Preble Jefferson can see five seconds into the future.
Otherwise, he lives an ordinary life. But when a confrontation with a cop on a New York City subPreble Jefferson can see five seconds into the future.
Otherwise, he lives an ordinary life. But when a confrontation with a cop on a New York City subway goes tragically wrong, those seconds give Preble the chance to dodge a bullet—causing another man to die in his place.
Government agencies become aware of Preble’s gift, a manhunt ensues, and their ambitions shift from law enforcement to military R&D. Preble will do whatever it takes to protect his family, but as events spiral out of control, he must weigh the cost of his gift against the loss of his humanity.
A cat-and-mouse game that will keep you on the edge of your seat, The Man Who Saw Seconds offered up quite the philosophical exploration on what it means to be free. While there were more unnecessary details than I would’ve liked, including acronyms and military jargon that went well over my head, the overriding plot kept me flipping the pages. Going back back and forth between fast-paced and overladen with facts, I did find myself skimming quite a bit, though. Perhaps, however, I just walked a bit too far outside of my wheelhouse in terms of genre. A sci-fi thriller that had an almost spy craft edge, it doesn’t happen to be one that I dive into often. Just the same, if you’re looking for a book that is thought-provoking but also quite the rollercoaster ride of suspense, I suggest giving this one a try. Rating of 3 stars.
Thank you to Alexander Boldizar and CLASH Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
Emma Averall is a successful divorce attorney with a loving husband who manages the day-to-day lives of their family as the stay-at-home parent of theEmma Averall is a successful divorce attorney with a loving husband who manages the day-to-day lives of their family as the stay-at-home parent of their two wonderful children. Granted, her husband has been a bit standoff-ish lately as his resentments about not being the money earner have festered. And sure, her teenage daughter has become a closed-off shell of the bright, bubbly girl she used to know and her endearing five year old son has become worryingly withdrawn. But surely with a little time everything will sort itself out.
But as Emma’s fortieth birthday approaches, her world begins to shift. Because thirty-five years ago her mother quite literally lost her mind on the cusp of her own fortieth birthday. Even worse, she had spent the first five years of Emma’s life warning her that she would lose hers as well. Now with the date looming, she finds herself unable to sleep and is plagued by terror drenched memories of her childhood. Is her greatest fear of following in her mother’s footsteps actually coming true?
Piled on top of all of Emma’s worries, however, is the very real sense that someone is out to get her. Slashed tires, an anonymous note, and the very real sense she’s being watched. Is it possible she has a stalker? Or are her sleepless nights creating a rising paranoia that is coloring her days? Unsure whether she can even trust her own sanity, Emma’s world begins to fall apart. Can she save herself or was she always doomed to lose her mind?
OMG! What an utterly transfixing and mind-bending novelInsomnia was. The first I’ve read by Sarah Pinborough (what on earth has taken me so long?!?), there is no possible realm where I could have ever guessed where the plot was leading. And let me tell you, it was so deftly engineered that only an absolute maestro of the written word could have created such an absolutely perfect (I’m going to overuse this word in my review, so get used to it) novel.
Outside of the superb storyline, I simply don’t know how I can describe how incredibly perfect Emma’s unraveling was. I found myself repeatedly going back and forth between believing that she was being gaslighted and then being convinced she was losing her mind. And it all felt so undeniably real. So many times it could have easily swerved into the land of melodrama, but it didn’t. Not once. So a huge round of applause on that miraculous feat, Ms. Pinborough!
Filled to the brim with a multitude of red herrings and entirely credible suspects behind Emma’s undoing, I was also left reeling by the sublimely perfect twist to end all twists. Because, as I raced through the last one hundred or so pages, I found myself utterly gobsmacked when the ultimate revelation was unveiled. How I could both see and not see what was right before my eyes I will never know, but I’m so thankful that I remained unaware.
So, in the end, perhaps that’s why I had such a difficult time writing this review as I strived not to spoil the plot in any way. After all, the downright perfection (I did warn you) held within this book’s pages is best faced blind. All I know is, I’m already wishing I could reread this one fresh. It was simply that good. Rating of 5+ stars.
It’s two o’clock in the morning and Jen Brotherhood is waiting for her eighteen year old son, Todd, to get home. Checking for him through the window, It’s two o’clock in the morning and Jen Brotherhood is waiting for her eighteen year old son, Todd, to get home. Checking for him through the window, she’s momentarily relieved when she sees him round the corner…until she sees someone she doesn’t recognize approaching him. Suddenly, she’s watching her kind, thoughtful son pull a weapon and stab a stranger. Almost faster than her brain can process, Todd is handcuffed, put in a police car, and transported back to the station to await interrogation.
After a heart-wrenching night, Jen awakens the next morning still in shock. But she has another blow coming, because it is yesterday and Todd is safe at home. The next morning, still trying to grapple with what is happening (is it a dream?), she is dismayed to find that it is now the day before yesterday. Instead of moving forward, Jen watches as her days slip backwards. Each day is the day before the last. Because somewhere in the past is the solution to the present. Jen just needs to uncover it. Can she stop her son from killing? And can she find a way out of the time loop she’s discovered herself in without disrupting the future?
Wow. Just wow. So full disclosure, this was the second time I started reading Wrong Place Wrong Time. The first time around I got about 100 pages in and put it down because I found it too slow and irritatingly repetitive. This time around (where I had, get this, déjà vu), after reading the long list of rave reviews, I pushed through and found myself horrified that I ever stopped in the first place.
