Having more than one perspective also aided the mystery because there was a lot of information coming my, but slowly it was pieced together which made the ending even more satisfying. There were a lot of moving parts, so try and concentrate when you’re reading, but equally it’s not the kind of book that you won’t understand if you miss a detail here or there.
This book felt so layered. Going in, I was sure I understood the direction and purpose, but McAllister constantly pulls the reader in this direction and that, throwing in twists and turns and making it almost impossible to know where the narrative is going next. It certainly made me feel a lot of emotions and on turning the final page I think it’s safe to say it wasn’t the book I expected it to be.
Wrong Place Wrong Time is where the thriller and sci-fi genres collide. On an innocuous October evening, Jen’s life changes forever when she witnesses her son murdering a man right in front of her. Unable to comprehend what’s happened, her priority is to keep her son safe. The next day she wakes up, her mind reeling from the previous night’s events but focusing on what she needs to do. But slowly it becomes clear not all is what it appears. Jen has in fact woken up to yesterday. And every night she goes to sleep, the day moves back again. Travelling back over days, months, and years, Jen tries her best to use the information she witnesses to figure out why her son would commit murder, and more importantly, how to stop him.
Yes it’s filled with all the classic crime tropes, gangs, drugs, murders, prison inmates, and secrets are on every other page, but there’s also so much compassion and at its heart, it’s really a story of a mother trying to save her son. Jen’s husband Kelly also played a large part in the compassion of this story too – being Todd’s father he’s trying to navigate what’s happened too but ignorant of Jen’s time travelling whirlwind.
Surprisingly clever and not at all what I expected, this was the perfect cosy thriller for this time of year. I love reading something I felt like I haven’t picked up before and that definitely ticked that box! Will now happily dive into McAllister’s other stories.
8.4Gripping, Fast-paced, Unexpected
Title: Wrong Place Wrong Time
Author: Gillian McAllister
Type: Fiction
Published: 2022
Pages: 370
TW: Death, Violence, Drugs, Kidnapping
Review overview
CHARACTERS8
QUOTABILITY8
Summary
“How sinister it is to relive your life backward. To see things you hadn’t at the time. To realize the horrible significance of events you had no idea were playing out around you.“
