From the author of the critically acclaimed Northwest Passage, American Journey, and Carson Chronicles series comes the first book in the Time Box saga.Virginia physicist Mark Lane has a problem. Weeks after privately creating two time machines, he learns his corporate partner wants to use the portable devices for nefarious purposes. Rather than give him the chance to do so, Mark takes the time … the time boxes and escapes to the relative safety of 1865.
For Mark, wife Mary, and their children, the adventure is a chance to grow. Mary runs a business. Jeremy, 19, and Ashley, 12, befriend escaped slaves. Laura, 22, finds her place as a nurse. Jordan, 25, falls for a beautiful widow. All hope to find peace in the past.
Billionaire Robert Devereaux has other ideas. Shortly after Mark’s betrayal, he sends an assassin to 1865 to retrieve his property and set matters straight.
Filled with romance, suspense, and history, THE LANE BETRAYAL follows a modern American family as it tries to find security and contentment in the final weeks of the Civil War.
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I really enjoyed this story. I liked how it followed true history while adding this family to it. It was fun imaging how it must have felt to witness history right in front of your eyes. I didn’t like what happened to one of the sub-characters and would have written it differently but it’s not for me to decide. I recommend this book and I’ll buy the next in the series to continue.
If you are looking for a master storyteller when it comes to time travel novels, then look no further than this author. Time travel can be a tough topic to write about because there are so many possibilities when it comes to the “how” of time travel. I have read multiple books by this author and each time, I have found a new book to love.
In this series, the Lane family is on the run from Mark’s boss and the company he worked for because they wish to do “evil” with the devices he created. He thought they were going to be able to disappear but things didn’t go quite as planned. They did end up in 1865 but not without some potential repercussions from the present in the form of a hired gun.
I enjoyed the historical aspect of this book and felt like I was right in the middle of things in DC during the Civil War and Lincoln’s time in office. I felt that the author stayed as true to the facts of the time as he could but wove in a tale that enhanced what was happening in our country during the Civil War. There is also love and romance, friendship, and betrayal. I enjoyed the thoughts of the Lane and how they couldn’t imagine the President just walking around the town with very little protection. But it was a different time back then and I feel like some people were a bit more refined. There are still plenty of rapscallions to make it interesting.
I also enjoy how the story is told from various viewpoints. I find that it pulls me into the story even more as I see the situation from various character’s thoughts and experiences.
We give this book 5 paws up and I am about to start in on the second book in this series, The Fair, so look for a review very soon.
I enjoyed this time travel story very much. It has just the right amount of suspense, making my heart beat almost out of my chest at times. It is continued with the second book but there is a measure of conclusion in this first book. I look forward to the second & any future books.
It was most educational as well as entertaining
I really loved this book, but then I love ALL of this authors. Of course, I also blame him for my lack of sleep because I’m up for hours reading his books.
I really love the history and the plots. He is one amazing writer.
The Lane Betrayal by John A. Heldt is the first in a new series where this time, it’s more science fiction than the usual time travel that Mr. Heldt has given us previously.
Can the Lane family keep themselves safe in 1865?
The Lane Family
The Lane family consists of Mark, Mary, Jordan, Laura, Jeremy, and Ashley. Mark is the developer and the whole reason the Time Boxes exist, and he wants to keep the past the same, so he took his inventions with him to stop his business partner and friend, Robert Devereaux, from using them for his vendetta. Mary is Mark’s wife and the one that has done a lot to make sure that the family has what they need to make the jump to 1865 successful. Jordan and the other kids had to decide to follow their dad into the past to keep themselves alive.
What I like about the Lane family is that despite the kids being of different ages and the big age gap between Jeremy and Ashley, they are looking out for the others. Each one is also very different in personalities and how their history up to this point has shaped them. However, will they let those experiences control them?
Ashley is twelve, and the only one whose personality will be shaped by the time jumps. Jeremy is still learning some things, but I don’t think it will affect as much. Laura does a lot of figuring out how she will help the family. But will these new experiences change her? Jordan has a military background to help defend the family against whoever Robert sends to get the time boxes back. The parents each have their specialties to support how the family deals with being part of history.
Robert Devereaux
Robert Devereaux is a complex man who has a few sides that he will show to certain people. To the public and the people that work for him, Robert is this successful man who is very charismatic and has just been shunned and humiliated by his business partner. Now to Robert’s friends, he shows his true colors by letting them see that he wants to change the world to what he wants it to be. The world, Robert’s way, wouldn’t be fair. As he wants to change certain things from happening and those closest to him know this.
Robert is an evil man who knows how to cover it up very well. Will his hitman get the time boxes back to him so that he can do his evil deeds? Or will it end badly for him? Those are the two questions that I will be looking for answers to in future installments.
Five Stars
The Lane Betrayal by John A. Heldt has a whole different method of time travel method, and the entire reason why is also different. The Lanes’ motivation is to keep their lives. Mr. Heldt has done a fantastic job on this one, and I can’t wait to read the upcoming books for this series come. The Lanes’ have captured my attention and hope for their survival and possibly for them to somehow go back home.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Lane Betrayal by John A. Heldt.
Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
Mark Lane has learned that his employer plans to use the time travel boxes they’ve invented for nefarious purposes. So he takes his family and the two time boxes and flees to 1865, where the Civil War is nearing its end. They may not find the peace they’re hoping for when the owner of the company sends Silas Bain to kill them and retrieve the boxes. Will they survive?
The Lane Betrayal had quite a few elements going on that made it a fun read. We have Jordan finding love, Mark befriending President Lincoln’s top aide, Laura working as a nurse, and we have the business of the time travel. The historical elements added a lot of fun to this read. The Lanes meet many people in their journey to the past that added so much to the story. They also land in hot water more than once, which adds to the suspense.
I loved that Heldt did a lot of research in this as it’s filled with detailed historical elements. Every person they met in this story had something important to add to the Lane’s journey. The suspenseful element of the manhunt makes it a fast-paced read, hoping they can elude Silas. This is book 1 in the series and I’m definitely looking forward to what more is in store for this family.
John Heldt is back with a new series with the Lane family. This time, it is a time- travelling device that allows Mark Lane to travel through time with his family Like usual, there are limitations to time travelling, and nothing goes according to plan.
In the Lane Betrayal, the family faces problems. As this is their first time, the errors are glaring to me as a reader, but probably will run through if I am stuck in the past. Mark and his wife are trying to keep the family safe, as they know that peace is not going to last.
Going to 1865 is a great time to start with time travel, I have learned a lot about American history. A parent’s desperation coupled with unstable times, this is an explosive start to a series that will charm all time- travel fans. It is informative for me because I have not read much about American history. I know that John Heldt does his research very thoroughly and some events did indeed happen.
4.5 STARS—THE LANE BETRAYAL by John A Heldt is the first instalment in the historical, time travel, TIME BOX series focusing on the Lane family.
Told from several third person perspectives THE LANE BETRAYAL follows in the wake of Virginia physicist Mark Lane’s attempts to stop a madman in the year 2021. Having created two time machines known as the Time Box, Mark Lane discovers that his business partner, billionaire Robert Devereaux, wants to use the Time Boxes for questionable purposes. Having prepared for weeks, Mark Lane and his family pull up roots, and send themselves, along with the Time Boxes, back in time to 1865, just weeks prior to the end of the Civil War, Lincoln’s re-election, and eventually the president’s assassination but travelling back to a time where history Is about to repeat itself, means the Lane family must struggle with the knowledge of what is going to happen and when. As the family settles into life in 1865, Robert Devereaux back in 2021, hires a hit man, that he will send back in time, to destroy the Lane family, and take back what he believes belongs to him.
There is a large ensemble cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters including many historical figures like Abraham Lincoln, John Hays, US Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, as well as John Wilkes Booth. We are introduced to the Lane family: Mark and Mary Lane, their children Jordan, Laura, Jeremy and Ashley; Mark’s co-conspirator Randy Taylor; Mark’s business partner Robert Devereaux; assassin for hire Silas Bain; injured soldier Sergeant Thomas Nye; former slaves Jane and Lewis, and Jane’s employer Miss Julia Albright; and widow Rebecca Maine.
