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Wrong Place Wrong Time: A Novel
by Gillian McAllister
Hardcover : 416 pages
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3 members have read this book
“It’s perfection, every word, every moment. A masterpiece . . . One of the best books I’ve ever read.” —Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author
New York Times bestselling author Gillian McAllister has ...
Introduction
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK
“It’s perfection, every word, every moment. A masterpiece . . . One of the best books I’ve ever read.” —Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author
New York Times bestselling author Gillian McAllister has created a thriller unlike any other in this endlessly clever, twisty story of a mother who must move backward through time to prevent tragedy from striking at the heart of her family.
Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?
It is midnight on the morning of Halloween, and Jen anxiously waits up for her 18-year-old son, Todd, to return home. But worries about his broken curfew transform into something much more dangerous when Todd finally emerges from the darkness. As Jen watches through the window, she sees her funny, seemingly happy teenage son stab a total stranger.
She doesn’t know who the victim is, or why Todd has committed such a devastating act of violence. All she knows is that her life, and Todd’s, have been shattered.
After her son is taken into custody, Jen falls asleep in despair. But when she wakes up…it is yesterday. The murder has not happened yet—and there may be a chance to stop it. Each morning, when Jen wakes, she is further back in the past, first weeks, then years, before the murder. And Jen realizes that somewhere in the past lies the trigger for Todd’s terrible crime…and it is her mission to find it, and prevent it from taking place.
Both the story of a mother’s love and the sacrifices she will make for her child, and a thriller with a brilliant twist, Wrong Place Wrong Time is a one-of-a-kind novel that begs to be read in one sitting.
Editorial Review
No Editorial Review Currently AvailableDiscussion Questions
1. Why do you think the title is Wrong Place, Wrong Time? How does it relate to the actions in the novel?2. Let’s talk about the night Jen witnesses Todd murder a stranger. What were your thoughts as this unfolded?
3. Jen wakes up to the day before the murder. And then the day before that. How would you have reacted if you were Jen?
4. When did you start to suspect that the police offer Ryan was more connected to the mystery than it seemed? Were you surprised when it turned out that Ryan was in fact, Jen’s husband Kelly?
5. Why did Kelly hide the truth from Jen all this time? How would have things turned out differently if he would have been forthcoming?
6. As Jen travels back in time, she’s able to view her relationship with Todd in a new light. She at first blames herself—wondering if she worked too hard and wasn’t present enough for Todd. What was the wake up call that showed her that wasn’t the case and it wasn’t her fault what happened?
7. Jen also revisits her relationship with her deceased father. What was your impression of those scenes and the reveal that her father was working with the criminal Joseph (the person Todd killed in the present timeline)?
8. Eventually, Jen goes to 20 years in the past. Let’s talk about the climax when Jen is able to stop the accidental kidnapping of Eve.
9. What did you think about the ending overall and everything that changed as a result of Jen going back in time?
10. Due to Jen changing the timeline, her friend Pauline is now in the time loop in order to stop her son Connor from becoming a criminal. What do you think will happen there?
11. Did you feel the author fully explained the reasons that brought Todd to murder Joseph? Or did you think that needed more context?
12. We never get the full reason why Jen was able to travel back in time—it seems like a vague ‘mothers intuition’. It also implies that this might happen often but then the person forgets once everything has been noreset. Did you want more explanation about why this occurred or do you think that description is plenty? What are your feelings overall about these Groundhog Day-type stories?
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