13 godzina

Nick Quinn Thrillers #1

by Richard Doetsch

Biznesmen Nick Quinn i jego żona Julia, wzięta młoda prawniczka, tworzą bardzo szczęśliwe małżeństwo. Pewnego letniego wieczoru Nick słyszy odgłos wystrzału i chwilę później znajduje w garażu zmasakrowane kulą zwłoki żony. Policja natychmiast uznaje go za głównego podejrzanego, nie dając wiary jakimkolwiek wyjaśnieniom. Dowody są niezbite. Ale Nick nie popełnił morderstwa. Wie o tym tajemniczy starszy mężczyzna, który udając adwokata zjawia się w pokoju przesłuchań. Nieznajomy wręcza Nickowi zapieczętowany list i złoty chronometr, radząc mu, aby jak najszybciej wydostał się z komisariatu i – jakkolwiek absurdalnie by to zabrzmiało – próbował ocalić Julię. Z pozostawionej w kopercie wiadomości Quinn dowiaduje się, że od tej pory będzie dwanaście razy przenosił się w czasie, za każdym razem o dwie godziny wstecz, pod jednym warunkiem: nie da sobie odebrać chronometru. W trakcie szalonej podróży do przeszłości będzie miał szansę odwrócić los, uratować żonę i odkryć tożsamość jej zabójcy. Niestety, każda podjęta w przeszłości decyzja zmienia przyszłość i prowadzi do nieprzewidzianych, nierzadko tragicznych skutków...

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Time Travel, Fiction, Suspense, Science Fiction, Mystery Thriller

416 pages, Paperback

First published December 29, 2009

About the author

A Mesmerizing Thriller Told in Reverse
(Yep, you start at the last chapter and go backwards)

Richard Doetsch returns with a stand-alone sequel to his international bestseller, The 13th Hour, published in twenty-two countries.

“At long last, Richard Doetsch returns to the clock-spinning world of THE 13TH HOUR. Its ingenious sequel, THE 13TH HOUR: CHAOS, is a jigsaw puzzle in book form—but that’s not all. It’s a love story, a political potboiler, and a thriller that upends expectations with every turn of the page. It carried me from heartbreaking opening to the razor edge of its ending in one sitting. My foot is already tapping as I wait impatiently for a third installment!”

James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestseller of The Last Odyssey


“I haven’t read a race against time this intense… The 13th Hour: Chaos is a time-bending adventure of epic proportions and scary consequences." Best Thriller Books

“Times flies—only backward—in this riveting new thriller! And the pages fly by, too! The story starts with a bang and hurtles in reverse toward a climax as clever as it is shocking.”

Robert Masello, author of The Haunting of H.G. Wells

“A clever story, cleverly told, by a master storyteller.”

Steve Berrry, New York Times Bestselling Author

A surprising and utterly original thriller, The 13th Hour: Chaos delivers pure, page-turning suspense—full of double-crosses, shocking turnabouts, and the inexorable power of love.





"The Thieves of Legend stole my breath with the sheer audacity of its storytelling, proving yet again that this series gets better with every installment. Bold, richly told, and rollicking with adventure, here is a thriller that demands to be read in one tension-wrought sitting. Count me a fan for life!"
James Rollins, New York Times Bestselling author of Bloodline

"The tension leaps off the pages in this classic, ticking-clock thriller. Watch out. You'll grip the pages so tight your knuckles will turn white."
Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Columbus Affair

"Doetsch continues to demonstrate why he's one of the best thriller writers in the business." Booklist - Starred Review




Half-Past Dawn,

"One of the best thrillers of the year," -- ABC News

"A shocking thriller," -- San Francisco Chronicle

"Gut wrenching" -- The Huffington Post

"Half-Past Dawn is a superb character driven suspense tale." SDSR

"As hard as it is to believe, Half-Past Dawn is even better than The 13th Hour." The Journal Review

Jack Keeler has 24 hour to stop fate before it catches up with him... and the rest of the world.

