The 25th Hour

Jaye
Garland
Genre: 
Historical

PARANORMAL/TIME TRAVEL:  Houston architect Sheridan Wells accidentally falls through the fabric of time in a way that keeps the reader searching for the cause as much as the character does!  In 1877,  Alexander Reed morns the death of his departed wife, locking away his heart when Sheridan arrives in his home. He intends to dismiss her but his five-year-old daughter has latched onto Sheridan and her kind attention. While Sheridan tries to find her way home, an accident nearly takes her life, making the villains presence known.

Jaye Garlands premier novel has a nice story arc and a unique instrument for time travel.  The pacing of the story is well-crafted.  While her characters are fully three-dimensional and engaging (including a five-year old child, which is sometimes difficult to do), Garland skirts the details of some rather large conflicts faced by individual characters, which loses some of the power of the tale.  Alexander’s trips away from the ranch feel contrived, and can be seen by the reader as a means to remove him from Sheridan’s side. Taken together, these relatively minor issues can reduce the believability of the story the author is telling.  

 

Garland takes readers on a quiet, but event-filled journey to a time long past with fresh eyes, making the journey well worth any reader's time. An oft-visited trope usually makes a comfortable read, and "The 25th Hour" is a particularly good example.  

 

Shaunna Gonzales