What an amazing start to reading in 2022! This book was stunning and I was glued to every page.
The premise seemed simple Jen witnesses her teenage son killing a man and then being arrested for murder. What’s different is that she wakes up the next day and it’s the day before the murder. Every time she wakes up she’s further into the past. Jen believes her role is to discover what caused her son to murder but also replays parts of her marriage with Kelly.
The novel was simply breathtaking and I was absorbed into Jen’s world from page one and was heartbroken when the story concluded.
Every Gillian McAllister is top of my TBR list and this will definitely be one I will be recommending.
Thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#WrongPlaceWrongTime #NetGalley

What an excellent read. This is a book that needs your concentration because as it starts to work it’s way towards the conclusion by going further back in time, you need to be alert. Characters seem to get crossed and no-one seems quite who or what you think they are. All I can say is, it’s just a masterpiece of writing. That moment towards the end when it started falling into place was an amazing Eureka moment! I was blown away by this book. Thank you so much for letting me read and review it.

This was my last book of 2021 and I think I saved the best till last!

A rollercoaster read, I was gripped from the explosive start.

Jen witnesses her teenage son kill a man one night, and she knows that she needs to do anything she can to help him. However on waking the next morning she soon learns that it’s actually the day before the murder happened and she might have an opportunity to find out why her son did what he did.

And so begins a series of events where she travels further and further back in time to unravel the truth behind her son’s actions.

This was such an original read, with an intricate plot line and lots of twists. I usually pride myself on guessing what will happen but I didn’t guess a single one!

It’s well written, pacey and intriguing. Loved every minute of it, and it was a real challenge- read as fast as possible to find out what happens, or take it slow to savour such a good book! In the end I raced through it and felt compelled to message the author directly to let her know how much I’d enjoyed it.

It’s a five star from me, absolute perfection. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s been a long time since a book has cost me an entire nights sleep until now!
I usually read myself to sleep but this book had twists that took me from sleepy to alert and wide awake on more than one occasion!
I’ve had a major hiatus from blogging and writing reviews due to ill health and mental health, to the extent I couldn’t even read a book let alone review it.
Thankfully things are starting to improve and the big black cloud is slowly lifting and I’ve been able to get back to my beloved books, all be it very slow but steady and today this book has made me want to shout about it!
This isn’t a proper review, I’m not sure the brain fog and fatigue have lifted high enough yet for that but just writing this is a testament to how great this book is!
I’m not sure how people are going to actually review it without spoilers as the plot is so amazingly clever but impossible to explain without giving anything away!
I am looking forward to finding out other peoples reactions to this book are as I’m sure other people’s minds will be blown away!
This is my first proper post in at least 2 years now roughly I think so if I can’t say anything else about this book, then let that fact alone tell you how bloody good this book truly is!
Definitely her best book yet

What an exciting and original book! I loved it. I am a great fan of Gillian McAllister’s novels and had heard that this one was special - it really is. I felt completely gripped by the plot from the beginning and couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Jen, Todd and Kelly. It’s such a clever idea, brilliantly handled, I don’t want to say too much but it opens with Jen and Kelly’s 18 year old son Todd knifing a man in the street. What happens after that is ‘edge of your seat’ reading. I have been going around for the last few days with a grin on my face telling all my friends that I’m reading a great book and then rushing back to read more. The author is so skilled at creating warm and memorable characters and a fascinating, intricate plot. A great reading experience. Definitely five stars!

WOW WOW WOW- What a page turner

Outstanding writing from Gillian, totally gripping, engaging and a joy to read. I loved how the chapters were set out.

Please please give this one a read you will not be left disappointed.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me and my book of the year.

Huge thank you to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for allowing me to review this fantastic ARC.

This is an unusual book as a crime is committed at the beginning and then the story moves backwards chronologically over a period of 20 years to give the lead character the opportunity to understand and potentially change history. Both the concept and the fact that there are a number of twists and turns keep your interest - I found it a very engaging book and was keen to understand where it was going and how it would end. Unlike so many books, while I guessed some twists, there were still a number of surprises. I would recommend this book.

I'm kind of reeling over this one and thinking what to write in my review.

When I first started it I was mysterfied and intrigued and not completely sold but the more the book progressed the more invested I became in at and by the end I was racing to reach the conclusion.

The whole premise of the story about having regrets, wishing for second chances and how we live our life on automatic pilot and often miss the important things that can change the course of a life is unfortunately so true. It's thought provoking and hard hitting in parts an absorbing read!

Didn’t think it was possible, but Gillian McAllister has got even better.

I was thrown for a curve ball when I realised that we were time travelling. Was this going to be too much of a divergence from what has made all of Gillian’s books so good? I mean time travelling, with all its complexities, theories, and let’s face it, often absurdities. Would this detract from the essence of Gillian’s writing style? The answer, a resounding no. Wrong Place, Wrong Time provides just enough of the science to support a great plot and a journey of discovery for Jen, our main character.

There are so many questions that Jen (and the reader) has to face. Questions of fate, faith, the power of love, acceptable actions/truths/lies. And as per usual, Gillian presents everything exceptionally well.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time is cleverly structured and plotted. I can only imagine the intensive white boarding and charting this must have entailed.

A book by Gillian McAllister is always an auto-buy for me - they are always impeccably plotted and the characters are created to perfection.

McAllister is the Queen of the Moral Dilemma, so when I saw the blurb for Wrong Place, Wrong Time, I knew that she was on to another winner. #WrongPlaceWrongTime is a career-defining book for Gillian McAllister. It is SO MUCH MORE than I hoped it would be, I have high expectations for her work and this surpassed them.

