And Then She Vanished

And Then She Vanished (Joseph Bridgeman #1)

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I enjoyed this book, but I found it to be a bit too formulaic. So, I'm not giving this book an unfavorable review or trying to wave anyone off from reading it, but I will say that if you have a fondness for time travel stories, you will see this as not offering anything really new.

As a teenager, Joseph Bridgeman experienced a trauma that shaped his life when his sister disappeared. Years later, Joseph is muddling by, using his psychic talent for knowing the provenance of objects by touch to run a failing antique store. He is persuaded to visit a hypnotherapist who unlocks his latent ability to travel in time. He then uses that ability to do what you must surely think he will do based on the premise I've already mentioned.

The story moves along in a pretty logical, connect-the-dots fashion as Joseph learns the limitations and rules of his power. (One of the rules is that the further he goes back, the less time he can spend in the past.) We meet his supporting cast of characters, who are all likable and supportive. Joseph gets breaks in moving forward in his efforts just as he needs to get those breaks. He's a likable guy. The story is likable. In the end, we are shown that there is a league of time travelers who protect the timeline, or at least that's my inference.

It's a nice book. In some ways, I saw this as a kind of superhero origin story.

I had problems with it for a number of reasons. First, the time-travel element is pure fantasy. Joseph travels through time by wishing it, or, if you prefer because he has a gift for time travel that was unlocked by hypnotherapy. This is handwaving that I would normally give the author as part of the “suspension of disbelief” deal a reader has with the author, except, second, the author had already spent his credit on the psychic ability to know provenance by touching. I understand that the latter is part of the package for time travel, but I really think that the more handwaving an author tosses in the more it seems like Superman's brand new power.

Again, nice book, it can't hurt you, but not a lot of nutrition.