From the international bestselling author of The 13th Hour and The Thieves of Darkness(both soon to be be major motion pictures) comes a "pulse pounding, mind-bending thriller that rewrites the genre"

Awakening to the mistaken headline that he and his wife, Mia, have been killed, District Attorney, Jack Keeler has only until dawn tomorrow to uncover an ancient mystery hidden in the depths of one of the country's most heavily guarded prisons.

A thriller spanning time, an Asian people out of legend, an assassin who will stop at nothing to avenge his death sentence, and a diary who's contents foretells the future, Half-Past Dawn is a race through the boarders of life and death, insanity and reason, and dreams and reality.

Everything else aside, it's a really fun read that will make you think even after the last page.



The Thieves of Darkness,

A bestseller around the world seems a bit strange for someone like me; I barely speak English, yet I’m published in 34 languages.

The 13th Hour (Atria Books;)—described as a cross between “The Bourne Identity” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife”—was acquired by New Line Cinema with Michael De Luca as producer and Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (“Wanted” / “3:10 to Yuma”) as screenwrite

Reviews

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad for a summer beach read. But the characters were all too idealized (every good person was handsome or pretty and virtuous and wealthy, while the bad guys were all ugly, inside and out). Also, the contradictions to scientific time travel reasoning really piled up. In the end it is decided that all the misadventures were in alternate time streams, but everything is ducky in the one that matters. As a reader I have to wonder why I should have cared about any of the prior incarnations of the characters at all. So my complaints are that the characters are not ordinary people, and they get dispatched and replaced too easily. Lastly, the ending clearly screams sequel, but by then I wanted a real ending.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright. So.

What to say about this one?
Let's start with the fact that if I ever read the phrase "gun at the small of his back" one more time, I might hurt myself. And if anyone EVER describes someone else as beseechingly like, looking at the clock, or desperately wondering if there will ever be enough time to save those they love, I might vomit. This book was just RIDDLED with the same phrases over and over and over again, and had a whole lot of really horrible metaphorical and long-winded bits of description that just transported me right back to grade 12 Writer's Craft. You know, where everyone tries really hard to write in a ~*flowy, ~*beautiful type of prose that's supposed to evoke images of grandeur and wonder but instead are super forced and cliche? Welcome to this book. That's what you're going to get.

I also need to echo what 90% of the people on Goodreads who have read this book said, which is that this book has the worst character development in the history of character development in time travelling books. Like, Julia and Nick were SO. CLICHE. That it almost made me want to put the book down but #jokes not actually because once I start a book I have to finish it. And then the SIDE characters had these long-winded descriptions of their back story that didn't add anything and didn't ACTUALLY give them any more credibility - it just once again reinforced the I-have-a-thesaurus-and-am-willing-to-use-it-profusely Writer's Craft mentality, and made me groan as I thought JUST GET ON WITH IT.

And the plot. The whole stupid plot. It was so boring. The crime that they were trying to stop was boring, the characters were boring, Julia was an IDIOT, Nick was an IDIOT, and like, just so boring. So expected. So passe. SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE ANYTHING BUT INTERESTING. So you may be wondering "hey, why is it a 2/5 and not a 1?" Well, I couldn't put it down for the first 50 pages. And then couldn't put it down because I wanted it to be over. Like, seriously so disappointed that they wanted to kill Julia just because of a robbery #SPOILER. If you're honestly annoyed I spoiled it, don't be, because this book ain't worth your time.

2/5. Can't believe I'm giving it a 2/5.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this on a recommendation of a friend even though I'd disliked another of this author's novels...I went ahead and read it because I thought the concept sounded good. Herein lies the problem...Richard Doetsch comes up with great concepts that could create a great novel, but the execution is lousy. The characters are not well rounded and dialogue is painful at times. It's a shame because there was real promise with the concept. However, if you don't care about the characters, it just doesn't matter how good the concept is.

