Scan barcode
angorarabbit's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Written from Jen’s POV. Characters are in depth and realistic, particularly Jen and Kelly. The plot is intriguing and well told. I did twig part of the plot twist in the first few chapters. Whether this was Ms McAllister tipping her hand or a bit of specialised knowledge on my part I’m not sure. I didn’t catch on to the whole twist until the very satisfying ending.
You do have to suspend disbelief as far as hysterical strength causing a time warp. To read Jen’s journey is worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, Cursing, Kidnapping, Death, Suicide, and Death of parent
Drug trafficking.sheebsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Grief
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death of parent, Cursing, and Murder
alexklinect's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
So, so, so good! I read it in around 24 hours! I absolutely love twisty time travel suspense (a la The Butterfly Effect and Sandra Bullock’s Premonition), and this novel was that and so much more. There was good commentary on guilt in motherhood, the fact that things feel forever until they aren’t, and the deep fear of truly knowing each other. I loved the British setting, and the surprises were fascinating, both the big ones that I didn’t see coming and the small ones that I felt like I already knew.
There were 1 or 2 instances of language and brief sexual comments about a person’s own spouse. Descriptions of death, but not in a grotesque or over the top way.
The ending was well done and very redemptive!
There were 1 or 2 instances of language and brief sexual comments about a person’s own spouse. Descriptions of death, but not in a grotesque or over the top way.
The ending was well done and very redemptive!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Cursing and Sexual content
khaben31's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Violence, and Cursing
kelly_e's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Title: Wrong Place Wrong Time
Author: Gillian McAllister
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: August 2, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Intriguing • Creative • Anticlimactic
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?
Late October. After midnight. You’re waiting up for your seventeen-year-old son. He’s late. As you watch from the window, he emerges, and you realize he isn’t alone: he’s walking toward a man, and he’s armed.
You can’t believe it when you see him do it: your funny, happy teenage son, he kills a stranger, right there on the street outside your house. You don’t know who. You don’t know why. You only know your son is now in custody. His future shattered.
That night you fall asleep in despair. All is lost. Until you wake...
... and it is yesterday.
And then you wake again...
... and it is the day before yesterday.
Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. With another chance to stop it. Somewhere in the past lies an answer. The trigger for this crime—and you don’t have a choice but to find it...
💭 T H O U G H T S
Wrong Place Wrong Time is a book I probably wouldn't have picked on my own, but when it was selected as the February book for my in-person book club I knew I would give it a shot. I was interested in the time travel aspect, but was definitely hesitant about the rest of the premise.
I was deeply invested in the unique narrative at the start and could not put it down. The time travel aspect was intriguing, but the middle was an absolute slog and I found myself just wanting it to end. Eventually the pace would pick back up, but it was too late, my interest had already waned. In fact, the ending was a little anticlimactic for me. I understand the slow pacing is due to the way in which it is written - backwards through time - yet there wasn't the tension I carved.
There were several themes I appreciated. Firstly, I liked how this novel explore how what may seem like small choices and actions at the time, can have huge impacts on our future lives. And how if you change one thing, it can change everything. It's an interesting concept that leads to a lot of contemplation. Second, I thought it was a very realistic depiction of motherhood and the impact of mom guilt.
Gillian McAllister gets my praise simply for the creativity of the plot, and for all of the planning I imagine went into putting it into words. It's certainly unlike any thriller I've read and that deserves credit. I just wish it could have been executed a little more smoothly with more tension and quicker pace.
Overall, Wrong Place Wrong Time didn't do it for me. I know I am in the minority, as this is beloved by so many, but the pace didn't pick up until the final 25% and by then it was too late. I did really like the concept, but the execution faltered and I had to push myself to get through. I don't think I will be reading anything else by this author in the future, but I can understand why she's a favourite author of many readers.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• time-travel enthusiasts
• readers looking for unique thriller
⚠️ CW: murder, gun violence, blood, injury/injury detail, death, death of parent, grief, stalking, kidnapping, cursing, mental illness, suicide, addiction, drug use, drug abuse, fatphobia, sexual content, pregnancy, gaslighting
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"But knowing the future is worse than not knowing."
Author: Gillian McAllister
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: August 2, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Intriguing • Creative • Anticlimactic
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?
