Adult

There is a castle in THE DISTANT HOURS, and a moat, not to mention a deep forest; there is a trio of slightly batty, secretive sisters; there is a likable protagonist --- an editor, passionate about reading --- who goes sleuthing where she shouldn’t; and there is one particularly crucial dark and stormy night. There is romance, too, but most of the love affairs lie in the past and are forbidden and/or thwarted.

Nora Ephron takes a hilarious look at the past, the present and the future, bemoaning the vicissitudes of modern life, and recalling with her signature clarity and wisdom everything she hasn’t (yet) forgotten.

In the 1870s, Hans Bengler arrives in Cape Town with one desire: to discover an insect and name it after himself. Instead, he impulsively adopts an orphan, christens him Daniel and brings him back to Sweden. But Daniel is haunted by visions of his murdered parents calling him to Africa. The only way back is by sea --- so he decides to learn to walk on water.

Jacob Hunt is a teen with Asperger’s syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, though he is brilliant in many ways. But he has a special focus on one subject --- forensic analysis. But when Jacob’s small hometown is rocked by a terrible murder, law enforcement comes to him. Jacob's behaviors are hallmark Asperger's --- not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches --- but they look like guilt to local police --- and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder.