The 13th Hour

Book 18 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from 2/11 - 2/16

The 13th Hour

by Richard Doetsch

Summary 

At 9pm on July 28, Nick Quinn is given an extraordinary opportunity, a chance to rewrite history and save his wife Julia's life. At 9pm, Nick is being held in jail, accused of Julia's murder. He saw her bloody corpse; he knows that she is dead. That's when a grey haired gentleman presents him with a talisman that allows him to go back in time, one hour at a time, for a total of twelve hours. With each hour that Nick journeys back in time, he finds more clues to the identity of Julia's real killer, but he also discovers that his actions in the past have unexpected repercussions on the future. All his good intentions of saving Julia's life may in fact lead to a far greater catastrophe than he could have imagined. If he hasn't set things right by the thirteenth hour, all will be lost.

 My Opinion

4 stars

I wasn't sure about the book at the beginning but once I got past the first jump and into the story I was hooked.  Just as I was growing concerned 12 hours would become too "Groundhog Day" like, everything changed and I couldn't wait to see how it ended.

It was a nice touch having the chapters run backward as well (and the author's note mentioning it so the reader knew it wasn't a typo).

It's also a rare treat to read a mystery that stands alone and isn't much of a commitment, although I now see there is a sequel that I will probably read as well.

Quote From the Book

"Lives are set, actions irrevocable, yet Nick was playing chess, running about, moving the pieces on the board of a game already lost."