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The Cotswolds Time-Slip Series #1
Running Behind Time
There’s a wrinkle in time on the 15:15 train from Paddington to Cheltenham Spa.
It’s the Summer of 1982, and Beth Sawyer is thrilled to have landed the title role in a play. It may only be in a fringe theatre in Shepherd’s Bush, but it’s the start she’s always dreamed of.
It’s the Summer of 2020, amid the global pandemic, and Tom Brookes is furloughed. Unable to face lockdown in a tiny city flat, he moves back to his mother’s cottage in the sleepy Cotswold village of Stoatsfield-under-Ridge.
Neither of them expects an everyday train journey to throw their normal lives so spectacularly off-course.
This is the story of an extraordinary encounter between two people who should never have met.
It’s the Summer of 1982, and Beth Sawyer is thrilled to have landed the title role in a play. It may only be in a fringe theatre in Shepherd’s Bush, but it’s the start she’s always dreamed of.
It’s the Summer of 2020, amid the global pandemic, and Tom Brookes is furloughed. Unable to face lockdown in a tiny city flat, he moves back to his mother’s cottage in the sleepy Cotswold village of Stoatsfield-under-Ridge.
Neither of them expects an everyday train journey to throw their normal lives so spectacularly off-course.
This is the story of an extraordinary encounter between two people who should never have met.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2021
135 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Jan Turk Petrie
14 books25 followersJan Turk Petrie is an award winning writer who lives in the Cotswolds area of England (UK).
She is the author of twelve novels including:
The fast paced, Nordic thriller series: the Eldísvík Trilogy,
'Running Behind Time' and the three other volumes of her bestselling Cotswolds Time-slip Series
'Too Many Heroes' - a noir thriller set in London England in 1952.
'Towards the Vanishing Point' - a tense, domestic drama mainly set in the 1950s
'The Truth in a Lie' - Jan's first contemporary novel dealing with family dramas and relationships.
''Still Life with a Vengeance' - a contemporary story of a woman whose rock star husband is accused of rape.
Jan's latest novel - 'Falling Apart' a dystopian triller full of twists and intrigue.
A former English teacher with an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Gloucestershire, Jan has also penned numerous, prize-winning short stories.
She is the author of twelve novels including:
The fast paced, Nordic thriller series: the Eldísvík Trilogy,
'Running Behind Time' and the three other volumes of her bestselling Cotswolds Time-slip Series
'Too Many Heroes' - a noir thriller set in London England in 1952.
'Towards the Vanishing Point' - a tense, domestic drama mainly set in the 1950s
'The Truth in a Lie' - Jan's first contemporary novel dealing with family dramas and relationships.
''Still Life with a Vengeance' - a contemporary story of a woman whose rock star husband is accused of rape.
Jan's latest novel - 'Falling Apart' a dystopian triller full of twists and intrigue.
A former English teacher with an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Gloucestershire, Jan has also penned numerous, prize-winning short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 16, 2023
Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
Running Behind Time is a time-slip novel set between 1982 and 2020, England. Tom, 2020, is living amid a pandemic. He has been furloughed and had to move back in with his mother in a sleepy village. Desperate for work he speaks to a friend who might have a job for him and arranges to meet him in London. Tom travels to London via the train but never makes it to London 2020, ending up in 1982 instead.
Tom quickly realises he is in the wrong time period and decides that the only way to get back home is to board the same train and hope that he returns. He believes that the essential item to time travel is the train toilet and as the train travels down the tracks he heads for the loo, unfortunately, young Beth gets there before him. Tom thinks he has missed his chance, he didn’t expect to actually return to 2020 and Beth to still be with him.
Tom realises that Beth will need help given that she has travelled 38 years into the future, and help she definitely needs as panic sets in. Over the next few days the pair try to get Beth back home but with the pandemic comes train cancellations and then a landslide onto the tracks meaning that the pair have to sit and wait it out, but whilst waiting around Tom has an idea which he believes will be beneficial to both of them.
