation, which he hopes she will accept.

Amelia and Nathaniel stumble toward a reality that will explain the attack and carry them both through the most trying times of their life while working together and against each other.