Yes, I will admit the beginning was a slow grind full of repetitiveness in the vein of Groundhog Day, but, once the basics were in place (I didn’t get to this point the first time around), the twists and turns were truly mind-blowing. McAllister crafted an entirely original storyline that wove together two timelines and POVs, all ensconced in scientific suppositions that felt viable and logical. As we smoothly rolled backwards in one timeline, the characters slowly morphed into slightly altered versions of themselves, building genuine and realistic individuals who grew in depth along the way. I also found that, as the storyline advanced, even the scientific suppositions felt viable and logical. This built a cloak of believability to the plot, which could have easily swerved into a territory that felt illogical or far-fetched. But with this book, I almost expected to wake up tomorrow morning to yesterday, able to fix the mistakes of my past.
Even the shape of the plot line was superbly executed. Told in dual POVs and timelines, one methodically progressing backwards and the other unspooling forward at an initially unknown point in time, it could have become either strewn with unnecessary details or unbelievably confusing. Instead, it was well-crafted and finely tuned, weaving together an addictive tale about motherhood, second chances, and protecting those we love.
Oh, and the twists! Beginning about a third of the way in, each resulted in just enough of a shift to the storyline that I could no longer guess what was to come (and I definitely didn’t anticipate any of them). With the clues surreptitiously laced into the story, each reveal shattered my preconceived ideas and ratcheted up well-organized tension.
I don’t know why, but I found this review incredibly hard to write (I’ve rewritten it several times). But with lies, secrets, and hidden motivations, I ended up mostly loving Wrong Place Wrong Time apart from the slow burn start, leaving me wishing that the epilogue was a full-blown sequel. On par with the works of Blake Crouch or Michael Crichton, but with an emotional touch, this book was a overwhelmingly impressive work that, while keeping me in suspense, demonstrated the depth of a mother’s love (and which even made me cry). It left me not only shocked by the twists and turns, but questioning my own past and what I would change given the chance. A deep-thinking, mind-bending novel that will keep you riveted, don’t make the mistake that I did and put it down prematurely. Last but not least, make sure to read the acknowledgements! I always manage to forget them, but thankfully caught this one. Thank you, Ms. McAllister, for taking me on this wild ride… I strongly recommend taking the journey with her! Rating of 4.5 stars.
Trigger warning: stabbing, death of a parent, brief mention of suicide...more
In the near future, autonomous cars have become the norm. Safer than manual vehicles, Britain has decided to ban all but the driverless variety withinIn the near future, autonomous cars have become the norm. Safer than manual vehicles, Britain has decided to ban all but the driverless variety within the decade. After all, accidents have plummeted and people have adopted them with glee.
That is, however, until eight individuals find themselves prisoners in their own vehicles being driven to an unknown destination. On top of that, the anonymous hacker behind the hijacking declares that in just a couple of hours, they will all be dead.
Comprised of a random sampling of the general public, the passengers include an abused housewife running from her husband, an aging TV star, a husband and wife, a pregnant woman, and a man bent on suicide just to name a few. Each of them with complicated lives and loved one waiting for them at home. But are they as innocent as them seem?
For now their faces and their deadly dilemma are being broadcast globally and the world is about to get uncomfortably familiar with them all. With the hacker behind the scenes, he has turned to social media asking them to do the unthinkable: choose which person is worth saving and which should be doomed to die. But are any of them who they claim to be? Or do they each have dark secrets they’re praying to keep hidden?
What an utterly stupendous mind-tripThe Passengers was from start to finish! Told in multiple POVs that drove the story forward in a riveting fashion, I was in love from the get-go, finding myself won over more and more the further into the book I got. Given that this was the first book by John Marrs I’ve read, I honestly don’t know what took me so long. Especially as I already happen to be an avid fan of the sci-fi thriller genre, in particular anything by Michael Crichton or Blake Crouch. And if you’re wondering, this book easily ranked right up there with novels by both authors.
But what blew my mind the most were the truly epic twists and turns. Not once was I able to guess where this plot was headed beyond the threats that the Hacker had already made. Don’t get me wrong, I quickly discovered that even those I could not rely on, which provided a delightful amount of unpredictability in a truly twisted novel.
A close second, however, was how incredibly relevant the topics held within these pages were. Between the quickly approaching possibility of driverless vehicles to the power of social media, this storyline presented a terrifying potential reality of our near future. But isn’t that what makes the best sci-fi thrillers so incredibly gripping, after all? And Marrs undoubtably scored a major win with this unputdownable success because of the true-to-life, genuine nature of this near perfect novel.
Next up had to be the sublime characters that took center stage in this stunning rollercoaster ride. From each of the passengers to the jury faced with deciding their fates, I found myself wrapped up in their individual lives. But there were two in particular I connected to the most: the wholesome, somewhat broken Libby and her evil foil, Jack (a character you’ll absolutely love to hate). I can’t, however, say much more without spoiling the plot and anyone familiar with my reviews knows I detest doing that.
The only teensy, tiny issue I had lay within the climax. I don’t know exactly what felt off for me about it, but it just didn’t ring quite true for me. Don’t get me wrong, I was absolutely spellbound, waiting eagerly to discover the truth, but, ultimately, I found it wanting just a bit. Considering how out-of-this-world the rest of the plot was, I felt obligated to mention it, even if I had a hard time verbalizing why it wasn’t entirely a home run for me.
I have to say, however, as I wrap up this review, that the dark, chilling, too close to home feel throughout this novel scored big for me. With mind-blowing secrets that will make you giddy with unabashed glee, I was unashamedly rooting for certain individuals to perish over others. And I honestly don’t know how Marrs managed to put together such a succinct, well-written plot that managed to take me on the ride of my life. If you are like me and haven’t dabbled in this author’s back list, take this as your siren’s song to do just that. You won’t be disappointed. Rating of 4.5 stars.
Scroll for the laundry list of triggers that may provide potential spoilers.
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