I can’t say I’ve read many time-slip novels so this was something different for me. I liked the premise, though if I am honest, I would have loved Tom to have been stuck in 1982 for longer and to go down memory lane, this is an age/nostalgia thing!!
The writing had an easy flow to it and the chapters were short which gave the book an air of urgency to the plot. It was told in the third person and from Beth and Tom’s point of view, with some scenes overlapping as we get to see them through both of the main character’s eyes.
Whilst the main part of the plot was set in 2020 and during Covid-19, this wasn’t the main focus nor played a massive part. Yes, there was mask-wearing and social distancing but this felt natural and just part of normal life in 2020. I suppose readers of this book in ten/twenty years might find this strange, but it keeps the scenes realistic.
I read the book in just two sittings. It was one of those reads where you don’t realise how long you have been reading for as time just melts away in the background and you find yourself fully absorbed in the entertaining story. There was more at play about the time travel which comes alive in the second half of the book, which I didn’t see coming, plus the ending has me wondering if the author is thinking about writing a sequel.
Running Behind Time is a time-slip novel set between 1982 and 2020, England. Tom, 2020, is living amid a pandemic. He has been furloughed and had to move back in with his mother in a sleepy village. Desperate for work he speaks to a friend who might have a job for him and arranges to meet him in London. Tom travels to London via the train but never makes it to London 2020, ending up in 1982 instead.
Tom quickly realises he is in the wrong time period and decides that the only way to get back home is to board the same train and hope that he returns. He believes that the essential item to time travel is the train toilet and as the train travels down the tracks he heads for the loo, unfortunately, young Beth gets there before him. Tom thinks he has missed his chance, he didn’t expect to actually return to 2020 and Beth to still be with him.
Tom realises that Beth will need help given that she has travelled 38 years into the future, and help she definitely needs as panic sets in. Over the next few days the pair try to get Beth back home but with the pandemic comes train cancellations and then a landslide onto the tracks meaning that the pair have to sit and wait it out, but whilst waiting around Tom has an idea which he believes will be beneficial to both of them.
I can’t say I’ve read many time-slip novels so this was something different for me. I liked the premise, though if I am honest, I would have loved Tom to have been stuck in 1982 for longer and to go down memory lane, this is an age/nostalgia thing!!
The writing had an easy flow to it and the chapters were short which gave the book an air of urgency to the plot. It was told in the third person and from Beth and Tom’s point of view, with some scenes overlapping as we get to see them through both of the main character’s eyes.
Whilst the main part of the plot was set in 2020 and during Covid-19, this wasn’t the main focus nor played a massive part. Yes, there was mask-wearing and social distancing but this felt natural and just part of normal life in 2020. I suppose readers of this book in ten/twenty years might find this strange, but it keeps the scenes realistic.
I read the book in just two sittings. It was one of those reads where you don’t realise how long you have been reading for as time just melts away in the background and you find yourself fully absorbed in the entertaining story. There was more at play about the time travel which comes alive in the second half of the book, which I didn’t see coming, plus the ending has me wondering if the author is thinking about writing a sequel.
April 4, 2021
Sometimes I find a book that is so compelling that you finish it one sitting – despite the hour. This is one of them. I found this time travel story so fascinating that I was desperate to find out what happened next. Not only was I totally caught up in the story of Beth Sawyer in 1982 and Tom Brookes in 2020, but it left me thinking about some of the themes examined in this wonderful novel. What is it about the times we live in that is so different from forty years ago? Tom is a man who has returned to live with his mother to sit out the pandemic while furloughed, defined by his lack of work, living in a cottage in a small village. Beth is watching an eclipse, feeling that it is a momentous event, aware that it portends change in the July of 1982. Forty years separates them. It is only when an extraordinary set of circumstances come together that they get a glimpse of another world, of different priorities and possibilities, and an encounter that will shape their lives. In a book which immerses the reader in two different time periods, questions are asked about what has changed, and what are the implications for hindsight. I found it a really good novel, and was very pleased to have had the opportunity to read and review it.