Late October. After midnight. You’re waiting up for your seventeen-year-old son. He’s late. As you watch from the window, he emerges, and you realize he isn’t alone: he’s walking toward a man, and he’s armed.
You can’t believe it when you see him do it: your funny, happy teenage son, he kills a stranger, right there on the street outside your house. You don’t know who. You don’t know why. You only know your son is now in custody. His future shattered.
That night you fall asleep in despair. All is lost. Until you wake...
... and it is yesterday.
And then you wake again...
... and it is the day before yesterday.
Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. With another chance to stop it. Somewhere in the past lies an answer. The trigger for this crime—and you don’t have a choice but to find it...
💭 T H O U G H T S
Wrong Place Wrong Time is a book I probably wouldn't have picked on my own, but when it was selected as the February book for my in-person book club I knew I would give it a shot. I was interested in the time travel aspect, but was definitely hesitant about the rest of the premise.
I was deeply invested in the unique narrative at the start and could not put it down. The time travel aspect was intriguing, but the middle was an absolute slog and I found myself just wanting it to end. Eventually the pace would pick back up, but it was too late, my interest had already waned. In fact, the ending was a little anticlimactic for me. I understand the slow pacing is due to the way in which it is written - backwards through time - yet there wasn't the tension I carved.
There were several themes I appreciated. Firstly, I liked how this novel explore how what may seem like small choices and actions at the time, can have huge impacts on our future lives. And how if you change one thing, it can change everything. It's an interesting concept that leads to a lot of contemplation. Second, I thought it was a very realistic depiction of motherhood and the impact of mom guilt.
Gillian McAllister gets my praise simply for the creativity of the plot, and for all of the planning I imagine went into putting it into words. It's certainly unlike any thriller I've read and that deserves credit. I just wish it could have been executed a little more smoothly with more tension and quicker pace.
Overall, Wrong Place Wrong Time didn't do it for me. I know I am in the minority, as this is beloved by so many, but the pace didn't pick up until the final 25% and by then it was too late. I did really like the concept, but the execution faltered and I had to push myself to get through. I don't think I will be reading anything else by this author in the future, but I can understand why she's a favourite author of many readers.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• time-travel enthusiasts
• readers looking for unique thriller
⚠️ CW: murder, gun violence, blood, injury/injury detail, death, death of parent, grief, stalking, kidnapping, cursing, mental illness, suicide, addiction, drug use, drug abuse, fatphobia, sexual content, pregnancy, gaslighting
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"But knowing the future is worse than not knowing."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Stalking, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Minor: Grief, Cursing, Suicide, Drug use, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Addiction
jes_reads00's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Cursing, and Kidnapping
abicaro17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
HoLY SHIT! Damm. This book doesn't miss. Every time you think you have something figured out: you don't. While most of the characters don't develop beyond their box, Kelly and Jen become something else entirely. They start off in the box but evolve into their own complex characters with backstories you'd never think of. Truly a time travel story thats both new and exciting! My only qualm (which doesn't effect the actual story which is why it doesn't effect the score) is that a lot of the book throws in British slang and as an American its hard to understand.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Dysphoria, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence
shelfreflectionofficial's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
“How sinister it is to relive your life backward. To see things you hadn’t at the time. To realize the horrible significance of events you had no idea were playing out around you.”
So this book opens with a mom seeing her son stab a guy. And my first thought was- ‘I’m not sure if there is ever a right place or right time for that. But you know what Gillian? I’m gonna hear you out.’
And then the mom wakes up the next day… but it’s actually two days IN THE PAST and the stabbing hadn’t happened yet. And I was like- ‘Ohhhhh. Okay Gillian. I see what you did there.’
And proceeded to read and enjoy this time travel, crime solving novel.
It was a bit reminiscent of the movie Happy Death Day where the main character gets murdered and keeps reliving the day/murder over and over again until she figures out who did it.
In Wrong Place, Wrong Time the murder doesn’t keep happening. Actually, Jen doesn’t keep reliving the same day at all— so is it really a time loop? She just keeps going further and further back in time every time she wakes up.
The goal is still to figure out why her son would stab someone and see if she can stop it. Each day she relives in the past she sees through new eyes, catches new things, chases new leads, and learns more and more about her life and family and what led up to that fateful day.
