The Golden Hour

By Nicholas Weinstock

Book Overview

"The Golden Hour is pure golden delight Beatriz Williams is at the top of her game." --Kate Quinn, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Alice Network

Beatriz Williams, the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives, is back with another hot summer read; a dazzling spy thriller and epic of World War II in which a beautiful young "society reporter" is sent to the Bahamas, a haven of spies, traitors, and the infamous Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

The Bahamas, 1941. Newly-widowed Leonora "Lulu" Randolph arrives in the Bahamas to investigate the Governor and his wife for a New York society magazine. After all, American readers have an insatiable appetite for news of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, that glamorous couple whose love affair nearly brought the British monarchy to its knees five years earlier. What more intriguing backdrop for their romance than a wartime Caribbean paradise, a colonial playground for kingpins of ill-gotten empires?

Or so Lulu imagines. But as she infiltrates the Duke and Duchess's social circle, and the powerful cabal that controls the islands' political and financial affairs, she uncovers evidence that beneath the glister of Wallis and Edward's marriage lies an ugly--and even treasonous--reality. In fact, Windsor-era Nassau seethes with spies, financial swindles, and racial tension, and in the middle of it all stands Benedict Thorpe: a scientist of tremendous charm and murky national loyalties. Inevitably, the willful and wounded Lulu falls in love.

Then Nassau's wealthiest man is murdered in one of the most notorious cases of the century, and the resulting coverup reeks of royal privilege. Benedict Thorpe disappears without a trace, and Lulu embarks on a journey to London and beyond to unpick Thorpe's complicated family history: a fateful love affair, a wartime tragedy, and a mother from whom all joy is stolen.

The stories of two unforgettable women thread together in this extraordinary epic of espionage, sacrifice, human love, and human courage, set against a shocking true crime . . . and the rise and fall of a legendary royal couple.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060760877
• ISBN13: 9780060760878
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Move over, Richard Russo

The Golden Hour is amazingly fresh and funny. The protagonist, Bill Schoenberg, fat, drunk and furious at his faithless soon-to-be ex-wife chooses a string of unlikely ways of blowing up his life to clear the way for a fresh start. The side characters are vivid, the pay-offs are deeply satisfying, the whole enterprise is a gem.

"Wall Street Part 2" (A GREAT novel!!)

Ever wonder what might have happened to a Bud Fox type after burning out from his decadent 80s lifestyle? This novel is the perfect version of just that. A thoughtful, hillarious story of the downfall and recovery of a hyped up Wall Street master-of-the-universe. Weinstock does a great job at making us hate, pitty, and finally cheer for a real S.O.B. And you'll never guess the ending... Buy one for yourself, your greedy boss, and your local volunteer fireman.