Welcome to Litsy!

An excellent little crime mystery/family drama told in reverse. I checked it out serendipitously on Libby without knowing anything about it and was very pleasantly surprised with how engrossing I found it. Engrossing enough to read in the AirBNB hottub instead of socializing with coworkers.

I‘m at a work retreat this week and decided to bail early after dinner to curl up in my Airbnb with this book and a cup of tea. 📚☕️🤫

#19.2024

The plotline and its progression are phenomenal… i don‘t know what else to say without spoiling it…

I love "time travel" stories. WPWT is a unique take on this, and I very much enjoyed the journey.

A good holiday read. A mother watches her loving son murder a strange man. Why? When she wakes up the next morning it's the day before the murder. The next day she wakes up a day earlier again. Each day going back further in the past offers her the chance to find clues in the past she might use to change the future.
I liked the concept and the mystery and above all Jen as a mother. I could so relate to her!

(📸 Tanabe, Japan)

“They, mother and son, are a zip, slowly separating as the years rush by.”

This hits home hard, being on vacation without my son for the first time.

Whoa, the end of this book gave me chills! Such a great story, and uniquely written since the story went in reverse. Found my interest waning slightly when I was part way through, and then I was quickly drawn back in. All the stars for this fabulous mystery. #audiobook

Jen‘s stays up late one night waiting for her son to come home. As she‘s watching out the window she suddenly sees her son but wait there‘s someone else there. All of a sudden she sees her son pull out a knife and stab a man! How could this happen? Jen wakes up the next day but it‘s the day before the murder. Jen continues waking up earlier and earlier into the past until she can piece together why her son murdered this man.

Really enjoyed this time-traveling thriller! Jen is shocked when her teen son commits a murder. Why did he do it? The next day, she wakes up —yesterday. Before the crime. Then several days before, then months, then years. Can she learn things from the past to prevent it from happening? There were twists that I didn‘t see coming —maybe because they‘d already occurred … 🧐 An edge-of-your-seat ride.

“How segmented life is. It splits so easily into friendships and addresses and life phases that feel endless but never, never last.”

This month‘s #BooksNHoes selection makes for a super-fast-paced and genuinely fun read! I could hardly put this time-traveler-ish thriller down! The book opens with narrator Jen witnessing her son murder a man the night before Halloween. But when she wakes up the next day, the pumpkins aren‘t even carved… while some twists seem more obvious than others here, it winds up full of surprises and genuinely impossible to put down!

I listened on audio, and overall this was really good. It was a different take on time-loop books, as the time went in reverse. I like how the author kept me guessing and brought the story together at the end. I figured out a couple of things while others got me. I enjoyed it.

Wow I loved this! But pay attention! There is a lot to take in and it goes quickly.

Whoa! This was so so good, my mind was blown almost the entire time!

I really enjoyed this book. Jen can‘t believe her son killed someone. Why? When she wakes up the next day, it‘s actually the day BEFORE the killing..and then she wakes up TWO days earlier, and so on until she goes back 20 years to find out why her son killed that man. Incredible storyline. I highly recommend this book.

“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?”

1. Pulling together stuff for the tax return in a couple weeks. Maybe going for a hike on Saturday if the weather cooperates.
2. I wanted to be a nurse so I could be in the navy like my dad. Not sure where I got the idea that was my only option.
3. It‘s not exactly a holiday, but I will be going back to New Jersey next month to housesit for my friends who will be traveling to see the eclipse.
4. Tagged!
#motivationalmonday

Didn‘t see where it was headed. Very clever how it all panned out. Really enjoyed this on audio.

Why have I been snoozing on this for so long? This was the crime novel I needed in my life right now- the perfect refreshing palate cleanser. While you have to have the ability to suspend a bit of disbelief to buy into the time loop concept that underpins this story, I found this original approach to storytelling about a crime both refreshing and compelling. It‘s a complex, twisty story that unravels why rather than who. Highly recommended.

4½✨

This was different.
I enjoyed this backwards time travel, slowly revealing more and more of the truth.
Even when I thought I figured it out, I was still quite taken by the ending and how it changed the whole feeling of the book.

My current reads

A friend recommended this to me because I'm "a mom of boys." ??‍♀️

Having read it, I can see that she recognized in me a mother who would do anything for her children.

In this time-travel story, Jen sees her son kill someone and is so determined to save him, she finds herself traveling back through time to understand what brought her son to that point and if there is anything she can do to correct it.

The story was told very cleverly.

This has been on my TBR pile for quite a while, and it did not disappoint. The reverse time element was intriguing and there were several plot twists, enough to keep me guessing. Recommend!