Tom is spending his time walking in the countryside, covering considerable distances. His mother spends her time cooking and listening to Classic FM, and is taken aback when he tells her that he is going to travel to London to see a friend about work. She points out that in July 2020 travelling on a train poses a risk, that he will have to cover his face, that when he comes back he will have to stay downstairs, mindful of the risk of spreading the virus to her. Certainly when he gets onto the train he obeys the rules of sitting a distance from others, wearing his scarf in a “desperado” fashion. When everything changes he is appalled that people are crowding around, with no masks in sight, and openly smoking. Beth is a young actress who has just landed a part in a play in a small theatre, and to please the rather pretentious director decides to spend her day off dressed and speaking like her character. This adds to the confusion when her circumstances change, as she is not wearing her usual comfortable clothing, and confuses those around her even more.
There are many clever plot points in this book, but it is also possible to admire it for the casual references to life in the two time periods such as the cars, the music and of course the mobile phones. There is a lot of humour amid the confusion, such as the influence of local gossip, the problems of clothes, and the small details of daily life which are confusing, such as phone boxes. It is in some ways a disconcerting read, or fantasy, but it is grounded in such practical settings that it is perhaps a little unsettling in a good way. I was impressed at how quickly the characters pick up on the new normal in a pandemic, such as the rules about masks and social distancing, and how defining they have become within such a short time. I thoroughly recommend this book for those interested in how this time may be seen, and how the difference of time can affect our views of life.
Tom is spending his time walking in the countryside, covering considerable distances. His mother spends her time cooking and listening to Classic FM, and is taken aback when he tells her that he is going to travel to London to see a friend about work. She points out that in July 2020 travelling on a train poses a risk, that he will have to cover his face, that when he comes back he will have to stay downstairs, mindful of the risk of spreading the virus to her. Certainly when he gets onto the train he obeys the rules of sitting a distance from others, wearing his scarf in a “desperado” fashion. When everything changes he is appalled that people are crowding around, with no masks in sight, and openly smoking. Beth is a young actress who has just landed a part in a play in a small theatre, and to please the rather pretentious director decides to spend her day off dressed and speaking like her character. This adds to the confusion when her circumstances change, as she is not wearing her usual comfortable clothing, and confuses those around her even more.
There are many clever plot points in this book, but it is also possible to admire it for the casual references to life in the two time periods such as the cars, the music and of course the mobile phones. There is a lot of humour amid the confusion, such as the influence of local gossip, the problems of clothes, and the small details of daily life which are confusing, such as phone boxes. It is in some ways a disconcerting read, or fantasy, but it is grounded in such practical settings that it is perhaps a little unsettling in a good way. I was impressed at how quickly the characters pick up on the new normal in a pandemic, such as the rules about masks and social distancing, and how defining they have become within such a short time. I thoroughly recommend this book for those interested in how this time may be seen, and how the difference of time can affect our views of life.
May 19, 2021
Running Behind Time
When Tom hops on a train for London in July 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, he never thought in his wildest dreams that the train would transport him to 1982. Believing the only way back to the 21st century is to travel on the same train for home, he catches the train hours later for the return trip. On board, he encounters Beth. A young woman on her way to visit her aunt. But when the train goes dark and she touches his arm, Beth inadvertently travels with Tom back to 2020. And getting her to believe the world is a different place than the one she left behind, is going to take some time.
This time-slip story by Jan Turk Petrie is a fun read. I found it well written and the storyline held my interest. There are some surprises along the way that I didn’t see coming. But one of the biggest surprises was the abrupt ending. It felt like there should be more, and it would be a lie to say I wasn’t a bit disappointed. I’m hoping there’s a second book in the works. If there is, perhaps the author should consider adding book 1 so readers understand the story continues.
When Tom hops on a train for London in July 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, he never thought in his wildest dreams that the train would transport him to 1982. Believing the only way back to the 21st century is to travel on the same train for home, he catches the train hours later for the return trip. On board, he encounters Beth. A young woman on her way to visit her aunt. But when the train goes dark and she touches his arm, Beth inadvertently travels with Tom back to 2020. And getting her to believe the world is a different place than the one she left behind, is going to take some time.
