Cassie's life has never been simple. Orphaned at nine and raised by her grandfather, the past never left her alone. By the time she is seventeen she sees ghosts, hears disembodied voices, and events from history have a habit of rising up to haunt her.
On a visit to the Castle Mall shopping centre in Norwich, the past crashes on top of her. Cassie finds herself transported back to the early 1990s in the company of a woman she's never met. And the woman not only looks familiar but claims she's encountered Cassie many times before.
A mixed-up teenager, trapped between grieving for her mum and caring for her demented grandfather, Cassie thought life couldn’t get much worse. But she is about to fall through a hole in time into nightmarish versions of her home city, where she must dodge demons and figure out what the hell is going on.
This fast-paced, white-knuckle ride through the underworld and past events of Norwich is also a sensitive coming-of-age tale with glimpses of humour amidst the pathos. Working out the riddle of her past in order to protect her future will keep you guessing until the end.
Crisply and imaginatively written, this is an exciting, mind-bending adventure to the Norwich you never knew existed. Heartily recommended.
This book has reminded me how much I like science fiction!
I really resented putting this book down when I had to work or sleep and found myself looking forward to it as an after work treat. The characters are believable and engaging while the plot continually unfolds into multiple layers of intrigue and tantalising twists. Somehow the writer manages to keep everything both incredible and yet somehow grounded in possibility throughout. A fine read, highly recommended and definitely leading me to delve into more of this authors writings!
The book took me out of my comfort zone, as I do not usually read fantasy or sci-fi. I did not have any expectations of enjoying it, but am delighted to say I was very pleasantly surprised. Although I admit I found it difficult to settle down into the story, once I had read the first 30 pages or so l found it absorbing and was genuinely turning the pages wanting to know what happened next. I consider it to be a very well-written book with a good structure. Recommended reading for those who either like the genre or are looking for a change to their normal pattern.
My fourth time of reading the book (27-28th April 2025). Everytime I find small details I’ve missed before. Not my usual genre but I saw the title on a fellow stallholders display and went over. Turned out to be the author. Love that so many true events in the history of Norwich are weaved into the storyline and the descriptions of locations are so clear.
⭐️3.5⭐️ A mind bending trip through time with heroine Cassie. The plot and timelines are densely plotted but the story moves at such a fast pace that it only comes to life fully when it stops for a breather. I would also have liked to have seen less time jumping and more action spent in the past time zones.
I thought this book was very interesting. I didn't know what to expect when I started it, and when I did, there was so much going on that I presumed that it would be far more complicated than it actually ended up being.
There were many things that were set up that were rounded off nicely, if not a bit prematurely (a bit rushed), with the ending. My personal theory is that Kay actually was the original Cassie, and by her memories are all real. Time ends up splintering because Lawrence messed with things, hence why the dumbos exist. Every time Kay travels back in time, she makes a change that literally effects how she will be born. The portals all get created at individual times when they are most needed and everything. When Kay finally arrives at Cassie, I can't really explain with my theory. But in the end, Cassie decides the best way to fix things is by doing the easiest thing; Occam's Razor, you know. This would technically fix everything but still leave the question of "Who started it all? Who wrote Beethoven's Fifth?" The answer to that question is Lawrence. He didn't orchestrate it, but he set it into motion. Cassie just wrapped it up in a nice little paradox.
This is disproven by quite a few lines and descriptions in the book, however there might be some sort of way that it could still work out.
Overall I enjoyed the book. I liked the time travel and the descriptions of historical times and places, although I have loved to go farther back. Perhaps that will be addressed in later books. Also the ghosts! What's the deal with them? I look forward to reading the next one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.