Nick Jones (4)

One of the blurbs for Nick Jones’s Joseph Bridgeman series promises a time travel story without all the “pesky paradoxes.” Well, no. There are plenty of paradoxes, but what you do have in And Then She Vanished is a time travel story without all the pesky time machine technology. Instead, we have time travel through hypnosis, a la Christopher Reeve in Somewhere in Time. Joe’s younger sister disappears at a carnival when he is 13. As an adult, he discovers that time travel may be the key to getting her back. It’s readable, with a nice twist at the end.… (more)

First sentence: The smell of roasting chestnuts and sweet candy, the piercing screams of kids being thrown around at impossible speed.

Premise/plot: Joseph Bridgeman is haunted by the disappearance of his younger sister, Amy, even decades after the event. They were together at the fair. It was one second--maybe two--where his eyes were on a cute girl instead of his younger sister. A friend encourages him to see a hypnotherapist, I believe. He learns a few mindfulness techniques to help him relax, to help him sleep...and suddenly...he becomes an insta-time-traveler. (Not that I'm complaining). Now that he's figured out that he can travel to the past--be it ten minutes, two weeks, or ten years--he's convinced that he HAS to save his sister, Amy. His whole reason for being is to save Amy. And by saving Amy, perhaps, he can save his family....

But traveling from 2020 to 1997 isn't easy. And time travel has its own risks....

My thoughts: I enjoy time travel stories. I do. When time traveling is part of the premise, I'm going to be curious and want to read it. I enjoyed this one. There is a lot of set-up--which is to be expected--and the pacing may be slightly uneven. But I found it a compelling read. Definitely this one is more premise-driven and plot driven. But I don't mind that. It is the first in a series. I'm curious to read more in the series...… (more)

My relationship with this book is super complicated. There were points I was so frustrated and ready to quit that I put it down for days at a time. I hated the main character, loved the dialogue, hated the awkwardness, loved the pacing. Back and forth back and forth. And then BAM, somewhere near the last quarter I got hooked in and charged ahead only to be left with a cliffhanger. I don't know how a book can be a 2 star until the end and get a 4 stars from me.

I need someone else I know to read it so I can unpack. I am going to read more in this series. I hope the rollercoaster evens out for me in the next book!… (more)