This time-slip story by Jan Turk Petrie is a fun read. I found it well written and the storyline held my interest. There are some surprises along the way that I didn’t see coming. But one of the biggest surprises was the abrupt ending. It felt like there should be more, and it would be a lie to say I wasn’t a bit disappointed. I’m hoping there’s a second book in the works. If there is, perhaps the author should consider adding book 1 so readers understand the story continues.
October 2, 2021
Interesting plot
Thoroughly enjoyed this story. Twists and people who we didn't know who they represented til quite near the end. I guessed the outcome of the final chapter but felt it could have had more added at the end or maybe a sequel about the characters. Otherwise couldn't put it down. Thank you for such an interesting plot Jan 💓
Thoroughly enjoyed this story. Twists and people who we didn't know who they represented til quite near the end. I guessed the outcome of the final chapter but felt it could have had more added at the end or maybe a sequel about the characters. Otherwise couldn't put it down. Thank you for such an interesting plot Jan 💓
July 11, 2021
A delightful read
This book starts out by being incredibly funny..I was almost passing out at the opening scenes with Tom and Beth. It soon gets a bit more serious though. A very clever angle on the time travel genre so popular at present.
This book starts out by being incredibly funny..I was almost passing out at the opening scenes with Tom and Beth. It soon gets a bit more serious though. A very clever angle on the time travel genre so popular at present.
December 17, 2024
Cracking story bit slow to really start but when it does hold on tight...
May 5, 2022
A carefully plotted, meticulously detailed, and well-paced time travel suspense novel. The author focuses on developing the characters while revealing little about the time travel process. Perhaps more will come out in a sequel. Incidentally, this is the first novel I’ve read that is set during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic—interesting to see how it was handled. By the way, I hope the Elvis Costello song that was alluded to was “Man Out of Time”.
August 5, 2022
Terrific time-travel romance
This is great book, with a central love story between two people from different times that you're always rooting for, but with elements of mystery subtly woven into the narrative. It's fantastical in parts but the story engages you because its characters and settings are so grounded in reality. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.
This is great book, with a central love story between two people from different times that you're always rooting for, but with elements of mystery subtly woven into the narrative. It's fantastical in parts but the story engages you because its characters and settings are so grounded in reality. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.
December 18, 2023
Ok. Took a while to get going.
November 22, 2021
Beginning in the COVID lockdown of 2020 that already seems almost impossibly strange, this story carries you with it from start to finish. The setting in the Cotswolds is beautifully evoked and while the characters sometimes seem hard to catch hold of, the title tells you why this should be so.
I was almost rude to dear friends in the way I whizzed through this gripping tale and found the ending most satisfactory. I shall be reading more by this author.
I was almost rude to dear friends in the way I whizzed through this gripping tale and found the ending most satisfactory. I shall be reading more by this author.
January 31, 2023
Excellent! A couple of grammar mistakes which I struggle with but trying to look past that. Brilliant book, can't wait to read the next one 🙂
May 23, 2021
This is a delightful read! A love story that takes place as a result of a time slip, written from two points of view in easily digestible chapter lengths makes it perfect for summer holiday reading. The time slip which propels Tom back to the early 80s is meticulously researched and is a great reminder of how things have changed. The present day, although set in the heatwave of the first lock-down is a timely reminder of what life was like when we first had to social distance and wear masks. I particularly liked the minor characters; all beautifully drawn and well observed from the women in the local shop to the ticket seller and also the humor that's dropped in from time to time. I know I will re read this.
April 17, 2021
This is a really enthralling and very clever book. Jan Turk Petrie never ducks a challenge, moving between genres seemingly without effort. Her exploration of time travel in Running Behind Time is truly accomplished. It was a genuine page turner for me - I can't remember when I last read a novel so quickly.
Derek Healy
Derek Healy
January 2, 2024
Apologies, I have read the four books in this series back-to-back and I am no longer sure what happens in which book.
