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Terence Bailey – Dead in Time | Review

Title: Dead in Time

Author: Terence Bailey

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 298

Rating: 4*/5

Terence Bailey – Dead in Time

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This book impressed me because I wasn’t sure whether I was going to like it. In fact, I accepted it for review for two key reasons – it’s a crime novel and it’s set predominantly in Wales. I like crime novels, and I also like crime novels that are set in Britain – especially when they’re not set in London. That’s why I like Peter James’ Roy Grace series – he does a great job of portraying Brighton and it evokes a real sense that you’re wandering along the seafront.

What I didn’t realise – at least, not until I started reading this – is that it has elements of the supernatural, touching on psychic abilities and even using it as a main plot device. For me, that would usually be a turn off, but Bailey did a great job of blending supernatural elements with a police procedural, and the result is a page-turner of a book that makes it easy for you to suspend your disbelief and to just enjoy the book for what it is, rather than trying to pick it apart.

It’s also the first book of the series, and while I won’t spoil the plot by telling you what happens, I can say it ends in such a way that it left me wanting more, and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. This book, then, whets the readers appetite, but it also leaves you feeling hungry for the main course. There are plenty of different directions that the author could take this, so I guess we’ll see.

Terence Bailey

Click here to buy Dead in Time.

Jodi Taylor – Just One Damned Thing After Another | Review

Title: Just One Damned Thing After Another

Author: Jodi Taylor

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 406

Rating: 5*/5

Jodi Taylor – Just One Damned Thing After Another

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This book was a delight to read, something refreshing that I could really sink my teeth into. It’s one of those books where every time it feels like it’s drawing to a close, something exciting happens and shakes things up again. It works well and makes it hard to put the book down.

The author also has a cracking sense of humour, and the subtle little jokes that she uses – as well as the not-so-subtle ones – make it more fun than a regular novel, although she doesn’t skimp on plot and character development, either. I even liked the little bit of sex that was involved, because it was just the right amount – it didn’t feel gratuitous, it felt realistic, and it genuinely added to the story.

Ah, the story. It’s interesting because the world-building here is as good as anything else you’ll see on the market. It’s a bit like Harry Potter for history geeks, a little bit like Rick Riordan but for adults, and with less magic. If anything, it’s sci fi. It follows what happens to the residents of St. Mary’s, a faculty with the ability to travel back in time to observe it. Of course, the temptation there is to meddle, but it’s not that easy. History has teeth and it bites back. You can’t just go and change it because it won’t let you.

I’m not going to give you all of the details, but I will tell you that you get to see a whole bunch of different historical periods, including the time of the dinosaurs – where, incidentally, it all goes a bit pear-shaped. But on top of that, it’s also just a cracking story, a page-turner that drags you in and sets up the rest of the series. I don’t have any of the other books yet, but I shall certainly be looking out for them. It reminds me of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series, except I only got as far as the first book for that one and I’d like to follow this one all of the way – and fast. I want to find out what happens to the St. Mary’s team next. Read it!