Wow. That’s the one word version of this review. I can’t believe it took me this long to finally read this blockbuster book, or that I went into it with zero idea what I was getting into. Honestly, I think that’s probably the best way to experience it, so if you want to go and read it for yourself before you read anything about it I won’t be offended. Off you go.
If you’ve already read it or don’t mind having an idea before actually reading it, keep on going.
This book starts with a murder. Yes, you read that right, it STARTS with a murder. But then, in the next chapter, Jen (our narrator) has been transported back in time to the day before this horrific event occurred. Which is just the beginning. Each day when she wakes up she has to figure out not only where, but when she is. And as she hops back through her life knowing what the future holds, she slowly starts to piece together her own family’s history one clue at a time. But even as she does so, each morning takes her further from resolution, with no idea why or even how it’s happening.
Imagine, if you can, what this would feel like. What questions would you have? Aside from how it’s happening, you’d also probably wonder why this was occurring, and also whether you’d ever make it back to the present. Before long it would occur to you to wonder whether anything you changed in the past would ripple forward and change things in the future that you didn’t want to change. Could you warn someone before something bad happened? Meet someone earlier than you had last time around? Have a different conversation with your partner? Tell anyone what was happening? Before long, my mind was spinning with all of these questions.
I’ve never read a book quite like this. Not only is the premise a complete departure from both the time travel sci-fi and thriller genres, but it somehow manages to be one of the best examples I’ve read of either. And I love genre-bending books, so this was a surprise hit for me. It was so full of twists and turns, and every single chapter moves the plot along at a speedy pace. As I often do, I guessed at least three of the plot reveals well in advance of them happening, but I was enjoying the ride so much that it didn’t really matter if I’d guessed part of the destination. And there were plenty of twists, so I didn’t guess them all.
I haven’t read any of Reese’s Book Club picks in the past, but if this one is anything to go by, I’ve been missing out. It’s brilliant, and was an immensely enjoyable listening experience. Now excuse me while I look into McAllister’s backlist.
Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?
It is midnight on the morning of Halloween, and Jen anxiously waits up for her 18-year-old son, Todd, to return home. But worries about his broken curfew transform into something much more dangerous when Todd finally emerges from the darkness. As Jen watches through the window, she sees her funny, seemingly happy teenage son stab a total stranger.
She doesn’t know who the victim is, or why Todd has committed such a devastating act of violence. All she knows is that her life, and Todd’s, have been shattered.
After her son is taken into custody, Jen falls asleep in despair. But when she wakes up… it is yesterday. The murder has not happened yet—and there may be a chance to stop it. Each morning, when Jen wakes, she is further back in the past, first weeks, then years, before the murder. And Jen realizes that somewhere in the past lies the trigger for Todd’s terrible crime…and it is her mission to find it, and prevent it from taking place. – Goodreads
Book Title: Wrong Place Wrong Time
Author: Gillian McAllister
Series: No
Edition: Audiobook
Published By: William Morrow
Released: August 2, 2022
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Family
Pages: 416
Date Read: July 18, 2024
Rating: 8/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.00/5 (337,903 ratings)
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