Magic Hour [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Kristin Hannah (Author), Suzanne Toren (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2006

Until recently, Dr. Julia Cates was one of the preeminent child psychiatrists in the country, but a scandal shattered her confidence, ruined her career, and made her a media target. When she gets a desperate call from her estranged sister, Ellie, a police chief in their small western Washington hometown, she jumps at the chance to escape. In Rain Valley, nothing much ever happens—until a girl emerges from the deep woods and walks into town. She is a victim unlike any Julia has ever seen: a child locked in a world of unimaginable fear and isolation. When word spreads of the “wild child” and the infamous doctor who is treating her, the media descend on Julia and once again her competence is challenged. State and federal authorities want to lock the girl away in an institution until an identification can be made. But to Julia, who has come to doubt her own ability, nothing is more important than saving the girl she now calls Alice. To heal this child, Julia will have to understand that she cannot work alone and must look to others—the people in the town she left long ago, the sister she barely knows, and Dr. Max Cerrasin, a handsome, private man with secrets of his own. Then a shocking revelation forces Julia to risk everything to discover the truth about Alice. The ordeal that follows will test the limits of Julia’s faith, forgiveness, and love, as she struggles to ascertain where Alice ultimately belongs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hannah's melodramatic 15th novel (after The Things We Do for Love) tells the addictive soap opera story of a feral child and the adults who rally to help her. The cast of stock characters is led by child psychiatrist Dr. Julia Cates, whose reputation was ruined when she failed to prevent a teen patient from staging a Columbine-style massacre. Her sister, Ellie Barton, a smalltown former homecoming queen–turned–chief of police, summons Julia from Los Angeles to their Pacific Northwest hometown of Rain Valley to take on the case of a mysterious lost child, who appeared one day on the edge of town, presumably raised by wolves. With the dashing doctor Dr. Max Cerrasin at her side, Julia works diligently to tame the mute girl, whom she names Alice. Max, like Julia, is running from demons of his own. Though she initially rebuffs his overtures ("When I love, I risk my heart. All or nothing," Julia declares), their romance inevitably blossoms while they work to solve the mystery of Alice's parentage. The novel's real love story, though, is the passion between Alice and Julia, and it's hard not to root for the vulnerable little Wolf Girl. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Although a judge rules in her favor, child psychiatrist Dr. Julia Cates is found guilty of incompetence in the press. Her entire life has centered on her exclusive practice, and now all her patients have abandoned her. Salvation comes unexpectedly at the behest of her estranged sister, Ellie, the chief of police in their hometown of Rain Valley, Washington. Julia never wanted to go back to their small logging town, where she was the scrawny bookworm and Ellie was the homecoming queen, but now, even though they refuse to admit it, the sisters need each other as they try to save a young girl found in a forest in the company of a wolf. She behaves like an animal and doesn't speak. Julia works hard to break the mute silence of the mysterious little girl; Ellie tries to find out where she belongs; and both of them defend the girl they decide to call Alice against those who would exploit her. Through helping this young lost soul, Julia and Ellie learn a lot about themselves and about their relationships in one of this perennially best-selling writer's most compelling and riveting novels to date. Magic Hour will enhance Hannah's popularity and affirm her dominance in women's fiction. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio Unabridged; Unabridged edition (February 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593555105
• ISBN-13: 978-1593555108
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.2 x 2.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,161,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kristin Hannah was born in September 1960 in Southern California and grew up at the beach, making sand castles and playing in the surf. When she was eight years old, her father drove the family to Western Washington which they called home.

After working in a trendy advertising agency, Kristin decided to go to law school. "But you're going to be a writer" are the prophetic words she would never forget from her mother. Kristin was in her third-and final-year of law school and her mom was in the hospital, facing the end of her long battle with cancer. Kristin was shocked to discover that her mother believed she would become a writer. For the next few months, they collaborated on the worst, most clichéd historical romance ever written.

After her mom's death, she packed up all those bits and pieces of paper they'd collected and put them in a box in the back of her closet. Kristin got married and continued practicing law.

Then Kristin found out she was pregnant and was on bed rest for five months. By the time she'd read every book in the house and started asking her husband for cereal boxes to read, she knew she was a goner. That's when her husband reminded her of the book she'd started with her mom. Kristin pulled out the boxes of research material, dusted them off and began writing. By the time their son was born, she'd finished a first draft and found an obsession.

The rejections came, of course, and they stung for a while, but each one really just spurred her to try harder, work more. In 1990, Kristin got "the call," and in that moment, she went from a young mother with a cooler-than-average hobby to a professional writer, and has never looked back. In all the years between then and now, she have never lost her love of, or her enthusiasm for, telling stories. Kristin feels truly blessed to be a wife, a mother, and a writer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Read ... Kristin Hannah's best yet!, March 20, 2006

By 

a reviewer in Seattle (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Magic Hour (Audio Cassette)

So many people have already reviewed this book and told you what this story is about, so I don't think I need to give you the same details again. Let me tell you how this story made me feel. I was moved to tears and I was warmed inside by the depth of this gentle story. I didn't want this book to end.

I quickly fell in love with the child Alice who had been silenced by so many horrors and the town people who came to her aide. The way Ms Hannah lets us see what Alice is thinking since she is unable to speak the words to express herself made the book all the more interesting. All of the relationships in this book are so heart warming.

I have read most of Kristin Hannah's books and I think this just might be my favorite. She has become one of my very favorite authors. I can only give this book the highest marks!

JMHO //(*_*)\\

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what the title says--MAGIC!!!!, February 21, 2006

By 

A reader from the Pacific Northwest - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic Hour: A Novel (Hardcover)

I am a long time fan of Kristin Hannah's. I've read everything she's written and unlike some multi-published authors, Hannah just gets better and better with each book she writes. And MAGIC HOUR is no exception. The title says it all---this book is pure MAGIC!! I don't like to read reviews that give away the plot and so I'm not going to comment on that except to say that this story blew me away. It was everything I'd come to expect (and love) from a Hannah novel--true emotion, deep characters--but it was also a story line so unique and fresh, I could not put the book down. If you've never read Kristin Hannah give yourself a huge treat with Magic Hour. And, if you're a Hannah fan like me, I'm sure you've already pre-ordered the book!! Another winner from an extremely talented writer.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Engaging Story, September 10, 2006

By 

Donna Reynolds (Syracuse, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic Hour : A Novel (Hardcover)

I have become a big fan of Kristin Hannah, and this book did not disappoint. The story is engaging, and once I started the book, I literally could not put it down. I had to know the identity of the little girl and yet dreaded the end of the book because I became so involved with the characters. The end of the book is satisfying on many levels, however.

Hannah has developed her writing skills over the years. Her characters are alive and her descriptions of the scenery are vivid. The interation between her characters is also realistic. I can't say enough positive things about this book. Kudos to Kristin Hannah for her work. I would encourage people to read this one.