Title: Wrong Place Wrong Time
Author: Gillian McAllister
Genre: Suspense Thriller
Page Number: 416
Rating: ❤❤❤❤
Hi friends. I'm back with another hot take on the latest books I've read. This one was actually my first ever buddy read on bookstagram. So of course, that meant that I had to completely ignore my growing TBR and pick this one up instead. Me and a group of other bookstagrammers decided to pick this one and read it together. The purpose was to read it and then discuss it in the group chat after we finished the assigned pages for that day. Like English class but make it fun. It was exciting making new bookish friends and seeing the same book from so many different perspectives. So, without further ado, let's get into it shall we?
Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?
Late October. After midnight. You’re waiting up for your eighteen-year-old son. He’s past curfew. 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 . . .
Overall, the plot on this one was plotting. It kept you invested by dropping small hints along the way, almost every chapter revealed some piece of important information. Instead of dropping everything at the end in a serious case of verbal diarrhea. I was impressed. It was a complicated plot to pull off and as far as I'm concerned, Ms. McAllister did her thing. The reveals were revealing! The plot was plotting! Only thing that almost lost me was the style of writing. So, let's take a closer look at what I liked and didn't like about Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
It was a plus sized plot. The plot was like me, thick and full of fat. The twists were twisting, chile! There was a lot happening and instead of trying to cram it all into the last few chapters, the reveals were sprinkled all throughout the book. Each chapter had a piece of information that ended up being important down the line. I liked that it felt like we were solving the mystery alongside Jen. We found things out as she did. Moments like these have me convinced that I could have made it as a detective in another life. Detective Lauren at your service! There were a few reveals that had my mouth hanging open in pure shock, honey!
There were small life lessons tucked into the writing. If you paid close attention as you read, you'd see that there were little life nuggets that were dropped at your feet along the way. I appreciated the fact that Jen was able to go back and relive some moments that she had originally missed because she was so wrapped up in her cases and in her own life. I think that entire journey taught her to appreciate life's moments as they were and that most of the time, things you stress about won't be important later.
Genre bending without being unrealistic. I am not a huge fantasy reader; it's just never been my cup of tea. So, when we start venturing out into sci-fi territory, I tend to shy away. Add werewolves, vampires, and mystical creatures with a creepy mixture of human and animal limbs and I will absolutely NOPE out of there. Take me slow. This story bent the genre a little without making it so unbelievable that I quit reading the book entirely. If you can add a little time travel and still keep me invested, then we are good to go.
Did not like the writing style. The first half of this book was so different from the second that I almost feel like it deserves a review of its own. There was an excessive use of commas throughout the first half. She also had a weird habit of repeating things three times in random places. The logical part of my brain knows that there is a specific purpose for this, but while I was reading it just felt like a tick. It got annoying. Annoying. ANNOYING. Very quickly.
Towards the second half of the book, the writing got much better. The comma usage dissipated a little bit, and the random word repeating didn't happen as often. I'm not sure if she had two different editors for each part or if she just wrote the first part and then came back for the second after she had worked on her craft, but there was a difference. In all honesty, it changed my overall rating of the book entirely. I loved the plot, but the writing style wasn't my favorite.
Excessive. Mom. Guilt. Oh my God. I don't have kids, so maybe I can't accurately speak on this part, but the mom guilt was intense and unnecessary. Every few minutes she was wondering about how bad of a mom she was and reminiscing on how her ankles are no longer thin and wonderful like they were when she was younger. It felt obsessive how much she was freaking out about her parenting skills. Is that what being a parent means? Because if so, idk if I want it. Sheesh.
Overall, this was a great book. I really enjoyed it. The writing evened out eventually, but the plot itself stayed intense throughout the book. It was an ambitious story to write, one that is definitely not easy to pull off. In my opinion Ms. McAllister did a great job of keeping the story engaging without having to cram all the reveals into the final chapter.
If you want a quick thrill while we're still in October I say, go ahead and grab this book. I'd honestly love to see them turn it into a movie. Maybe lifetime or Netflix can pick it up, when they stop being trash and blocking people from watching on someone else's account. You can grab it on Amazon here:
If you do decide to read it, make sure you come back and tell me what you think. Or you can find me on Facebook and Instagram and tell me there. I'd love to discuss a book with you. Seriously. Just slide in my DM. We will be buddies. I can't wait to hear from you!
Until then,
Happy Reading Babes! ❤