This style of narrative is so easily consumable, choppy chapters and a happy balance of “science vocabulary” that makes the story fresh to read. The plot, four female scientists who invent time travel. What follows: a very public mental break, a rabbit called Patrick and a locked-door murder. Characterisation is nice and clean. The four scientists, Grace, Barbara, Lucille and Margaret have recognisable details that differentiate them for the reader but not to the point of reductive archetypes.
“We’re finalising a very simple design – the receivers will resemble telephones. The user will speak to an operator who tunes you in to the correct year. When we can call each other across the decades, we’ll drastically cut down on the number of trips we need to take.”
You get a menagerie of characters to keep an eye on, through which you see the psychological effect on the time-travellers who go back and forth, deliberating making lunch plans for their parents (dead to them, in the future) or younger versions of themselves.
This fictional universe that TPOTT sets up is fun to be thrown into, with charming details such as: “The flat smelled strongly of time machines.”
As always, the murder element is fun and throws that investigative and curious lens on time travel science:
“’She had four fresh gunshot wounds in her stomach, one in her left hand, and one in her head.’ Each detail that the police officer provided made the pictures before Odette’s eyes a little more vivid. Odette’s palms were damp. Her breathing was shallow.”
There is an interesting thought pool in this book about the changing relationship to death as time is no longer linear for a lot of the characters. This gives way for a few fair introspective moments, calling time travellers sociopathic in so many words as they become a bit eerily engaged with watching others die, the emotion removed from it.
“To witness my grief. To poke with a stick… You want to feed on my feelings. You’re a vampire.”
To describe this book in one word, I would use “cool”. It is never bogged down by too much heavy description or sci-fi gabble.
Reviewer’s note:
Mascarenhas gets bonus points for naming the team’s mascot rabbit, and test subject, Patrick after the 2nd Doctor.
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