Book review: The Last Hours by Minette Walters

Finished reading: 24 June 2024
Rating: 4/5

You ever wonder about a world where people get really sick, and so healthy people cut themselves off from the sick and isolate to stay healthy? What if there were like… time limits where a person exposed to an illness had to isolate away from the healthy to make sure they didn’t have the sickness, and then they could mingle with the healthy?

I guess most of us don’t have to wonder, but here’s the thing… I’m not talking about that pandemic we had in the haze of 2020-2022. I’m talking about the plague.

The Last Hours by Minette Walters is the first book in the Black Death series and explores a group of people of Develish who, through the choices and leadership of the Lady of the demesne, isolate themselves to not become ill with the plague. And, let me tell you, this is a great book to read after the pandemic.

I want to note really early in this review how crazy it was for me to read this book and be able to find likeness between the actions undertaken by the characters in this book to avoid getting the plague and what we did to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

What was even crazier was that this book was published in 2017. Now, I understand the plague ran through England back in the 14th century and that we’ve learned a great deal on sickness and preventing the spread of illness over the many, many years since then.

But some of the actions—like making sure anyone potentially exposed to the plague had to isolate themselves for 14 days—was a bit freaky.

Minette Walters… are you a psychic or something?

Anyway, this was a book I really enjoyed, which surprised me a little bit. Why? Prior to reading this book, the only historical fiction book I had read and enjoyed was The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. Others had been ‘forced’ upon me to read and analyse in high school, and I just never meshed with it as a genre.

Loe and behold, this book comes along, and I am swept right into it.

I’ll be honest, when I first started reading it, the tone and style of writing wasn’t something I was used to. I also went straight from Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros into this one, so the writing styles were very different. It was something I needed to get used to, and for the first chapter or two, I found it difficult to read because it was so different.

Then, after a few chapters, and when the plague really starts kicking into gear, is when I found myself really locked in, and I found the book really hard to put down.

There are a couple of key elements of this book that I think contributed to my enjoyment of this book:

• The omniscient perspective—y’all know I LOVE an omniscient narrator
• The tango between society’s expectations on rank, gender and religion in the 14th century, and doing what is best for people to stay healthy.

Lady Anne of Develish, one of the main characters, is an incredibly progressive woman in this book (much to the woe of some of the men in this story). She’s highly compassionate and is able to establish really key hygiene practices within her demesne even before the plague, setting up the area for the most success.

I really enjoyed her strength as a character, able to stand strong in her beliefs in the face of many men who would think differently. Even her own daughter—Eleanor—who was spoiled by her father and has grown immature and resentful towards her mother increases the tension within the story while everyone tries their best to stay healthy, all while pushing Lady Anne to stay strong in the face of it all.

Honestly, Lady Anne’s character was empowering to read. And seeing the power and social hierarchy struggle in the face of her leadership was so interesting to read, with men of power trying to stay on top of it all while showing how incompetent they are in the face of crisis.

And I specifically state ‘men of power’ because we also have a really interesting character in Thaddeaus Thurkell. He’s a serf on the demesne and very close to Lady Anne, and in the midst of this crisis is able to rise above the challenge of his birth and show—once again—how leadership and intelligence don’t sit within a person because of birthright and nobility.

Thaddeus’s leadership and the challenges he faces with his identity is also highlighted in his expedition to see the extent of the plague and the dangers of it. He’s accompanied by a group of young male serfs from the demesne, who we watch either step up to the challenge or crack under pressure due to their naivety, immaturity and resentment.
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All in all, a really enjoyable book to read, taking a significant moment in history regarding a terrible illness and disease, and interweaving it with deep characters that strengthen the plot and tension due to societal values and religious beliefs in the face of sickness.

​So, what did I like? I’m always intrigued by stories about crises and how people react to said crises. There’s something interesting about people’s behaviours, thoughts, and values, and how they come to the fore during times where lives are on the line.

The moment where Lady Anne’s husband—Sir Richard of Develish—passes due to the plague (it’s right at the beginning, so not really a spoiler), it sets this story into quite the interesting journey. And, the moments leading up and after this moment really showcase how being noble does not mean you’re above everything or competent.

The depth of the characters is also really interesting, and I had moments where I would literally gasp when certain characters would make choices, say something, or think in a certain way, even when in the face of a deadly disease.

It shouldn’t be that shocking, we’ve had plenty of moments in the last few years that have highlighted the worse in humanity in the face of terrible events. It just still stuns me—whether reading it in a book or seeing it on news broadcasts—how people can react or act in certain ways towards people in the face of an emergency or crisis. It highlights the 'strength in community vs individual needs' duology of humanity.

Another theme of this story that I enjoyed was the ongoing push and pull of superstition and religion in the face of rational decisions regarding hygiene and isolation to ensure the safety of the community.

Having this rational decision making coming from a lead female character as well really showcases the societal values regarding women in this time, and it became an incredibly interesting plot point for me.

But, what didn’t I like? I’m going to be honest, there’s nothing in particular in this book that I ‘disliked’ so to speak. I felt the first couple of chapters were a bit of struggle to keep me engaged but, as I mentioned before, this may be due to such a voice and tone shift after finishing Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros before reading this book.

And, while I noted earlier that I’m intrigued about stories to do with people and their behaviours during crises, there were times where I got so frustrated by the characters in this book. Yes, some decisions and thought processes make sense due to the time this book is set, and yes, my frustration had me wanting to read on because I wanted to know the outcomes.

However, some of the frustration was not necessarily a fun or pleasurable experience, and I felt like I wanted to skip past some perspectives just to get out of the situation. I didn’t, but there were times where it got close.

And that’s where I’ll draw my review of The Last Hours by Minette Walters to a close. A really enjoyable first book in the Black Death duology, leaving us on a cliffhanger for the future of Develish at the end, leading us beautifully into book 2: The Turn of Midnight.

Have you read The Last Hours by Minette Walters? Did you read it before or after the pandemic, and how did this make you feel about your experiences with it? Let me know in the comments!