Tom Brookes has moved back to his small home Cotswold village of Stoatsfield-under-Ridge to live with his mum during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020. Furloughed from his travel job he is drifting aimlessly. A friend offers him a potential job opportunity in London and he gets on a mostly empty train bound to London. However, when the train goes through an exceptionally long tunnel Tom finds himself inexplicably on a crowded train with people smoking and no-one wearing a facemask! After trying (and failing miserably) to buy a flat white with skinny milk at the station when he gets to London, and flabbergasted at the low prices, refused card payment by the vendor, Tom realises he is no longer in 2020, but seems somehow to have travelled back in time to 1982. He decides that the time-slip must have occurred in that long tunnel, one which he doesn't recall ever having travelled through before, and therefore logically to get back to 2020 he needs to get back on the same train going back home and recreate his every move.
Its 1982 and Beth Sawyer, an aspiring young actress, is going to Cheltenham to visit her aunt. As the train unexpectedly enters a long tunnel she stumbles and grabs hold of a young man. When they emerge from the tunnel she discovers that the train is far less crowded, her bag has disappeared, and the stranger she grabbed hold of is insisting that she has time travelled to 2020.
Having successfully returned to 2020, Tom thinks Beth can just do the same thing in reverse to return to 1982 but then there's a landslide and all London-bound trains are cancelled indefinitely.
This was an interesting twist on time-travel and I thoroughly enjoyed it, although it was never clear to me how Tom involuntarily travelled back to 1982 in the first place.
Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Tom Brookes has moved back to his small home Cotswold village of Stoatsfield-under-Ridge to live with his mum during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020. Furloughed from his travel job he is drifting aimlessly. A friend offers him a potential job opportunity in London and he gets on a mostly empty train bound to London. However, when the train goes through an exceptionally long tunnel Tom finds himself inexplicably on a crowded train with people smoking and no-one wearing a facemask! After trying (and failing miserably) to buy a flat white with skinny milk at the station when he gets to London, and flabbergasted at the low prices, refused card payment by the vendor, Tom realises he is no longer in 2020, but seems somehow to have travelled back in time to 1982. He decides that the time-slip must have occurred in that long tunnel, one which he doesn't recall ever having travelled through before, and therefore logically to get back to 2020 he needs to get back on the same train going back home and recreate his every move.
Its 1982 and Beth Sawyer, an aspiring young actress, is going to Cheltenham to visit her aunt. As the train unexpectedly enters a long tunnel she stumbles and grabs hold of a young man. When they emerge from the tunnel she discovers that the train is far less crowded, her bag has disappeared, and the stranger she grabbed hold of is insisting that she has time travelled to 2020.
Having successfully returned to 2020, Tom thinks Beth can just do the same thing in reverse to return to 1982 but then there's a landslide and all London-bound trains are cancelled indefinitely.
This was an interesting twist on time-travel and I thoroughly enjoyed it, although it was never clear to me how Tom involuntarily travelled back to 1982 in the first place.
Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.
March 24, 2023
I love time travel books, so was delighted to find the time slip series. I have read a lot of them in the past, but this one caught my eye because it was set around a perfectly normal person in 2020, struggling to cope in the pandemic after being furloughed from work, and taking a perfectly normal train journey to London looking for work.
The problems start when he arrives in London... in 1982!
The concept is brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole story and the choices Tom and Beth have to make as he tries to get back to his own time, but that's only the start of their problems!
I am definitely going to read the sequels. If they are as good as the first book, then I am in for a treat!
The problems start when he arrives in London... in 1982!
The concept is brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole story and the choices Tom and Beth have to make as he tries to get back to his own time, but that's only the start of their problems!
I am definitely going to read the sequels. If they are as good as the first book, then I am in for a treat!
January 22, 2023
I loved this book and it's yet another idea I wish I'd come up with myself (how I rate a really good book, IMHO of course!).
It's well written and very cleverly highlights the difference between now and the 1980's, even without the fact that "now" is at the height of the covid pandemic.
Yes, there's a few holes and questions that should have been asked, but it's fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable (enough that I finished it in a week when even my favourite books often take a month).
I'm just downloading the second in the series now, and can't wait to get started.
It's well written and very cleverly highlights the difference between now and the 1980's, even without the fact that "now" is at the height of the covid pandemic.