I struggled to finish the book, hoping it would turn around, but unfortunately it didn't. I won't be reading another of Doetsch's books.

[Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thrilling - that's as succinct as I can say! I was glued to this book for a day and finished it quite fast.

My opinion
The 13th Hour starts with Nick and Julia having a minor disagreement, before Julia sets off to work and Nick spends his day working from home. At almost 7 pm, Julia is murdered and Nick distraught. In the background of this story, a plane has crashed causing the death of all 212 passengers. With all the police at the crash site aiding with relief efforts, only 2 are spared for Julia's murder investigation. Nick is however, soon hauled into prison, with a murder charge hanging over his head, and the police's claim of finding his prints on a gun he had never seen, much less touched before, is threatening to keep him holed up in prison for long. At that point, walks in a European gentleman with a watch and a letter with certain instructions. What follows next is 12 hours of going back in time, learning what really happened, watching his wife die over and over again, bringing about the death of his best friend, Marcus, at one point, as he races against time to change the one thing to save them all.

The 13th Hour was a roller-coaster ride into the last 12 hours of a couple, as Nick tried desperately to save Julia from the clutches of death. It was very suspenseful and had all the delightful elements of a thriller - a bunch of baddies, multiple murders, crime lords, diamonds, wealthy tycoons and innocent protagonists. Each time the clock goes back into the previous hour, Nick learns something new as the magnitude of the entire crime slowly unravels.

All through the book, there is the message of the importance of one's actions echoed very strongly.

One simple selfish act can reverberate through time, through life, robbing a stranger of existence. A loved one could meet her death from the repercussions of a moment or an event she may never know or understand. Yet if this one moment didn't occur, if it could be found, could be taken back, the lives it touched could be changed, could be altered, and that one life saved.

How true that is, and how often we sit back and wish we could undo a lot of our actions. How fitting that when we invented computers, we gave it the now ubiquitous Undo-Redo function. Ctrl-Z has become one of my most pressed buttons on this keyboard. Each hour that Nick gains back, he strives to change things, save Julia. But it's interesting seeing how his different actions during each hour change the events that happen, sometimes bringing about Julia's death earlier than 7 pm. Sometimes, I wished I could see how his different actions changed the future timeline, but since Nick only goes backward, the reader doesn't get to see that. It annoyed me though that Nick wasn't learning from his experience. He kept making the same mistake of trying to change the present, knowing that he is still going to go into the past, and that what he does now will not matter in that new timeline.

I still gave the book only 4 stars because it could have done with some better editing work. While Richard Doetsch's writing is definitely good and something I enjoyed, some portions of the book had needless repetitions and were stating the obvious. Also, the lengthy description of the couple - Nick and Julia, wore me out. There were too many sentences testifying to the fictional fact that the two were a perfect couple, who always loved each other and met under a high-school romantic situation, and always supported each other. The stereotypical perfect American couple. Phew! The wordy descriptions alone made me not like the couple at all. In addition, the first time Nick sees Julia in the past, he gets so overcome with emotions that they have sex. Excuse me? Time is running out, answers are to be found, the killer is coming any time and sex is the first thing on your mind?

Overall though, I found the suspense quotient of this book really high, with its many twists and turns. It was also interesting to read the go-backwards formula work well in this case, (as opposed to the go-forwards formula of most suspense novels).

Title Demystified
This book starts at Chapter 12. It ends at Chapter 13. In between, there are 11 chapters, from Chapter 11 all the way down to Chapter 1. As said in the synopsis, this book is told in reverse. Technically, Nick is the only person going to the past. He is the only constant (LOST vocab!) in all the hours. It is interesting that this book has the title The 13th Hour, since all things of importance happen in the last hour - the 12th hour - Nick's 12th hour in the past. Or is it his 13th hour, since he lives 9pm-10 pm once, and only then starts going to the past. (Was that confusing?)

Cover Art Demystified
Nick is able to go into the past, by one hour each time, only because he was given a pocket watch by the European gentleman. A time-turner, to those familiar with the world of Hogwarts except that he doesn't have to wind it. It pretty much works automatically. (Spoiler alert) The only nagging point I had was when Nick finally returns the timepiece to the owner, who ends up with two of them - the one he had originally in the new timeline, and the one he had given to Nick in the timeline Nick erased. If that's the case, shouldn't there be a lot of such pocket watches in the world, since it had been used a lot of times in the past. That was never explained. And it annoyed me!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well . . . if you're looking for a book with great characters - this isn't it. They're all very stock - perfect couple, loyal friend, evil bad guy, etc. There will be no shades of gray, no depth, no internal conflict.

If you're looking for a book that's well-written - this isn't it. The writing is clunky, and even the basic grammatical editing was poor. There are missing prepositions, articles, "then" was used instead of "than," etc. I can forgive a few editing errors, but this book seemed rife with them. And no, it wasn't an ARC or galley.

However, if you are looking for a unique plot - this book has it in spades.

Nick sees his wife murdered and is sitting in an interrogation room being accused of the crime, when a stranger enters and hands him a watch that will propel him backwards in time, hour by hour, for 12 hours. He has that long to figure out how to stop his wife's death. The story line goes to places that you won't see coming, and the pace is great.

If only the writing were better, this would have been a five star book . . .

[The Girl with the Sagittarius Tattoo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not Timecop or Megan Miranda's All the Missing Girls, but it will make you think of everything that also tried the backwards plot gimmick.

I hated it. I'm a sequential thinker, and anything else is a pain in the ass for me. Plus, this was extra eye-rolly with a very dumb ending. At one point Nick's wife actually says, "the whole magilla."

[Janie Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great thriller this was! This author is a first time read for me, and wow, so glad I read this book. I have never read a book with a plot line quite as unique as this one, which BTW was the reason why I got the book in the first place. I loved the plot, the characters, and especially those adrenaline pumping moments. I did not even know what I was in for.

Imagine you get a (time travel) talisman to prevent the death of a loved one, would you attempt it, would you tempt fate to save someone you loved? Risk the future of others to save one person? That was what Nick had to deal with. He finds himself being accused of killing his wife, sitting in the interrogation room, until a gray haired gentleman gives him a way out. There were so many INTENSE moments in this book. Everything about the book was fantastic.

[Daniel Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book with a few minor issues. First you do not cock a glock, thats now how they work. I am sure someone has pointed this out to the author so I wont dwell on it. I did think the protagonist took an incredibly stupid risk near the end of the book with who he told about the time travel. I just do not buy that he would risk that person taking it and using it. I am trying to be vague here on purpose to not spoil the story for anyone wanting to read the book.

I am on a quest to read pretty much every time travel book and came across this when its sequel came out. The concept here is that the protagonist travels back one hour before the hour he just lived through so a total of two hours back each time. He has to unravel a mystery that lead to the death of his wife and of course save her life. The author is able to do some things because of the mechanics of this time travel story that they cant often do and I really enjoyed the various things that happen throughout the book. There is one particular close call that had I not known there was a lot of book left I really would have felt danger to the protagonist.

This is definitely a book you should read if you like the time travel genre. Lots of edge of the seat thriller action too where things can happen that can not happen in non time travel thrillers! #timetravel #thriller #the13thhour

[Vanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

13. sat
Školska knjiga, 2011.

