FeaturedTime Travel

The Timepiece and the Girl Who Went Astray

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Loved it! 😍

An exciting book with in-depth characters that demonstrates a great written narrative mixed with an interesting and original story.

When William Wells travels into London on his girlfriend's instructions to find an elusive second-hand shop on frying pan alley, he does not expect to be thrown headfirst into a time-travelling scandal that has him become suspect number one in several murder cases. Does Wells have what it takes to outwit the law and become the worthy bearer of an ancient time-travelling machine?


Thank you to Reedsy and O.R Simmonds for this ARC of The Timepiece and the Girl Who Went Astray. This book has a lot going for it. When William Wells buys a gift for his girlfriend, he has no idea that he has actually bought a powerful time-travelling device that throws him headfirst into a scenario where he is suspected of murder. Mix that with the mysterious disappearance of Abigayle, William Wells has to leave his normal life behind as he runs from the law whilst at the same time discover what happened to his missing Abigayle. With the strange and mysterious Frenz Belingi, Wells must do whatever it takes to save Abigayle and clear his name.

Protagonist William Wells and his trusty sidekick Frenz Belingi both feel well rounded, and their excellent character development truly enriches the story. Simmonds has nailed the development of the characters throughout the book. However, at times, I did find the dialogue a little clunky. Though, if truth be told, this did not distract me from enjoying the book.


From the beginning, the book has you guessing at what might be going on behind the scenes. To me, everyone in the novel felt like the suspect. In many ways, the novel radiated the themes of a mystery novel from the outset. The mysterious Timepiece Wells buys from Belingi's store turns out to be a time-travelling machine missing from an organisation known as The Office of Time Dissemination. When Wells goes home and presents his find to his girlfriend Abigayle, something strange happens, and she disappears before his eyes. From here, Wells must learn about the mysterious Timepiece if he has any hope of finding out what happened to Abigayle.


The story is told at a steady pace, and Simmonds does an excellent job of holding back enough information to keep the reader guessing. Some scenes in the book I found could have been heightened slightly, but again, this did not interfere with my enjoyment.


If you enjoy time-travelling novels, then this book is a no brainer. It is filled with fast-paced action that will leave the reader on the edge of their seat. In addition, the character progression is done brilliantly. I also love how Simmonds was able to masterfully weave real-world historical events into his narrative and tie them into the events of his novel.


To conclude, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The narrative is well written, and Simmonds does an excellent job at weaving a story with in-depth characters. The ending felt satisfying and felt like it tied off the novel, yet it left me wanting more. My only niggle would be that the narrative needs to be tightened up in some areas but overall, it was a pleasure to read, and I am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Reviewed by

My name is Dan Crocker graduate in English Literature & Creative Writing (First Class) from the University of Central Lancashire I am looking forward to joining the discovery community and discovering some great new reads!

PROLOGUE

About the author

Oliver R Simmonds is a Writer and Artist working in the Games Industry. After nearly a decade dreaming up deep, detailed worlds with weaving narratives only for them to be ‘value engineered’ by clients, he decided he no longer wanted to be a frustrated writer and to be an actual writer instead. view profile

Published on July 30, 2021

100000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Worked with a Reedsy professional 🏆

Genre: Time Travel

Reviewed by