“Time is an illusion our minds create to give us a sense of direction.”

Harriet Kealty is a single, thirty-one year old policewoman and has recently transferred from London to Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire.  On a personal level, Harri has met someone via an internet dating app. They hit it off right away and she really thought she had found ‘the one‘ – only to have him break up their relationship on the third date…

Now, she has been terminated from her career after a disastrous outcome of a case. Although her reputation in London was stellar, her Staffordshire co-workers just didn’t believe her when she claimed her innocence in pushing a man to his death after a police chase.

Harri is floundering. When she discovers a plea for help written in a discarded library book she becomes interested in its provenance which leads her on a life-changing path. In an amazing coincidence the note in the book leads her to her ex boyfriend, the man who spurned her affections. Harri is wary of coincidences…

“Life is memory. Everything we experience of the world exists only in our minds or the minds of those around us.”

When the last page of this novel is turned you will ask yourself…  “What in the world did I just read?” This has to be one of the most original ‘thrillers’ ever!

When I say thriller, I could be misleading you. It is an amalgam of genres. Police procedural, suspense thriller, science fiction, with a little poetry added in for good measure.

The characters were quite engaging and there were myriad themes touched upon. The deep love between parent and child, betrayal, guilt, grief, human vulnerabilities, nihilism, and the vagaries of fate.

It is a murder mystery that branches off to become an exploration of time. In particular the ‘Block Theory‘ of time. I’ve long been captivated by the whole time/space question, so that part of the novel really appealed to me. The physics aspects of the novel were way over my head, but I did thoroughly enjoy the many philosophical questions posed within its pages. In many ways I feel unqualified to even express an opinion on this thought-provoking and highly original work of fiction. Recommended to those readers who want to have their minds blown…

It is a book with a secret.

This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Atria Books/Simon and Schuster via Edelweiss.         

ISBN: 9781982196189 – ASIN: B09RX4QCSR –  304 pages

When not roaming historic industrial sites in Wales, looking for dramatic settings for post-apocalyptic profile photos, Adam Hamdy is a Sunday Times and international bestselling author and screenwriter.

He writes topical, thought-provoking novels that aim to entertain, and the events in his books are often inspired by real events.

Before he became a professional writer he was a strategy consultant and advised global businesses in the medical systems, robotics, technology and financial services sectors. In his free time he enjoys rock climbing, skiing, sailing and competitive shooting.

Adam Hamdy lives in Mauritius with his wife and their three children.

Connect with Adam Hamdy via his Website and/or Twitter.