“‘This isn’t time travel, or science, or maths. Isn’t it just— you have the knowledge—and the love—to stop a crime?’”
How far back does she go? Thousands of days. Each section is titled ‘Day Zero Minus (X Amount of Days)’— aka how many days before stab day. At first it’s fine, but how far back is 540 days, 3876 days? We don’t want to figure it out. It’s like saying your kid is 40 weeks old or 29 months old. IT’S NOT HELPFUL, it’s annoying.
Of course she writes her character saying it the normal way as you read on, but I’m still miffed by the chapter titles. Don’t make us do the math, Gillian, we’re busy solving a mystery.
A lot of people say they didn’t finish the book, that it dragged, or that the ending didn’t redeem the book. I disagree. I didn’t feel like it dragged. The entire concept of the book requires going back in time to various days to find out new information, that’s not dragging, that’s a book doing its job.
For those who didn’t like the ending— what?! I’m a happy ending kind of person. Perhaps it felt a little abrupt when we go back to ‘the day’ but if readers are wanting a different outcome, they must prefer darker books.
I don’t think this is a spoiler to say, but one thing I was worried about but didn’t need to be, was that the mom starts to wonder if her son ultimately made the decision to stab a guy because she was a bad mom. If she had spent more time with him, shown more interest in his interests, done things differently, would he have still stabbed?
I was worried the answer was going to be yes. And then I would have gone on a rampage. But, no, the mom relives her past and rekindles her love of being a mom. She throws off the guilt and knows that she loved her son and whatever choices he made were not because she could have been better.
Yes! Don’t let mom-guilt have a foothold. (Unless you’re blowing smoke in your kids’ faces and dealing drugs in the living room, and forcing them to cheer for the Packers, or some other things you should definitely feel guilty about.)
I thought it was interesting to think about how you could have the knowledge that your kid murdered and then wake up the day before it happened and have to interact with your child. How crazy your emotions must be to see your child in a different light. Would it changed how you saw them, how you loved them, how you treated them?
I suppose if we’re honest with ourselves, history (and the Bible) shows us we are all capable of atrocious things. It leads us to thankfulness for God’s grace in our lives and the lives of our children when he preserves our innocence in certain ways. It also reminds us of our need of a Savior, our children’s need of a Savior. Sin and temptation lurks at the door and we need God’s power to resist and fight against it.
The mom in this book shows us an unconditional love. Would we realistically be able to have that? Maybe, maybe not. But we can know that nothing we do can separate us from the love of God if we come to him. We won’t need time travel, just repentance. God’s love is not predicated on good behavior but in the fact that he’s our heavenly Father and Creator who loves us because we are his. That’s good news!
Anywho, I enjoy books with time travel. Some found it tedious and confusing or boring. I thought it was interesting and there were some surprises. Although I’m still not sure if what she was in could really be considered a time loop. I opted not to take quantum physics in college so now I’m completely in the dark on this stuff. Go figure. I did not need Algebra in life, but I guess I needed quantum physics.
There’s a lot of books and movies with time travel, so I thought it was funny when she included these “five easy tips to escape a time loop”:
1. Find out why
2. Tell a friend and get them in the loop with you
3. Document everything
4. Experiment
5. Try not to die
Feel free to write these down somewhere and save them for later.
I think McAllister did a great job of maintaining consistency with the way the ‘time loop’ worked in this book. A lot of time travel happens when people go to the future and so they are able to send themselves messages in the future.
But when you go to the past, nothing you send or write is there because it hasn’t happened yet. That creates a unique challenge for someone who needs to solve a crime. No one remembers anything because everytime you wake up, essentially everything gets erased. I felt like Jen’s choices and figuring things out fit the context really well.
Other than the f-words, probably my next biggest problem with the book was the scene where Jen is looking through a window and catches a glimpse of a photograph. And she sees what color eyes the person has…. Nah. That’s not how life works.
Nobody notices what color eyes people have. If someone tries to sell me something at my door and then murders my next door neighbor and the police come and ask me what they looked like, eye color will have ZERO impact on my description.
So the fact that she looked THROUGH A WINDOW at a PHOTOGRAPH (and I think it was dark) and then noticed a person’s eye color….. that’s a big no for me.
