Small Hours is about a man called Jack who loses his job, rescues a fox, and finds out his mother has gone missing on the same day. He goes back to his family home, and the rest of the story unfolds from there, the family dynamics being slowly peeled away until there's nothing left to see. 

This one was a bit tricky for me. While I can appreciate that the author's style of writing, his tone and choice of language, I didn't get along very well with the content of the book.

This is a family drama at heart, but in a sort of toned down way that could really appeal to someone wanting a cozy, slice-of-life type story. I found that parts of it dragged a little because of this, with a lot of sections being a repeat of things we already know but from a new perspective. These sections have their worth, don't get me wrong, but I do feel a little like the audience is being led to the answers, rather than being expected to make connections themselves.

On the whole the characters are extremely believeable and work well together, but again I found this a little flavourless. We do get character growth, especially from Jack, the main character, but it is exactly as expected, with little that really grabs your attention. None of the characters ever really break the moulds of their steroetypes, and while that does match the tone of a book trying to provide nothing but comfort, I prefer to be challenged, even just a little. 

All in all a well structured, well written, wholesome family drama. But I couldn't find that little spark that might have made me care.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.