Author Allen Eskens
The Stolen Hours

The Stolen Hours

Now available in paperback

Lila Nash is on the verge of landing her dream job—working as a prosecutor under the Hennepin County Attorney—and has settled into a happy life with her boyfriend, Joe Talbert. But when a woman is pulled from the Mississippi River, barely alive, things in the office take a personal turn.

The police believe the woman’s assailant is local photographer Gavin Spencer, but the case quickly flounders as the evidence wears thin. It seems Gavin saw this investigation coming—and no one can imagine how carefully he has prepared.

The more determined Lila is to put Gavin behind bars, the more elusive justice becomes. Battling a vindictive new boss and haunted by the ghosts of her own unspeakable attack, which she’s kept a dark secret for eight long years, Lila knows the clock is ticking down. In a race against an evil mastermind, it will take everything Lila’s got to outsmart a killer—and to escape the dark hold of her own past.

A rousing legal thriller that’s also an acute study of female victimization and male privilege.
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
The plot provides satisfying twists and poses thought-provoking questions about gender. Eskens reliably entertains.
Publishers Weekly
Eskens captures the legal drama skillfully. But it’s how he nails his characters, with believable dialogue and shrewd interplay, that makes this work stand out. Oh, and there’s a fabulous twist at the end. Wouldn’t you know it?
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“Intense and satisfying.”
Booklist

A riveting, hold-your-breath, frightening mystery. The Stolen Hours is a thoroughly captivating legal thriller.
—Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author

With the precision of a watchmaker, Eskens assembles the fine parts of a mystery set to the tempo of a thriller, leaving the reader breathless.
—Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author

The Stolen Hours is as good as it gets; a heart-pounding and utterly engaging thriller that had me turning the pages at warp speed.
—Karen Dionne, New York Times bestselling author

Author’s Note

The Stolen Hours features Lila Nash, a character who readers first fell in love with as Joe Talbert’s girlfriend in my debut novel, The Life We Bury and The Shadows We Hide. The Stolen Hours takes the reader back to that night when Lila was eighteen years old and survived a vicious attack. She climbed out of that hell, worked her way through college and law school, and is about to begin her dream job as a prosecutor, when a new case crosses her desk. A woman is pulled from the Mississippi River, barely alive. The case holds echoes of what happened to Lila, and before long, the ghosts of her attack reemerge, threatening to destroy her.

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Full Praise

“A rousing legal thriller that’s also an acute study of female victimization and male privilege.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“The plot provides satisfying twists and poses thought-provoking questions about gender. Eskens reliably entertains.”
Publishers Weekly

“Eskens captures the legal drama skillfully. But it’s how he nails his characters, with believable dialogue and shrewd interplay, that makes this work stand out. Oh, and there’s a fabulous twist at the end. Wouldn’t you know it?”
Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Intense and satisfying.”
Booklist

“A riveting, hold-your-breath, frightening mystery. The Stolen Hours is a thoroughly captivating legal thriller.”
—Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author

“With the precision of a watchmaker, Eskens assembles the fine parts of a mystery set to the tempo of a thriller, leaving the reader breathless.”
—Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author

“The Stolen Hours is as good as it gets; a heart-pounding and utterly engaging thriller that had me turning the pages at warp speed.”
—Karen Dionne, New York Times bestselling author

All Books

My books are not a series, but rather character arcs that revolve around a small community.
Click on the names below to see who appears in each novel.