Authors like to make much of eye color. But besides the few people like Daniel Craig where their eyes literally pierce you with their brightness, let’s just stop making it significant.
I dare you to figure out someone’s eye color… or better yet, from a photograph. You will have to try awkwardly hard. And you will know that I am correct.
Last comments: this book is very British. Some books are partially British where there’s some new words that jump out at you like jumper (sweater) and boot (trunk), etc. But Gillian is full-on Brit here.
“I don’t dob. I’m not a grass.” means I don’t tattletale and inform the police
“I’m doing dogsbody stuff” means I’m doing menial tasks. Definitely had to look this one up because things could have gotten weird real fast.
“Gear” means heroin. How many slang terms for drugs are there in the world? Talking these days is so risky.
“x” at the end of texts does NOT mean kiss. And everybody in the UK ends all their texts with an ‘x’ unless it’s a formal business exchange. Apparently it’s supposed to indicate you’re being friendly rather than cold and sarcastic… Feels like a lot of work to me.
The entire police department drinks tea in the morning. So proper. That would be an interesting study- do tea-drinkers solve more crimes than coffee-drinkers? Let me know the results!
Recommendation
This is hard to know how to recommend. I enjoyed the book, but there is a lot of swearing in it. A lot of f-words. I’m not sure if it’s worth wading through that.
Even though she writes a good story, I doubt I’ll read any more of Gillian’s books because of the swearing.
Swearing aside, I can’t think of a reason not to read the book. Unless you don’t like time travel.
[Content Advisory: like so many f-words]
So this book opens with a mom seeing her son stab a guy. And my first thought was- ‘I’m not sure if there is ever a right place or right time for that. But you know what Gillian? I’m gonna hear you out.’
And then the mom wakes up the next day… but it’s actually two days IN THE PAST and the stabbing hadn’t happened yet. And I was like- ‘Ohhhhh. Okay Gillian. I see what you did there.’
And proceeded to read and enjoy this time travel, crime solving novel.
It was a bit reminiscent of the movie Happy Death Day where the main character gets murdered and keeps reliving the day/murder over and over again until she figures out who did it.
In Wrong Place, Wrong Time the murder doesn’t keep happening. Actually, Jen doesn’t keep reliving the same day at all— so is it really a time loop? She just keeps going further and further back in time every time she wakes up.
The goal is still to figure out why her son would stab someone and see if she can stop it. Each day she relives in the past she sees through new eyes, catches new things, chases new leads, and learns more and more about her life and family and what led up to that fateful day.
“‘This isn’t time travel, or science, or maths. Isn’t it just— you have the knowledge—and the love—to stop a crime?’”
How far back does she go? Thousands of days. Each section is titled ‘Day Zero Minus (X Amount of Days)’— aka how many days before stab day. At first it’s fine, but how far back is 540 days, 3876 days? We don’t want to figure it out. It’s like saying your kid is 40 weeks old or 29 months old. IT’S NOT HELPFUL, it’s annoying.
Of course she writes her character saying it the normal way as you read on, but I’m still miffed by the chapter titles. Don’t make us do the math, Gillian, we’re busy solving a mystery.
A lot of people say they didn’t finish the book, that it dragged, or that the ending didn’t redeem the book. I disagree. I didn’t feel like it dragged. The entire concept of the book requires going back in time to various days to find out new information, that’s not dragging, that’s a book doing its job.
For those who didn’t like the ending— what?! I’m a happy ending kind of person. Perhaps it felt a little abrupt when we go back to ‘the day’ but if readers are wanting a different outcome, they must prefer darker books.
I don’t think this is a spoiler to say, but one thing I was worried about but didn’t need to be, was that the mom starts to wonder if her son ultimately made the decision to stab a guy because she was a bad mom. If she had spent more time with him, shown more interest in his interests, done things differently, would he have still stabbed?
I was worried the answer was going to be yes. And then I would have gone on a rampage. But, no, the mom relives her past and rekindles her love of being a mom. She throws off the guilt and knows that she loved her son and whatever choices he made were not because she could have been better.
