Wrong Place Wrong Time

Ho appena finito questo libro e credo sia uno dei più bei thriller che abbia mai letto. Perché si tratta di una storia non convenzionale, originale, o che almeno io non avevo mai incontrato prima in un testo.
Jen ha una famiglia perfetta: un marito, Kelly, che la ama con tutto se stesso, e un figlio, Todd, simpatico, arguto e un po' nerd. Nulla sembra poter scalfire quella serenità e quell'equilibrio che i tre hanno creato nella loro casa. Finché, una sera, Todd commette un omicidio, proprio di fronte alla loro casa. È da questo che parte l'avventura di Jen, che con tutte le sue forze vuole poter salvare il figlio da un futuro già previsto in carcere. Lei è un avvocato, ha tutte le carte in regola per poterlo fare. Ma non è show more questo che il destino ha in serbo per lei, perché inizia un percorso a ritroso nel tempo che la porterà ad indagare più a fondo su ciò che davvero è successo e, forse, a salvare suo figlio Todd.
Mi è piaciuto moltissimo il modo dell'autrice di farci addentrare sempre più all'interno dei segreti della storia facendoci tornare letteralmente indietro nel tempo insieme a Jen, che ci racconta le sue sensazioni e i suoi ricordi.
Più la storia prende piede e più i colpi di scena si susseguono, cosa che fa venir voglia di non lasciare più il libro per poterlo finire in fretta. Ho trovato ottima anche la costruzione dei personaggi, la loro psicologia. E, soprattutto, questo modo inusuale di scoprire sempre più dettagli man mano che la storia scorre all'indietro, ma al tempo stesso procede, in un incrocio tra passato e presente davvero flebile, ma mantenuto a mio avviso coerentemente.
Un thriller per me da leggere assolutamente, a chi piace il genere ma anche a chi non è molto avvezzo. Una lettura scorrevolissima e avvincente. show less

I'm a sucker for time travel even though I'm not generally a speculative fiction fan. I found this book very imaginative! While I'd describe this as a premise driven book, neither character development nor plot suffered...both were strong as well. And the plot kept me guessing....especially about Kelly's real role and identity.

Yes, this was a book about time travel, and a murder mystery, but it was also a story about parenting and what we would do to protect our children. It's a bout the guilt of being a working mother. It's about the common desire to get a "do over"...and how much our lives would differ if we'd made different choices.

I especially liked the ending where the main character forgot she had gone back in time -- forgot that show more her life had ever been different. I felt this made the story universal...it could happen to anyone. Maybe it already has? show less

I'd always, without hesitation, read a Gillian McAllister book but when I heard about the concept of Wrong Place Wrong Time I was instantly smitten. I knew a time travel book would be twisty but I didn’t reckon on how completely and utterly thrilling it would be, how every twist in the tale would lead me to have to shut the book and process it excitedly, before going onto the next chapter.

I won't mention anything about the story other than what is in the synopsis, which is that Jen witnesses her teenage son commit a murder and then somehow she wakes up each morning in the past looking for answers to why her lovely son could murder somebody in cold blood. To know anymore would be to spoil the way this amazing book unfolds.

McAllister show more writes with such empathy and depth of feeling about family life and the difficulty and guilt of juggling motherhood and a career. Billed as a crime novel or a thriller, for me it's not about the crime but about what we will do for those we love. I felt unexpectedly teary at the end. Just like with my other favourite McAllister, How to Disappear, she's hit the nail on the head when it comes to family relationships and love, and made me care about the outcome.

The plotting is impeccable in every way. This is one very clever novel, perfectly executed and totally unforgettable. It is jaw-droppingly good and completely original. I love the time-travel genre and this is a real standout for me.

Trust me, there is no Wrong Time to pick up this book. This is a story that could have been difficult to pull off but McAllister has nailed it. I thought it was faultless, superb, and very special indeed. show less

First sentence: Jen is glad of the clocks going back tonight. A gained hour, extra time, to be spent pretending she isn't waiting up for her son.

Premise/plot: What's a mother to do when she witnesses her teenage son murder a stranger (or stranger to you)????? This mother, Jen Goodbrother, somehow, someway, manages to live life BACKWARDS after this traumatic event as she scrambles to prevent the crime that will utterly ruin their lives. This isn't a proper time-loop premise. Jen isn't living the same twelve to twenty-four hours over and over again--a loop. But it does feature Jen experiencing time backwards--falling through time, slipping through time. She'll have unique opportunities to experience her life again--make change after show more change after change. Her perspective changes day by day as she wrestles with the meaning of it all. These close encounters with her immediate family--her husband, Kelly; her son, Todd; are different seen 'from both sides now.' She's actually getting to live her life with hindsight. But how many days, weeks, months, years, decades must she slip--relive--in order to "fix" or "course correct" the tragic event of that October night????

My thoughts: Obviously premise-driven. But it didn't fall short on characterization or action. There's some contemplation and reflection. There's plenty of suspense and action. It perhaps isn't a thriller in the traditional sense or any sense. So don't expect direct danger and gore. (You won't find it). Do expect some mental anguish as a woman wrestles with big questions of how, where, when, why, and what.

There are alternating chapters. But I won't be spoiling who's doing the narration on those alternate bits. The less you know the better. show less

One of the best mysteries/thrillers I've ever listened to, and I hope it's not just the reader, Lesley Sharp, and her Brit accent. Based upon the premise of a time loop as opposed to time travel (not my favorite trope by any means), the narrative begins with a murder in a quiet British suburb and ends up years prior to the event, with at least three incredible bombshells that go off subtly over intervals when the reader is relaxed and then - yikes - I almost ran off the road. Jen, Kelly, and Todd are seemingly as mundane a family as you could encounter - a lawyer mom, a construction worker dad, and a high school student son - and what is initially exceptional about them is only the love and attraction between the parents, unusual after show more twenty years of marriage. As Jen unravels the truth, her strong voice and her courage are impressive, especially as she learns to become more trusting of her own abilities and much more confident. A most engaging novel, in my top three of 2025 so far. show less

Late one October evening, Jen waits for her teenage son Todd to return home from a night out. Just outside their home, she witnesses him committing a violent crime. Jen is stunned, having had no indication of Todd’s involvement in anything that would lead to such an event. After leaving Todd at the police station, she and her husband Kelly are left trying to figure out what happened. But when Jen wakes up the next morning, she finds herself reliving the day before the crime. Is this an opportunity to better understand what happened, and possibly even prevent it?

Not so fast. It turns out Jen has a lot of time travel ahead, each new day taking her further into the past. By experiencing the day’s events through the lens of the future, show more Jen sees things she didn’t notice before. She begins by blaming herself for Todd going astray, but it soon becomes clear this is a much more twisty and layered thriller.

Gillian McAllister describes her novel’s structure as a “Russian nesting doll,” and for the most part it works, although I felt the ultimate resolution was a bit too on the nose. Still, it was a solid read and a fun diversion. show less

I loved this book. The story of a mother trying to prevent the crime her son commits and uncover the roots of it is enjoyable and fast-moving enough to keep me reading into the night. What sets it apart, though, and what really made me love it is the beautiful depiction of the central relationships. For me, the plot was secondary to the depth of feeling of these parents for their son and for each other. It was a story of familial love masquerading as a time travel mystery, and I wish I could find more books with such touching descriptions and uncynical understanding of the complexities of familial love.