A Desolate Hour

For generations, Quentin Marsh’s family has seen its share of tragedy, though he remains skeptical that their misfortunes are tied to a centuries-old curse. But to placate his pregnant sister, Quentin makes the pilgrimage to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, hoping to learn more about the brutal murder of a Shawnee chief in the 1700s. Did one of the Marsh ancestors have a hand in killing the chief—the man who cursed the town with his dying breath?

While historian Sarah Sherman doesn’t believe in curses either, she’s compelled to use her knowledge of Point Pleasant to uncover the long-buried truth. The river town has had its own share of catastrophes, many tied to the legendary Mothman, the winged creature said to haunt the woods. But Quentin’s arrival soon reveals that she may have more of a stake than she realized. It seems that she and Quentin possess eerily similar family heirlooms. And the deeper the two of them dig into the past, the more their search enrages the ancient mystical forces surrounding Point Pleasant. As chaos and destruction start to befall residents, can they beat the clock to break the curse before the Mothman takes his ultimate revenge? . . .

Review: In my review of A Cold Tomorrow, Mae Clair’s second book in the Point Pleasant Series, I remember asking, ‘I wonder what else she gets up to while bunking it in the TNT?’ in reference to Clair’s research while visiting. I think I found my answer in A Desolate Hour… I honestly don’t think she came back, well… the same. (If you know what I mean.)

A Desolate Hour is the ideal solution to the mysteries of A Thousand Yesteryears. The story ties everything together as new prolific characters are thrown into the chaos on account of a thousand years old curse. Human, alien, mothman meet ancient spirits, witchcraft, and powerful relics as past meets present in this beautifully written finale to the Point Pleasant Series.

There is so much going on in this work, and the scenes are so breath-taking one barely has time to think before finding themselves wrapped up in something else as the story develops. It’s fantastically engrossing and Mae Clair’s skill for fusing historical events, myth, and fiction is second to none.

My favourite line from A Desolate Hour sums it up for me, ‘A desolate hour when a tear in time renders past and present as one.’