#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A deeply moving, gripping, and intelligent page-turner about a daughter’s search for her mother, Leaving Time is Jodi Picoult at the height of her powers.Includes the novella Larger Than LifeThroughout her blockbuster career, Jodi Picoult has seamlessly blended nuanced characters, riveting plots, and rich prose, brilliantly creating stories that “not only provoke … prose, brilliantly creating stories that “not only provoke the mind but touch the flawed souls in all of us” (The Boston Globe). Now, in Leaving Time, she has delivered a book unlike anything she’s written before.
For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing to believe she was abandoned, Jenna searches for her mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.
Desperate to find the truth, Jenna enlists two unlikely allies in her quest: Serenity Jones, a psychic who rose to fame finding missing persons, only to later doubt her gifts, and Virgil Stanhope, the jaded private detective who’d originally investigated Alice’s case along with the strange, possibly linked death of one of her colleagues. As the three work together to uncover what happened to Alice, they realize that in asking hard questions, they’ll have to face even harder answers.
As Jenna’s memories dovetail with the events in her mother’s journals, the story races to a mesmerizing finish.
Praise for Leaving Time
“Piercing and uplifting . . . a smart, accessible yarn with a suspenseful puzzle at its core.”—The Boston Globe
“Poignant . . . an entertaining tale about parental love, friendship, loss.”—The Washington Post
“A riveting drama.”—Us Weekly
“[A] moving tale.”—People
“A fast-paced, surprise-ending mystery.”—USA Today
“In Jenna, [Jodi] Picoult has created an unforgettable character who will easily endear herself to each and every reader. . . . Leaving Time may be her finest work yet.”—Bookreporter
“[A] captivating and emotional story.”—BookPage
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Disappointing as a Picault book. Interesting about the elephants but I’m not in to ghost stories. Parts of the story dragged
very engaging and interesting
This was definitely not Picoult’s best. Her writing style is always good, which saved it, but long digressions into elephant behavior made it tedious. The complicated plot was difficult to follow, and more so when I found out that some of the characters that I thought were alive were dead. I wanted to be a referee with a whistle and cry “foul!” I don’t know where she came up with this one, but her publishers didn’t do her any favors by putting it out there!
Great, kept me enthralled.
If the elephant information was researched well, it was very worthwhile to learn more about living with these wonderful, mystical creatures. A good read for that alone!
Dull as dirt and depressing. I slogged thru about a third of the book and deleted it.
Jodi always has great character but this isn’t one of her better books. I’m one of her biggest fans but this book doesn’t rate at the top.
Killer plot twist at the end!
Really loved the characters and wanted them to all be back together in the end. I was surprised by the ending.
I loved reading about the elephants and the ending was a surprise.
This was a good read and a different subject for Jodi Picoult. I have read all of her books, and especially liked this one.
Love Jodis books read everyone this on not her best
Quickly became one of my favorites from this author!!! Did not see the end coming, amazing read!