Ovaj lagani krimić mi je došao u ruke sasvim slučajno. A i nije da sam baš otkrila najbolji krimić na svijetu.
Romanu svakako ne nedostaje akcije, pokvarenih policajca, ubojica, potjera, pištolja... Ali to petljanje s vremenom... to nikad ne ispadne bolje od zamišljenog.
Druga stvar je crno-bijela podjela - svi likovi su ili superpozitivni, uspješni, lijepi, divni i krasni, dok su ostali niškoristi propalice, mutikaše i zločinci.
Nicku ne nedostaje snalažljivosti, odvažnosti i on je, zapravo, glavni pokretač radnje. Što god on odluči učiniti ili promijeniti, val idućih događaja kreće od toga. Autor je valjda htio ukazati kako i najmanja sitnica može promijeniti tok događaja, kao i to da ljudska gramzivost nema granica.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wouldn't have read it, if it wasn't for the bookclub. What I don't like about these Thrillers is that you never get close to any emotions of the charakters. It's only one fact after the other. It doesn't touch me and that bores me really fast. The time travelling fact kept me stick to it. I guess it would work for me as a movie.

[Nute]

3.5 Stars! I was excited to read this. I really liked the layout of the book. It was a very cool idea that since the story was about falling back into the past at the start of every hour and each chapter delineated the start of a new hour, why not list the chapters in reverse order? I hadn't planned to read this book immediately, but an author can get me every time when he begins his novel with a personal note to his reader.

I was intrigued enough with the plot: a distraught husband trying to solve the present time murder of his beloved wife by taking preventative measures and investigative observations in the past. I was far more into my own thought process about 'if only we could turn back the hands of time' than caring about Nick and Julia, that's only because the characters were flat. Their marriage was just a little bit too perfect. Their love was just a little bit too flawless. You want to pull for love to survive because it has struggled to exist...because it has fought for breath...because it has overcome insurmountable odds and it deserves a chance. It has earned the right to be. OMG! Nick and Julia were just right from the beginning and never went through anything in their sixteen year history that could be defined as a rite of passage or a survival litmus test, nothing that would cause us to side with them, to align our allegiance with them and battle the good fight with them. I cheered Nick on more for the sake of the cool idea of the story. I wasn't invested in their relationship, well, not until Julia's surprising news is revealed. Then I cared a lot more about Nick's success.

So the story is plot-driven. It's quick enough. It's fun enough. Easy enough to forgive the lack of depth to Nick and Julia's relationship, and, instead, concentrate on the ramifications of time manipulation. That treatise alone is worth the read

[Fictionophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memorable novel, mostly because it was told in reverse! At the opening (Chapter 12), the protagonist, Nick Quinn is being questioned at the police station as a suspect in his wife's murder. He is given the opportunity to travel back in time, in one hour increments, in order that he might save her.
A fascinating premise, it took the author only 30 days to complete the novel! Although there was a lot of repetition in the book, it was necessary due to the time travel element. I was quite surprised to discover that the author wrote it in reverse, just the same way we read it. He claims that the protagonist, Nick Quinn was actually based on himself. Julia Quinn was based on his wife. The character of his best friend, Marcus, was based upon an amalgam of his friends.

The novel was definitely a page-turner with a 'happily ever after' ending. A thriller/love story which explored the age-old question of 'What if?"

[Stefan Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 13th Hour is a well-written, fast-paced thriller with a very interesting and well thought out concept that seems a bit hokie at first, but really draws the reader in and doesn't let go!

The cool thing about this novel is that it works basically in reverse. The main character moves backwards in time throughout the day, one hour at a time, while trying to solve a series of crimes and other circumstances that keep leading to the deaths of those that he cares about.

This is a fairly riveting novel with characters that are likeable (while a bit too perfect to be believable, but hey not any different from a Patterson or Dan Brown novel!) and a fast-paced ever changing plot.

Lots of fun!

[LeseMaus · Rating 5 out of 5]

#ReziZeit #SuBLeiche

🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁
Richard Doetsch
Die 13. Stunde
411 Seiten

Ein Flugzeug stürzt ab, deine Frau ist tot und du bist schuld...
Dann bekommst du plötzlich die Möglichkeit alles rückgängig zu machen, aber du hast nur 13 Stunden Zeit...

Wie der Protagonist musste ich mich erst einmal zurecht finden und brauchte die ein oder andere Seite, um zu verstehen, wie der Hase läuft. Doch dann wurde ich in die Story reingezogen und man möchte Nick Quinn zurufen, was er tun soll.