THE LANE BETRAYAL is a story of family, friendships, history and love. When eldest son Jordan falls in love, the family is caught unaware, as they find themselves on the verge of changing history, in an effort to outrun a modern day assassin in 1865 Washington DC. From vengeance and murder, imprisonment and heart break, the ugliness of war, and the abolishment of slavery, THE LANE BETRAYAL is an intriguing and imaginative story deeply rooted in historical fact and fiction.
Virginia physicist Mark Lane together with business partner and billionaire Robert Devereaux, develop two time-machine boxes, but just before they are ready to be used he learns that his business partner intends to use them for nefarious purposes. He then, together with his family, decides to do all he can to prevent that and they take them and escape to a relatively safe time towards the end of the American Civil War in 1865. For Mark, his wife Mary, and their children Jeremy, 19, Ashley, 12, Laura, 22 and Jordan, 25 all find chances to grow as people as they all have their own adventures. However back in their home era, Robert Devereaux has a completely different view on the situation and works with the employees to fix a prototype box so that he can send a trained assassin in order to retrieve the time boxes and set matters straight with the Lanes. Will the assassin find them or will they escape?
This was a great story that was incredibly well researched so that all the elements of the story that had a basis, in fact, were accurate. It was a mystery story too which definitely drew me in and kept me dying to find out what was going to happen next. I’m definitely invested in this family and their survival and can’t wait to find out what adventures they have in new eras. Well written this was very easy to understand and enjoy. A great series that does not contain bad language nor overtly sexual content.
I have read every single one of John A Heldt’s novels and none of them has ever disappointed me! This first in his new series is just a good as all the rest.
Mark Lane created a time machine and it was proven that it worked! Then he discovered that his business partner wanted to use it for nefarious purposes. Mark uses the time machine to transport his family to the end of the Civil War–1865. They all manage to fit in some how but his business partner is out for revenge. He sends an assassin after them!
Of course, as in all this author’s novels there is suspense, some romance and a lot of action. The scenes and the people of the era will come alive on the pages for you as our country grapples with war, peace and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln!
I am seriously waiting for the next in this series!!
I received an e-book from the author for my enjoyment and a possible review.
John Heldt – Time Box Bk 1 – The Lane Betrayal – Reviewed 3/1/20 – Read 2/29/20
A jump in time and try to save the world, the Lane’s are in for a bumpy flight!
@ddeegott When you figure out that your partner is going to do something so terrible that you can not be a part of it, what do you do? Well if you are Mark Lane, a physicist that was part of the development of a time box, you use it! Doing this will make sure the partner, billionaire Robert Devereaux can’t change the world as it is known. Chancing everything, he and his family, wife Mary, daughters Laura and Ashley and both sons, Jordan and Jeremy used that very box to save the world.
Thus begins an exciting adventure for the six, only they could never have figured that Robert Devereaux would send an assassin to retrieve the box. Mark knew that just leaving would not protect him, so he had made plans that would have them moving very soon. When they arrive in Virginia just prior to the end of the Civil War, they had to make some changes to their plans. Then fate kicked in, and Mark was arrested for being a traitor. Now things are getting really interesting and the story begins!!!!
What did I like? I have read every one of John’s books and knew from them that this would be another great read, I was not disappointed. I think everyone knows that I love time travel. John has the most amazing imagination to come up with his tales, but even better is how he weaves them over true history and involves many real figures from our past. I love how he does it, and I am sure you will too!!!!
What will you like? The action is amazing, the characters are so lifelike but unique. You will feel like they were your neighbors next door. The historical events that are woven into the storyline all the way through will have you on the edge of your seat, knowing what is going to happen but trying to figure the character’s involvements. The details and descriptions are crisp and yet whimsical as the storyline is. The intrigue and emotional stress from the flight and survival modes are so tense that you will not be able to put the book down. One great read that will capture you on page one and does not let go… Wow, I can’t wait for book two.
• File Size: 517 KB
• Print Length: 306 pages
• Publication Date: February 29, 2020
• Genre: Time Travel Romances, Historical Fiction