WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME
GILLIAN MCALLISTER
*****
It's every parent's nightmare.
Your happy, funny, innocent son commits a terrible crime: murdering a complete stranger.
You don't know who. You don't know why. You only know your teenage boy is in custody and his future lost.
That night you fall asleep in despair. Until you wake . . .
. . . and it is yesterday.
Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. Another chance to stop it.
Somewhere in the past lie the answers, and you don't have a choice but to find them...
MY REVIEW
*****
I really enjoy reading Gillian McAllister’s books, and since I was introduced to her in my early NetGalley days she’s become an instant request author for me. Having been a lawyer in her early career, she usually writes straight crime fiction, and the court-room elements really shine through as she has real-world experience in these situations. The books are usually on really interesting topics and introduce a ‘what would you do’ moral dilemma which are great conversation starters.
Wrong Place Wrong Time is a little bit different from McAllister’s usual style. It is still a crime drama, for sure but the narrative technique is so fresh and really works well to create a unique and interesting read. I don’t want to give too much away but our main character Jen witnesses a murder which impacts her family and then is thrust into a Groundhog Day like reality as she keeps waking up further and further into the past to work out the context for the crime and prevent it from happening again. It’s an ambitious plot which must have taken a lot of time to work through and it is plotted perfectly.
The chapters are mainly from Jen’s perspective as we delve into the details of her life. Each day that she wakes up has a good mix of information about her life so that we empathise and get to know her as a person and then hints and small reveals about the crime itself. There are also a few chapters about Ryan as he starts his career in the police force - at first it is a little hard to see how these storylines fit together but the end reveal is very well done. Using the two different narrators also means as a reader we learn additional information to Jen and can start to piece things together in front of the main plot. There was only one part of the plot I had guessed before it was revealed but there were lots of twists to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.
As I got to the last 90% of the book I was a little confused about how the time-travel elements would be explained and wrap themselves up. Although there are not many answers given, I think that the ending was really well done and the conclusion was the only way I can really see the story wrapping itself up in a way that still made sense.
Overall Wrong Place Wrong Time is an interesting twist on Gillian McAllister’s writing style but is beautifully plotted and perfectly paced to make a fantastic read that I struggled to put down. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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