Yes! Don’t let mom-guilt have a foothold. (Unless you’re blowing smoke in your kids’ faces and dealing drugs in the living room, and forcing them to cheer for the Packers, or some other things you should definitely feel guilty about.)
I thought it was interesting to think about how you could have the knowledge that your kid murdered and then wake up the day before it happened and have to interact with your child. How crazy your emotions must be to see your child in a different light. Would it changed how you saw them, how you loved them, how you treated them?
I suppose if we’re honest with ourselves, history (and the Bible) shows us we are all capable of atrocious things. It leads us to thankfulness for God’s grace in our lives and the lives of our children when he preserves our innocence in certain ways. It also reminds us of our need of a Savior, our children’s need of a Savior. Sin and temptation lurks at the door and we need God’s power to resist and fight against it.
The mom in this book shows us an unconditional love. Would we realistically be able to have that? Maybe, maybe not. But we can know that nothing we do can separate us from the love of God if we come to him. We won’t need time travel, just repentance. God’s love is not predicated on good behavior but in the fact that he’s our heavenly Father and Creator who loves us because we are his. That’s good news!
Anywho, I enjoy books with time travel. Some found it tedious and confusing or boring. I thought it was interesting and there were some surprises. Although I’m still not sure if what she was in could really be considered a time loop. I opted not to take quantum physics in college so now I’m completely in the dark on this stuff. Go figure. I did not need Algebra in life, but I guess I needed quantum physics.
There’s a lot of books and movies with time travel, so I thought it was funny when she included these “five easy tips to escape a time loop”:
1. Find out why
2. Tell a friend and get them in the loop with you
3. Document everything
4. Experiment
5. Try not to die
Feel free to write these down somewhere and save them for later.
I think McAllister did a great job of maintaining consistency with the way the ‘time loop’ worked in this book. A lot of time travel happens when people go to the future and so they are able to send themselves messages in the future.
But when you go to the past, nothing you send or write is there because it hasn’t happened yet. That creates a unique challenge for someone who needs to solve a crime. No one remembers anything because everytime you wake up, essentially everything gets erased. I felt like Jen’s choices and figuring things out fit the context really well.
Other than the f-words, probably my next biggest problem with the book was the scene where Jen is looking through a window and catches a glimpse of a photograph. And she sees what color eyes the person has…. Nah. That’s not how life works.
Nobody notices what color eyes people have. If someone tries to sell me something at my door and then murders my next door neighbor and the police come and ask me what they looked like, eye color will have ZERO impact on my description.
So the fact that she looked THROUGH A WINDOW at a PHOTOGRAPH (and I think it was dark) and then noticed a person’s eye color….. that’s a big no for me.
Authors like to make much of eye color. But besides the few people like Daniel Craig where their eyes literally pierce you with their brightness, let’s just stop making it significant.
I dare you to figure out someone’s eye color… or better yet, from a photograph. You will have to try awkwardly hard. And you will know that I am correct.
Last comments: this book is very British. Some books are partially British where there’s some new words that jump out at you like jumper (sweater) and boot (trunk), etc. But Gillian is full-on Brit here.
“I don’t dob. I’m not a grass.” means I don’t tattletale and inform the police
“I’m doing dogsbody stuff” means I’m doing menial tasks. Definitely had to look this one up because things could have gotten weird real fast.
“Gear” means heroin. How many slang terms for drugs are there in the world? Talking these days is so risky.
“x” at the end of texts does NOT mean kiss. And everybody in the UK ends all their texts with an ‘x’ unless it’s a formal business exchange. Apparently it’s supposed to indicate you’re being friendly rather than cold and sarcastic… Feels like a lot of work to me.
The entire police department drinks tea in the morning. So proper. That would be an interesting study- do tea-drinkers solve more crimes than coffee-drinkers? Let me know the results!
Recommendation
This is hard to know how to recommend. I enjoyed the book, but there is a lot of swearing in it. A lot of f-words. I’m not sure if it’s worth wading through that.
Even though she writes a good story, I doubt I’ll read any more of Gillian’s books because of the swearing.
Swearing aside, I can’t think of a reason not to read the book. Unless you don’t like time travel.
[Content Advisory: like so many f-words]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
nina_johnson's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Cursing
Moderate: Death, Murder, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent and Pandemic/Epidemic
kirbster1229's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing