Ratings120
Average rating3.9
Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?
It is midnight on the morning of Halloween, and Jen anxiously waits up for her 18-year-old son, Todd, to return home. But worries about his broken curfew transform into something much more dangerous when Todd finally emerges from the darkness. As Jen watches through the window, she sees her funny, seemingly happy teenage son stab a total stranger.
She doesn’t know who the victim is, or why Todd has committed such a devastating act of violence. All she knows is that her life, and Todd’s, have been shattered.
After her son is taken into custody, Jen falls asleep in despair. But when she wakes up…it is yesterday. The murder has not happened yet—and there may be a chance to stop it. Each morning, when Jen wakes, she is further back in the past, first weeks, then years, before the murder. And Jen realizes that somewhere in the past lies the trigger for Todd’s terrible crime…and it is her mission to find it, and prevent it from taking place.
Both the story of a mother’s love and the sacrifices she will make for her child, and a thriller with a brilliant twist, Wrong Place Wrong Time is a one-of-a-kind novel that begs to be read in one sitting.
Reviews with the most likes.
MINOR SPOILERS for the premise:
This was a fun twist on a sort of Groundhog Day premise: whenever the protagonist goes to sleep, she wakes up on another day further into the past. It's also a pulpy murder mystery, where we have seen the murder and now have to discover the events leading up to it as they happen, but in reverse. A neat idea!
I was really along for the ride the entire time, as the protagonist isn't stupid and tries interesting ways to deal with her situation, and the writing clips along at a good place. There are fun reveals and I kept adjusting my theories and looking for clues.
Unfortunately, I wasn't super satisfied by the ending, and a lot of the enjoyment of the book is in trying to piece together what happened, so it makes the whole thing a bit less interesting in retrospect. There are still elements of the ending I enjoyed, but the central mystery was a bit meh.
Still, I had a great time with this and it was a fun, quick read.
4.5.
If you want a book with a twist, or maybe two or three, this is definitely one you should pick up. It's not very often that I start the year with a really good book, but hopefully this is a sign of goodreads (heh) in 2023