Wrong Place Wrong Time: A Novel

It started with a feeling. Deja vu? Something like it? A bad feeling. The calm before the storm type of feeling. Like in the next instant, the world will change. Irreparably.Jen knows something is wrong as she's waiting up for her teenaged son to come home late on an October evening. Propelled by this supernatural feeling, she goes to the window and witnesses her son stab a stranger, killing him. The next hours are a nightmare as she and her husband Kelly grasp for answers about what happened and why. Somehow, they make it home to sleep in the wee hours of the morning. When she wakes, it is to the previous morning, before the crime. Her son is there, safe and happy. The next morning, it's another day earlier. Somehow, she's stuck in a backwards time loop, moving further and further back through time. Every day, she notices something new - signs she missed that led to that moment with her son holding a knife. She's convinced it's an opportunity for her to change things - to prevent that dark day from ever happening. But the more she discovers about the past, the more impossible it seems to untangle her family from the web of events that led them there.We're all familiar with the groundhog-day trope - living the same day again and again until things set themselves right - but this one does it different. Jen continues traveling back in time, weeks, months, years - gathering information she will need to unravel the mystery of that night and the truth everyone around her has been hiding.There are twists and turns and each piece of the puzzle built the suspense and had my mind engaged the entire time. The pacing was just right; not so quick that you missed things because the details were too quick or subtle, and not so slow that any part of it was boring.I don't read this genre often because I have a soft heart that can't take much evil, and though there are dark things in this book, for me, it was the perfect amount of darkness to still be able to enjoy it. I especially hate when books get darker at the end, taking a gruesome turn that haunts you. This one does not.I've been reading a lot of books this year with protagonists who are mothers. I'm devouring them. There are certain things that are universal, and a mother's love and falling into the trap of not paying enough attention to the every-day things are two of them. This is the suspense/thriller side of the same coin as Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major, one of my favorite books of the year. I highly recommend both!

I found this book different then a lot of book in the fact (STOP if you don’t want to know about the book) that the timeline works in reverse. At first it took some getting used to; however, like the character, it made the story more authentic. I enjoyed reading it and the couple of twists and turns wondering if each puzzle piece would finally be the right answer and how much will change. Good read!

I actually listened to this book's audio... twice! I was sure there must be a flaw somewhere in this 'backwards' novel, but I couldn't find anything on the second reading, where I ALMOST wanted to take notes. The plot is intricate, the story is amazing, and now I know what it the purpose of those 'deja vu' moment, ha ha.You don't have to almost study this book to enjoy it though, just pay attention. I was always multi-tasking, so felt the need to re-read it. Probably one of the best books, with the most satisfying endings I've read in a long time.

Like the movie “Memento” (and a certain “Seinfeld” episode) the plot of this book starts at the ending and moves in reverse with the beginning coming at the end. Unlike “Memento” and the Seinfeld episode, the protagonist remembers what happens in the future as she keeps going back in time. Much like Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol” Jen is seeing the past and the future and has the ability to change the future. Unlike Scrooge, though, Jen is an active participant when she goes into the past.The book starts out (or ends up, depending on how you look at it) with Jen witnessing her son Todd murdering someone. Todd gets arrested and Jen and her husband, Kelly, are devasted. Todd goes to jail but when Jen wakes up the next day Todd is home and she is confused until she realizes that it is not the next day but the previous one. And thus, begins Jen’s journey back in time. Each day she wakes up she is further and further in the past, at first day by day, then whole weeks at a time, then months, then years, until before Todd is born and ultimately to just before she meets her husband. Each time she goes back in time she figures out more and more of the mystery of why Todd did what he did and the secret life of her husband, Kelly.I would have probably given this book 4 or 5 stars if not for the fact that the author for some unknown reason decided to get political at a couple of points in the book. Never a good idea because you piss off at least half of your readers. Even though the setting of the book is in the U.K. and it contributes absolutely nothing to the plot, the author saw fit to make a reference to President Trump. Kelly calls Trump a pig and Todd calls him insane. The comments come out of nowhere, apropos to nothing. The author also manages to squeeze in a negative comment about Brexit, but at least Brexit is relevant to the setting. However, the reference is again gratuitous and likely to piss off a lot of British readers.

After seeing her son commit a crime, Jen begins waking up each day moving backwards in time. Each previous day she lands on brings new clues and information about events and people leading up to the crime. Her hope is to find out how to prevent this crime from ever happening. But what she finds out also changes her life in unexpected ways.This book kept getting better because the twists just kept on coming. It also delved into what might happen if you change something during time travel. What expected and unexpected consequences might happen? Not only was this a well written story, it also makes you think about things you notice and don’t notice as you live your life and what would be different if you changed one thing.

Great, great book! Clever. Highly recommend. I could not put it down! The twists and storyline were captivating. Bravo, Gillian McAllister!

This was a well written story. Similar to Russian Doll TV show with going back in time. And being a Doctor Who fan, the time travel was a great story line. A lot of twists throughout the whole book. Couldn’t put it down

I'm sure I have never read a book like this before! The idea was amazing and brilliantly written: time travel, thriller and parenting comes together to make something incredible. It is unputdownable and yoi will be surprised every time as new facts come to the surface. Best thriller I've read so far this year!

Diferente de los tipicos misterios pero buen libro

I couldn't leave this book down. The characters, the plot, OMG it was amazing. I didn't want it to finish. It also made me think how important it is to spent my time with the ones I love

It's such a well crafted piece of work. The chronology and the story it unfolds is so engaging. I highly recommend this.