Ein packender Thriller und echter Page-Turner, der etwas anders ist und mich richtig begeistert hat.
Ein Highlight und eine klare Leseempfehlung!

[Gina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book. In fact I didn't even finish it! I found the details of the book to be cheese ball.....their marriage was perfect, their house was perfect, their dreams of the future were perfect. Good guys were good looking and perfect, bad guys were ugly and horrible. It felt like a high schooler wrote it.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book. Confusing at first, but it becomes clear pretty quickly.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent plot. Loved it!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch on a whim from a thrift shop because I thought it sounded like it had potential. Turns out it was all wasted. At a minimum, I can say that I wished the cast didn't feel like flat stock characters. Anyway, the thing that's supposed to make this stand out is the fact that it's told in reverse. Weirdly, what stood out to me was the Ford Focus that popped up if only because I used to drive one ages and ages ago. Around the time this book came out, maybe a few years later, I noticed that the Taurus would often get shot up or damaged one way or another in action scenes in movies and tv shows - and it does here too so that's a first for me in print!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The backward timeline was a different approach and it made an average story interesting. Changing the future has unintended consequences. Nick could've taken the long approach instead he tried to end the case at every turn and that made for plenty of adventure. It's true characters were simple but that's ok it's not a character study.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. Liked the premise of the book, but the writing itself didn’t do it for me!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page turner! I had never read anything by Richard Doetsch and I look forward to more!

[Giovanni Gelati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, the books of summer fun. The 13th Hour is a very unique and satisfying novel for many reasons. Can I say this is a thriller, a paranormal novel, romance, who-done-it, action /adventure? Why bother to categorize it? Let’s just call it fun and imaginative. If your spouse was killed would you go back in time and save them if you could? Rarely do I like to do things backward, but Richard Doetsch has us do just that, one hour at a time.
The 13th Hour is a very unique read. The plot itself is not something that is terribly unheard of, the death of a spouse. Going backwards in time, discovering things as each hour unfolds, the ramifications of those discoveries, the choices made from each twist and the fates to which those decisions are tied is what makes this novel tick. The action is quick, the characters are engaging and well crafted, we come to care about the outcome and the crossroads as we approach the final hour.
Richard Doetsch puts together a challenging novel in The 13th Hour. I received way more than I expected in this novel; it was a fun read that I don’t hesitate to say put into your Goodreads/Shelfari –to read- list. Going in the opposite direction for once was the right thing to do, although it was one hour at a time. It went quickly, and was satisfying and enjoyable. What more could one ask from a novel?
This was my first read with Richard Doetsch work, but it will just be a jumping off point for me. He has three other novels in print, they are: The Thieves Of Heaven, The Thieves Of Faith, and his newest novel in the series The Thieves Of Darkness. I have read the snapshots of the novel series and to say I am intrigued and excited would be accurate.
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[Lyn (Readinghearts) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea of a book told in reverse really appealed to me and this one didn't disappoint. From the first note by the author, to the last chapter, this book is full of exciting twists and colorful characters. Nick Quinn is the ultimate hero as he races against time to save his wife's life. The life starts with a hook, Nick's wife is murdered, and he is charged with the crime. From there on the crime is pealed back layer by layer as Nick tries to find out who is really behind his wife's death, for only by figuring it out can he save her life in the end.

I liked the premise for this book, and the unique way that the author told the story. The characters were well developed, and there were enough twists and turns in the story to keep me guessing until the end regarding who was on which side, and how it was all going to turn out. In fact, at one part I mentioned that it was interesting how I could tell who not to trust, and Nick Quinn couldn't, but later I found out that I was wrong, and Nick actually had better instincts than I did for the characters. The story enthralled me so much that I couldn't read it fast enough. I ended up doing something that I usually forbid myself to do. I flipped through and speed read parts of each chapter to satisfy my curiosity. Once I felt satisfied, I went back and read the story in earnest.