#WrongPlaceWrongTime begins with a mother waiting for her teenage son to return home from a night out, and witnesses him committing a terrible crime - murdering a stranger - and she has no idea why. That night she falls asleep in despair, but wakes up the next morning and it is... yesterday. Each morning she wakes up a day earlier. She has a chance to find out WHY this murder happened, and a chance to stop it.

Just WOW. #WrongPlaceWrongTime is a book that you have to read, and it is one of the best books I've ever read.

Wow! This is an amazing piece of writing which I was totally gripped and intrigued by from start to finish. Such a brilliant story and characters. I had not read any of Gillian McAllister's books before, but am now going to read all her backlist!

An absolutely fantastic book written in the most clever way. I was literally on the edge of my seat. The hype about this book is real xx

Wow! This is hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read… I loved everything about it.

Emotional, thrilling, mysterious, twisty and an absolutely fantastic concept told in such a clever way! I was gripped from the very first page, all the way to the end and I couldn’t read it fast enough. So many twists and turns and such wonderful characters - I loved Kelly, Jen and Todd so much! I feel like I’m actually going to miss them.

I really can’t praise this book highly enough, 5 stars just doesn’t seem enough. Gillian McAllister is one of my favourite authors ever and I’ve loved every book of hers that I’ve read but this one is outstanding! She’s an actual genius at storytelling. Amazing!
I’ll be telling everyone to read this book.

What a unique storyline! This one must have taken skill and time to write, and pure genius to think of such a great concept. Throughout the story I wondered how it would pan out and what the conclusion to it all would be. I was more than happy with the outcome.
This author can do no wrong in my eyes, would love to see this played out on the big screen.

A must read thriller for 2022.

Wow. I've read all of Gillian's books, and always rated them highly, but Wrong Place, Wrong Time is just something else. It's masterful storytelling, just when you think you can see how the plot is unfolding another twist blows your mind - it's fast paced and it's gripping.

A fantastic 5 star brilliant read. I've already pre-ordered the hardback and have recommended it to others.

Gillian McAllister texts a friend that she ‘…want [s] to write a book like [a] Russian Doll but about knife crime’ and ‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’ is the outcome. And a very good outcome it is too if you enjoy twisty plots, blind alleys (both literal and figurative!) and flawed characters.
The story begins on Day Zero, just after midnight when solicitor Jen witnesses her increasingly wayward teenage son, Todd, knifing a man outside her house. With her husband Kelly, she accompanies her son to the police station and tries to support him as he is charged with murder. When Kelly and she leave the station, it is nearly morning.
As soon as readers see the title of the next chapter, they will recognise that this is a time-travel novel. The narrative moves backwards, sometimes day-by-day, sometimes in leaps and bounds as Jen is left to work out why Todd has committed such a heinous crime and how she might, by making different decisions in the past, be able to stop the disastrous present from happening. Happily, as part of this exploration she can call upon the services of an eminent physicist who guides her along the way – very convenient!
Without giving away too much of the plot, it’s interesting to see how McAllister begins with the ‘maternal guilt’ theme but moves this on to a less often explored focus on false identities. As ever, she writes well and the novel is a real page turner. However, ironically, the time travel made it a little less compelling for me. A narrative with the same themes but without the structural trickery might have been more hard-hitting. However, I’m sure I’m in the minority with this opinion!
My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

I know January 3rd might be a little early to screech about a book of the year but I'm going to go ahead and lock it in that Wrong Place, Wrong Time will definitely be on my top ten list at the end of 2022. I haven't yet read a Gillian McAllister book that hasn't left me absolutely pounding with adrenalin and Wrong Place, Wrong Time has been my favourite yet!

I don't want to share anything about the plot beyond what's in the summary as I adored every breakneck turn as I read the story, and the best way to go into a novel like this is as blind as possible. If you love your mysteries and thrillers but enjoy the thought of the added high concept of time travel (but don't worry it might veer too into sci-fi - I'm not a particularly big sci-fi fan and I never found the concept off-putting) - you will race through this one just like I did.

If you're on the fence, please take a chance on this - I hope you love it as much as I did!

Sorry normally love Gillian Mcallister books but not this one, could not get into it and found very confusing,.
Can see other reviewers gave this book five stars but not me, thank goodness we all have different taste in books.

The plot follows a mother who has just watched her son commit murder. She wants to help him, to save him but just doesnt know how. The action seems completely out of character for him that Jen just must find out more.
When Jen goes to bed she wakes up the day before. This keeps happening and as she goes back in time she finds out more and more information. Concurrently a story about a police officer begins, his first days on the force and what the job throws at him. Its hard to see the connection initially, then after some twists it all becomes clear
This story is clever because unlike so many as the reader you are not hopping between the past and present but working backwards in time, with the main character experiencing the same as a time traveller of sorts. Whilst the main plot is gripping its intreguing to see how this will be concluded, I had various explanations for both Jens time travel and what she wanted/needed to get out of it to stop. As with all of Gillians books I was wrong - and thats why shes a great author.

I have enjoyed all Gillian McAllister’s books to date however was a little unsure of this one as I was aware it went backwards. Time travel is not my thing.

I was hooked at page one however when Jen woke up the day before I was unsure I was going to love it then it just clicked with me. Easy to follow I was gripped and I absolutely loved this book. There are twists and turns and things I never saw coming, possibly more so because it was going backwards.
Genius original storyline, cleverly written.

Brilliant

This is now my favourite Gillian McAllister book

Thank you for the opportunity to read it early