Went in thinking standard psychological thriller. I got a time travel adventure/mystery/thriller that really did keep even eye-rolling old me guessing, baffled and puzzling. I then also got the most heart-achingly tender portrayal of mothering a teenage boy who is emerging into adulthood, revisiting the guilt and good bits of the growing up years. As I‘ve said before, a mother/teenage son narrative is going to get me every time right now 👇

Really liked this! Still debating on this question though - if the ability to travel back in time existed, to potentially change an outcome, what would you do? I‘m still not sure 🤔
#bookspin for January complete!

So cold outside…. 🥶. Good day for a new book and a new puzzle!
#audiopuzzling

Surprised myself with how much I liked this one! Telling the story backwards was such a unique idea. Perfect blend of secrets, time-travel, discoveries, and familial bonds. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a good suspenseful thriller read.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time
I also enjoyed My Murder, Killers of a Certain Age,
and started a new-to-me series beginning with My Sister‘s Grave

The Spy Coast - a new Tess Garrison

I traditionally read police procedurals- Alex Cross, Eve Dallas, Kay Scarpetta, Temperence Brennan, and now Robert Dugoni‘s Tracy Crosswhite
#iHaveQuestions

A murder takes place immediately. Jen is watching out the window when she sees her son murder a stranger outside their home. Then this book takes a quick turn and Jen starts going back in time in order to figure out who this person is and why her son just killed him. Kinda like Groundhog Day but better. Really enjoyed this one!

I love a good time travel story and this one did not disappoint! How far (back in time) will a mother go to keep her son from committing murder??

Starting this book club choice, I thought I‘d be slugging through it, but I really enjoyed the listen! I do love a good time travel book and was intrigued by the time loop Jen was stuck in as she continued to go back in time putting the pieces together after her 16 year old commits a murder.

Thank you for my lovely gifts, Jenny! @jenniferw88

The book sounds great, I love the little extras (always a fan of stationery!), and of course the 🐿️ card is gorgeous!

😘

Jen watches her son commit a murder and then travels backwards in time to try and figure out why it happened and how she can prevent it. I did enjoy this book although I found that it did drag a bit at the beginning of the book. The twists were good and kept me guessing for the first part of the book - once I got to the middle-end of the book I was able to put it all together. The writing was ok - but overall I enjoyed this book.

3⭐
...still trying to wrap my head around the high ratings for this book.
I just didn't like it 🤷‍♀️
It's a mediocre mystery soaked through with ramblings about motherhood guilt and insecurity. It was sad and pretty boring and I figured out all the big twists before they happened.
Was it the worst thing I've read...no... but I'm hesitant to read more by McAllister now 😶

It is a cloudy, gloomy day so I'm starting this book with an iced coffee for my October book club. I find the concept of going back in time to figure out why the crime was committed quite interesting so I'm excited to dive in.

#IcedCoffee #GloomyDay #Thriller

This was such a smart time-jumping, mystery-thriller, family-drama. I need to read more by this author!
🦋 ⏰🦋

The #orangestack from my #scarathlonTBR! #autumnplease #spookyghostclub

Great premise and writing. I‘m having a hard time putting the audio down. Life is getting in the way of my reading!

Started off a little slow but the premise had me intrigued. I‘m glad I stuck with it. It ended up somewhere I was completely surprised by. Lots of twists throughout and a satisfying end thought provoking ending. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

😲😲😲
I need a moment to process the game-changing plot twist I just witnessed. There's nothing like a good mid-point jolt!

One of the best books I‘ve ever read! Genius. A must read! I cannot say anymore without giving spoilers but this book really is one of the most clever, most engaging novels I‘ve ever had the pleasure to read.

Haven‘t been to this particular beach in a while. I started this #reesesbookclub pick and the suspense starts immediately, in the 1st chapter. The story line includes a lot of “going back in time” and trying to fix the wrongs. So enjoyable, you can‘t wait to turn the next page #summerreading #librarybooks #beachreads #bookclub

I'm not a huge thriller reader, but this one was really good!

Finished this one in a day as I couldn‘t stop listening! A woman goes back in time to stop her son committing a crime. This was such a clever thriller with fast pacing which will keep you turning the pages

#SummerSpecial Day 23: A #MotherSon story that I had to read for the Emirates Lit Foundation book club last month. Our discussion indicated how most of the members did not particularly like the story. While the idea seemed clever / ingenious at first glance, the characters felt flat and unidimensional. Paired with cold mezze from our favorite Turkish restaurant.

#SummerSpecial Day 13: This sort of Groundhog day almost feels like #PandemoniumDay as life seems to proceed backwards for the protagonist in her efforts to prevent a murder.

This had an interesting concept: being in a timeloop to prevent your son from committing murder. I was hooked for the first couple of hours trying to figure out what was happening to Jen and trying to figure out the story. However, the middle was a little dull for me that I just wanted it to end. Luckily, the last 3 hours of the book was thrilling and I found the ending interesting. 3.5 🌟

#BookSpin #11 #ispyBingo
@TheAromaofBooks @Clwojick