The only critique I have regarding this book is the poor editing that was done. I know that editing is a hard job, and sometimes errors get missed before a book goes to print, but this book had more errors than most. There were many places in the books where a word would be missing from the sentence (i.e. to, it, of) rendering the sentence incoherent. I would find myself going back and reading the sentence again, slowly to figure out what the missing word was. This happened, not once or twice, but about 15 times throughout the book.

All in all, though, it was a thoroughly delightful read.

[Paul Pessolano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think all of us would like the ability to change something that has happened in our past. Nick Quinn gets that chance.

Nick and his wife, Julia, both have good jobs and are happily married. They have been saving and planning for the time that they can have children and start being a family.

All of these hopes and dreams come crashing down around them when Nick finds Julia murdered in their home.

At 9 pm on July 28th, a gray-haired gentleman gives Nick a talisman that will allow him to go back in time to see if he can find Julia's murderer and see if he can reverse or change the past. He will be allowed to go back in time one hour at a time, for a total of twelve hours. He must accomplish his task by this time or all will be lost.

Nick must also be careful in that what he changes in the past might not resultin what he is attempting to do. It is possible that a change could result in a more serious outcome.

Nick, in the past, is confronted by burglars who have robbed one of his wife's wealthy clients. Their take consists of priceless antique weapons. However, one of the thieves has taken possession of a box that is beyond priceless. Since there is no honor among thieves, a struggle ensues that may give Nick the possibility of saving Julia.

Remember, he must be careful of any changes he makes because it is possible that those changes may lead to other unwanted events.

"The 13th Hour" is a great read for the mystery fan, and will also please those of you who like science fiction/fantasy. A great read that will have you going back to Doetsch's first two books, "The Thieves of Heaven" and "The Thieves of Faith".

[Cait S · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another absolutely outrageous disappointment. Please explain to me how you can have such a cool premise for a story and fail it so utterly. How is this book so mind numbingly boring? How is that possible? I'm so FRUSTRATED right now.

First of all, the writing is awful. Nick and Julia are just picture perfect. They're both beautiful and in shape and rich and smart and friendly and just la-dee-fucking-dah everyone god damn loves them because they're Jesus reincarnated and split in two. They have the perfect jobs, the perfect home, loads of money that they're saving up to raise their picture perfect kids. I was expecting it to go Gone Girl wherein we find out that's all a facade and some really fucked up stuff is happening behind the scenes........ NOPE. The author is just genuinely so shallow that he made them that way. The good guys are Perfect. The bad guys are ugly and vulgar and stupid. What amateurish writing.

Not only are the characters absolutely insufferable but somehow, like I said above, the author manages to take a backwards in time moving murder mystery with a giant plane crush, mobster like thugs, millions of dollars stolen, and more...and put me to fucking sleep. Chapters upon chapters of shit I did not care about at all, that added nothing to the story, just complete meaningless drivel for pages on end.

I'm angry I wasted so much time on this book. The ending didn't make it even close to worth sitting through the garbage pile that was the rest of it.

[Bethany White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was the coolest concept as the story is literally told in reverse. Nick Quinn is given a talisman which allows him to go back twelve hours in time to solve his wife Julia’s murder and clear his own name in the process. This must be done by the thirteenth hour or else he will return to the present, still framed for the crime. It is during this journey that Nick realizes that Julia’s murder is not completely random; he learns the real truth about some of his supposed friends and coworkers. During his efforts, Nick also sees how each of his own actions set things into motion for the future; he has to get this right, and before it’s too late. He must save his wife or his one chance will be lost forever.

I thought this concept was incredible and refreshing. Imagine writing a novel in reverse! I have to wonder if Doetsch created his story in this order originally, or if he simply played around with it and discovered the possibility in retrospect. I thought it especially funny that Doetsch actually provides an Author’s Note for such a circumstance, most likely assuming many might write in to explain the obvious printing catastrophe. Either way, I find this concept truly remarkable and would love to accept the challenge in using this concept in my own writing someday.

