First sentence: Jen is glad of the clocks going back tonight. A gained hour, extra time, to be spent pretending she isn't waiting up for her son.

Premise/plot: What's a mother to do when she witnesses her teenage son murder a stranger (or stranger to you)????? This mother, Jen Goodbrother, somehow, someway, manages to live life BACKWARDS after this traumatic event as she scrambles to prevent the crime that will utterly ruin their lives. This isn't a proper time-loop premise. Jen isn't living the same twelve to twenty-four hours over and over again--a loop. But it does feature Jen experiencing time backwards--falling through time, slipping through time. She'll have unique opportunities to experience her life again--make change after change after change. Her perspective changes day by day as she wrestles with the meaning of it all. These close encounters with her immediate family--her husband, Kelly; her son, Todd; are different seen 'from both sides now.' She's actually getting to live her life with hindsight. But how many days, weeks, months, years, decades must she slip--relive--in order to "fix" or "course correct" the tragic event of that October night????

My thoughts: Obviously premise-driven. But it didn't fall short on characterization or action. There's some contemplation and reflection. There's plenty of suspense and action. It perhaps isn't a thriller in the traditional sense or any sense. So don't expect direct danger and gore. (You won't find it). Do expect some mental anguish as a woman wrestles with big questions of how, where, when, why, and what.

There are alternating chapters. But I won't be spoiling who's doing the narration on those alternate bits. The less you know the better. ( )

A little leery in the beginning about time travel, but McAllister is SO good I couldn't put it down. Great read! ( )

I think I used to be more of a sucker for epilogues/endings that made you feel like this was all plausible and could be happening all around us. This is more a book about motherhood than about any sort of crime, and a fascinating look at how our internal priorities fall. And I loved the love element. ( )

I loved this book. The story of a mother trying to prevent the crime her son commits and uncover the roots of it is enjoyable and fast-moving enough to keep me reading into the night. What sets it apart, though, and what really made me love it is the beautiful depiction of the central relationships. For me, the plot was secondary to the depth of feeling of these parents for their son and for each other. It was a story of familial love masquerading as a time travel mystery, and I wish I could find more books with such touching descriptions and uncynical understanding of the complexities of familial love. ( )

Written in present tests, this time-travel novel is about going back into the past in order to explain and prevent an event occurring in the present - Day Zero.

From there, the beginning, we are presented with chapters with names like Day Minus One, Day Minus Two, Day Minus One Hundred and Forty Four, in ever increasing backward intervals.

It’s the tale of a marriage related backwards. There’s a twist, but to give it away is to spoil the plot.

The book starts off slowly and I almost gave up on it. It gained interest as the years fell away, but never succeeded in fully grabbing attention. And then the clinch came with a less than believable ending. It’s all been done before. Time travel, the dilemma of changing the future, the necessity of collateral damage.

I bought Wrong Place Wrong Time as I needed some light reading. I just wish it had been a bit shorter and deeper. ( )