About this book:
Blurb by Jonathan Ball Publishers
From the worldwide bestselling author of Departure and Winter World comes a standalone novel about a father and daughter trying to unravel an intricate murder mystery spread across time – with a jaw-dropping twist.
Control the past.
Save the future.
One morning, Dr. Sam Anderson wakes up to find that the woman he loves has been murdered.
For Sam, the horror is only beginning.
He and his daughter are accused of the crime. The evidence is ironclad. They will be convicted.
And so, to ensure his daughter goes free, Sam does what he must: he confesses.
But in the future, murderers aren’t sent to prison.
Thanks to a machine Sam helped invent, the world’s worst criminals are now sent to the past – approximately 200 million years into the past, to the dawn of the time of the dinosaurs – where they must live out their lives alone, in exile from the human race.
Sam accepts his fate.
But his daughter doesn’t.
Adeline Anderson has already lost her mother to a deadly, unfair disease. She can’t bear to lose her father as well.
So she sets out on a quest to prove him innocent. And to get him back. People around her insist that both are impossible tasks.
But Adeline doesn’t give up. She only works harder.
She soon learns that impossible tasks are her specialty. And that she is made of tougher stuff than she ever imagined.
As she peels back the layers of the mystery that tore her father from this world, Adeline finds more questions than answers. Everyone around her is hiding a secret. But which ones are connected to the murder that exiled her father?
That mystery stretches across the past, present, and future – and leads to a revelation that will change everything.
My thoughts
So, the blurb says quite A LOT. The title is pretty generic, but it was the cover art that really caught my eye.
This was my first A.G. Riddle book, and I throughly enjoyed it! I mean – time-travel, dinosaurs, murder – what’s not to love?
“Lost in Time” is an adventurous science fiction mystery, that will grab you from the get-go. Within the first couple of pages, you are set up for a tense, thrilling ride and the face pace is sustained for much of the story and plot.
It is a real page-turner with numerous twists and turns, and although there are some ‘sciency’ complexities, I found this an easy read.
This unique story is pure escapism and reflects on the question “How far would you go to save your family?” The plot is a complex and clever puzzle that all fits together in the end (with a few very minor plot holes in-between) and reminded me of what will happen when “Dr Who” meets “The Land That Time Forgot”? Some of the scenes were so vividly descriptive, I made me think permanently how this will translate to a movie!
What I enjoyed:
- Pure Escapism
- Science Fiction
- Triassic period
- Time-travel
- Unique story
A few favourite quotes:
- “Actually, I think wine-induced soul outpouring is exactly what this world needs right now. Even if it gets awkward. It’s totally worth it.”
- “Watching someone you love lose their health has an effect on a person. It teaches you lessons no human should ever have to learn. And could never forget.”
- “That was the way of the world, he thought: you give it your all; sometimes it’s enough, sometimes it’s not, and sometimes, the tide carries you in. But the tide can’t help you if you don’t get close enough.”
- “Life is about getting up. Not avoiding falling down.”
- “Time and life had taught her one thing: you do all you can, and at some point, it’s either enough or it’s not. The tides of life and your efforts either carry you in. Or sink you.”
With thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.
RRR (Roelia Reads Rating) 4/5
The details:
Category: Science Fiction
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publishing Date: October 2022
Format: Paperback
Available at most major book sellers: https://www.jonathanball.co.za/component/virtuemart/lost-in-time