[Estephanos · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 13th Hour is a thrilling novel filled with suspense and betrayal. The book follows the main character Nick, after his wife Julia is murdered and he was framed for the murder. He has 12 hours to go back in time, using a mysterious watch that was given to him by a man he doesn’t know, and find out who really killed his wife, and to try to stop them. Personally, I found this book to be confusing at beginning, but then as the murder and the events of the day are described more in detail, things start to fall in place. Nick is forced to re-live the death of his wife, as he looks for clues. However, every time Nick tries to save her, there is always a loophole and she would end up being killed. This book only deserved 4 stars, in my mind, because there were some parts that seemed repetitive. Basically, I felt like the entire first chapter was mentioned again and again throughout the book, and the repetitiveness was tedious. Other than that it was very good, with lots of twists, especially when Julia's killer is revealed to be a person that was very close and helpful to Nick at the beginning of the book. The book also starting at chapter 12 was a nice surprise, and one that many authors would not be willing to do, but it worked well in the book. Overall, I would have to say that this was a fairly good book, and I would recommend it to people that enjoy mystery and suspense.

[Ronald Roseborough · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Quinn is in a holding cell, accused, by two hard nosed detectives, of killing his wife. Left alone for a few minutes, he can only focus on the gut twisting sight of his wife shot through the head, lying on his garage floor where he found her just hours before. Suddenly, a well dressed stranger intrudes on his thoughts, offering Nick a seemingly impossible chance to go back, one hour at a time and save his wife. Thus begins the strange 13 hour journey which turns time on it's head. What if you could go back in time and try to change the future? What repercussions would result from each new twist you placed in the past? How many people would be effected by a single act?
While the premise is exciting , the execution is a bit weak. Having 13 hours to relive, one hour at a time, means a lot of repetition. By the time you have relived parts of the story, 9 or 10 times, it becomes somewhat tedious. Although, the author keeps interspersing some new twists along the way. The character development is about what you would expect in the average thriller. They aren't going to make any lasting impression. The saving grace is trying to figure out what each of the consequences might be from the heroes' attempts to change the past.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The worst part of this book is that it had to end!! I was pleasantly surprised by how well written and entertaining Mr Doetsch writes.

The story starts with our hero, Nicholas Quinn who is accused of murdering his wife Julia with his prints all over the gun that is in the trunk of the car. While being interrogated a mystery European man arrives and gives Nick a letter and a gold pocketwatch that allows Nick to magically relive the past 12 hours hour by hour. The story ingeniously starts at Chapter 12 and works backward until 10 am that morning.

What follows is an amazing tale of friendship, betrayals and an amazing robbery that happens to coincide with a horrific plane crash. Hour by hour tense hour Nick uncovers the sinister plot, but makes a ton of mistakes along the way, almost leading to his death and the end of his quest.

I personally love these types of time travel ideas so maybe Im not the most objective but I thought the author really tied together the pieces well, as this cannot be an easy story to write. I actually plan on re-reading it again very shortly and if you love this genre I would gladly lend anyone this book. MUST READ!!!

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate reading, it is not one of my interests. I find that i rarely have time for it and I could never find a good book that i can drown myself in. Well, the Thirteenth hour has done it. I could not put it down, I read it from start to finish in two days, my record i must say. The story follows Nick Quinn, a man whose wife, Julia, was brutally murdered and he has been blamed. Nick goes back in time in one hour increments in order to solve the murder and to get his wife back. This book was very original, it goes backwards in chapters, something a book has never done. I am anxious for the movie to come out and hopefully there will be a sequel. I can tell that this book is going to do very well and anyone who gives it a poor review clearly would not know a good book if it hit them on the head. I feel honored that i have an ARC because i cannot wait to tell all of my friends that on december 29th, 2009 they need to go out and buy it, because i know they will love it just as much as I did