Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister is the ideal novel for those who love Russian Doll, who enjoy works by Blake Crouch, and for anyone who appreciates a page-turning read. There are sections that lack clarity and spots which could have been better conveyed to the reader but, the plot - figure out why her son killed someone and how to stop it - shines bright throughout creating an intriguing read.

There is a clear sense of purpose in Wrong Place Wrong Time and the story never takes its foot off the gas pedal. This is a novel you will read in one sitting as it is engaging and each chapter you read exposes one more piece of the why. Why did this happen? Why couldn't she save him? Why? Why? Why? You will have to read Wrong Place Wrong Time to answer that question.

To preface, the explanation to how/why Jen could time travel is weak and although an elaborate explanation was attempted, it falls flat. As a massive fan of science fiction, I have encountered numerous intricate and detailed explanations to explain sci-fi concepts and Wrong Place Wrong Time's explanation is missing depth compared to the ones I've read. If you acknowledge that you may not be satisfied with the "science" behind the time travelling, then you will enjoy this book significantly more. This is a plot worth enjoying and if you exclude the how behind the time travel, this should deliver even more.

Yes, there are moments where you can lose whose talking but it is easy to grasp the movement and exposition of the story; even if you get lost, you will find your way again and be pulled along by the flow of the narration. The plot is told backwards with interspersing's of a cop whose importance is slowly is revealed in relation to Jen's storyline.  It starts with small jumps and explodes from there as Jen attempts to uncover the why of it all.

The plot is all about the why and it drives the story in a fast-paced and engaging way. Each day chips away at her search for the why until it all culminates together with a flourish. The plot is such fun to read and I promise, you will be flipping through the pages as you try to figure out the why with Jen.

The characters are nothing fancy in Wrong Place Wrong Time. They are portrayed as a typical suburban family with a mother who works a lot, a father who is a contractor, and a son who is moody. Oh wait, and who kills someone. This act of violence breaks the bubble Jen was living in and causes her to take a serious look at her life and what her role is with relation to Todd, her son. Her attempt to answer that questions leads her on a scavenger hunt through the past. It is obvious the driving force behind the why is Jen's love for her son.

Having been granted such a rare opportunity to save him, she is determined to do everything in her power to succeed and prevent him from committing such an atrocious crime. Jen is a normal mother thrust into a terrible scenario and how she responds directs the story. Because she is a relatively "blank" slate, as in a typical mother, she is a good character to direct the story as everything discovered by her is the first time she's discovering it and you get to join her on the discovery. The other characters are good supporting pieces but they aren't in the time loop making Jen the only changing piece in this story and she is a strong changing piece to follow.

It is a little flat in comparison to the rest of the story and yet, it fits. Wrong Place Wrong Time contains an ending you will be content with and a story in overall you will enjoy. There are moments that can confuse but they are overpowered by the engaging plot and burning need to unravel the mystery. A mystery absolutely worth an hour of your time.

Wrong Place Wrong Time was a solid read, I was engaged from start to finish. I mean, the story starts with a murder and we know the killer. The question is why? The why is the driving factor and the inclusion of time travel to answer that question works fabulously. Jen has been given an opportunity to figure out the why and save her son and who wouldn't want to save their child from a life of suffering? More importantly, I think Jen struggles internally with her role in the murder - could she have done something to prevent it? The answer is no. Her husband was an undercover cop whom confided in his son to take down/prevent another person from killing him.

Kelly/Ryan (Kelly from here on out) was messed up for confiding in him. There is not a single scenario I could think of where telling Todd the truth is acceptable; he didn't stumble into it, he was openly told. If Todd was confided in, why wasn't Jen? Wouldn't it make more sense to confide in your partner of 15+ years? Looking back, the reveal may not have gone down that way but that is how I remember it. And yeah, Jen may have worked too much and unintentionally dismissed Todd's interests under the assumption she was being funny but she supported and loved him with all her heart and she was presented as a character both Kelly and Todd would confide in!

Jen was a complex character. She had her strengths and pitfalls but these pitfalls did not lead to Todd murdering a man. I think it was her pitfalls and love that caused the time loop - she was so stricken with grief and also shame at herself that that power created the opportunity to right a terrible terrible wrong. I do think the time loop concept was the weakest part of the story; an explanation for it was attempted multiple times but for me, it never really clicked. I gave up on trying to understand it and moved on because in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter. I was so much more heavily invested in the mystery of why, not how. 

I thought the mislead of Ryan/Kelly was well done. I assumed Kelly was Kelly and that Ryan was his brother. I thought Kelly was still part of a violent gang and that his son had been caught in the crossfire of his nefarious work activities and Ryan was currently trying to track him down and arrest him. I was so wrong. It also was interesting that Todd's girlfriend was the missing child, that I found to be logical and created a good connection as Kelly's driving force was to find that child and she was literally under his nose the whole time!

Each piece that was revealed only brought joy to me throughout the read. I was uncovering the scandalous and insane truth with Jen and there was not a moment I was able to skip ahead and guess the outcome. I seriously had zero clue throughout the read what was going on and I loved it. This was a murder mystery told backwards and sideways and I had such fun unravelling the mystery. There were moments that confused me - some of the dialogue was misleading and difficult to follow who the speaker was and the time loop was confusing as anything but I'll take it as the rest of the story was captivating and a highly entertaining mystery to sink my teeth into. Wrong Place Wrong Time was a novel absolutely worth an hour of my time and if you have read it, was it worth an hour of yours too?