Yes, there's a few holes and questions that should have been asked, but it's fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable (enough that I finished it in a week when even my favourite books often take a month).
I'm just downloading the second in the series now, and can't wait to get started.
September 21, 2022
not bad
Lots of unnecessary scenes such as buying clothes or describing a journey. I wasn’t convinced by the main characters attraction for one another, either. They both seemed one dimensional.
Lots of typos, too.
But… it’s an easy, comfortable read. And I’m interested to know what happens so will buy book 2.
Lots of unnecessary scenes such as buying clothes or describing a journey. I wasn’t convinced by the main characters attraction for one another, either. They both seemed one dimensional.
Lots of typos, too.
But… it’s an easy, comfortable read. And I’m interested to know what happens so will buy book 2.
August 27, 2023
This is the kind of book that grows on you, meaning that it becomes much more gripping as you near the end. This is a time travel story with some unusual twists and differences that makes it a bit unlike other books I've read. I'd love to describe some of those enticing differences but that would require spoilers. You'll just have to read.
January 15, 2022
Good plot, shame about the typos
A book with lots of typos makes me feel a bit cheated for some reason. Good plot, not brilliantly written but not too awful. I made it to the end so it must have been good enough to keep me reading despite the spelling mistakes etc.
A book with lots of typos makes me feel a bit cheated for some reason. Good plot, not brilliantly written but not too awful. I made it to the end so it must have been good enough to keep me reading despite the spelling mistakes etc.
August 7, 2022
Very interesting take on time travel
Other than a few too many editing errors, I found the story unique, interesting and quite compelling to keep reading. I suspect my curiosity will soon see me downloading the next book in the series.
Other than a few too many editing errors, I found the story unique, interesting and quite compelling to keep reading. I suspect my curiosity will soon see me downloading the next book in the series.
February 1, 2023
Good storyline, well executed
A locally based story that I came across by chance. The characters are well thought out and the story is compelling. I shall certainly buy book 2. Very much enjoyed.
A locally based story that I came across by chance. The characters are well thought out and the story is compelling. I shall certainly buy book 2. Very much enjoyed.
dnf
May 12, 2023DNF @ 50%; just didn't catch my interest right now.
May 14, 2023
Enjoyed!
Nice to read a contemporary time travel romance. The market seems to be flooded with ginger haired Irish or Scottish historical figures, all following similar formulas. This was a pleasant, easy read, and I'm downloading the next one now.
Nice to read a contemporary time travel romance. The market seems to be flooded with ginger haired Irish or Scottish historical figures, all following similar formulas. This was a pleasant, easy read, and I'm downloading the next one now.
October 23, 2023
Running Behind Time (The Cotswold time-slip series Book 1)
Tom has powers that he doesn’t know. He slips through time he thinks because of a train. When he finds his way back somehow he brings back a girl. He gets her back where she belongs but he can’t stay.
Tom has powers that he doesn’t know. He slips through time he thinks because of a train. When he finds his way back somehow he brings back a girl. He gets her back where she belongs but he can’t stay.
December 27, 2023
brilliant clever book with loads of twists
Really well written book slow to start but very clever once it gets going love time travel books and this is up there with the best now need to read the next one!
Really well written book slow to start but very clever once it gets going love time travel books and this is up there with the best now need to read the next one!
January 12, 2022
Slightly different take on the time travel idea. Once I got into it I couldn’t put the book down. I’ll be looking for more by this author.
March 14, 2022
very interesting
Wasn’t really interested in this book but as I carried on it became very interesting I hope things work our for Tom & Beth
Wasn’t really interested in this book but as I carried on it became very interesting I hope things work our for Tom & Beth
April 7, 2022
Another great read from Jan Turk Petrie. Full of engaging characters and intriguing plot lines.
May 18, 2022
Interesting slant on the time travel genre. Enjoyed it enough to start on the next book.
June 18, 2022
Good
I liked the story but it lacked something in quality and depth. I will try the sequel and see if it improves.
I liked the story but it lacked something in quality and depth. I will try the sequel and see if it improves.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews