#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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Not typical for Jodi. She has been my favorite author, but this one was a little boring
I enjoy the book. What and ending!
This story threw me for a loop at the end. Would have probably rated it higher had I not gotten bogged down by the seeming endless descriptions of elephant behavior. Or maybe I just needed to be in a different space to enjoy that more.
As usual Picoult twists her readers around in the end. I like that and watch for it but she still surprises me
Jodi Picoult does thorough research and weaves facts effectively throughout her story.
Learn about the social traits of elephants, the result of damage from humans and how similar they may be to us in another Jodi Picoult story of grief and loss.
I thought it was a good story. It contained some surprises, but my favorite thing about it was how the story revolved around elephants.
Surprise at the end I didn’t see coming. Enjoyed it very much.
Jodi picoult is always good!
The elephants were great characters. The ending was pretty irritating.
Jodi Picoult is always great. She always challenges something in my belief system.
This author mever fails
I have enjoyed earlier books by this author which I enjoyed more than this one. My rating is three stars only.
I love elephants and loved reading this book . Was surprised and delighted at the end.
I read a lot of her books and everyone keeps me on my toes love her books
A great story, as usual from this author. I also learned a lot about elephants from reading it.
This book was worth reading for the depiction of elephant society, but the use of individual chapters written in the voices of each of the main characters was brilliant and effective. From this device, the reader has a clearer perception of the interactions among characters.
It is well written, which is common for Picoult. I was expecting her famous twist, but it never came. I enjoyed the book, but it was pretty anti-climactic which is why I gave it 3 stars.
Very well written despite an unexpected ending which I thought was an “easy way out” for the author
Couldn’t stop thinking about it. One of her best.