Terror Undone: A Turn Back Time Novel

De: Jessi Gage

Narrado por: Marian Hussey

An impossible wish.

Ever since she was a kid, trauma nurse Lydia Clay has been making the same wish every time she sees a shooting star: Save the people who aren’t supposed to die yet. As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, she sees a very special shooting star, a fireball. Such a special star deserves a special wish. An impossible wish.

Lydia wishes that somehow, the attacks of 9/11 could have been stopped and all those people saved.

The next morning, Lydia wakes up in the Brooklyn apartment she called home during nursing school. The date is September 10th, 2001. Impossibly, she has been given the opportunity to stop 9/11. The only question is, how?

An unlikely alliance.

Washington Post journalist Ian Greenberg wants to write feature articles on terrorism but according to his editor, it’s a non-topic. With his local politics column due, he needs to spend his Monday writing. But when he receives a call from a cagey woman promising a lead on a terrorism story, he can’t resist meeting her.

By leaving the office on a writing day, Ian thinks he’s risking his career at the Post. Little does he know, there is much more at stake. Because Mystery-Lead Lady doesn’t have a lead for him at all. She claims she has information about a terrorist attack scheduled to take place the very next day. And she needs Ian’s help to stop it.

A race against evil.

To undo a terrible wrong, a woman from the future and a skeptical journalist with government connections must turn back the clock on evil.

©2021 Jessi Gage (P)2021 Jessi Gage

Riveting

Lydia is a charge nurse in 2021 who just lived through the COVID pandemic. She divorced her husband a year ago and recently moved to her family home in Nebraska with her teenage daughter. Like many Americans, Lydia has always been fascinated and horrified by the events of 9/11/2001. She has read every book on the subject and knows all the details.

Early in the novel (through a completely unscientific event), Lydia wakes on September 10, 2001. She quickly realizes that perhaps she has the opportunity to prevent 9/11. The only problem is that she appears to be her younger self; a 23-year-old nursing student with no government ties.

Lydia decides that the best person to help her is Ian Greenberg a fictitious young journalist. In Lydia’s “memory” of 2021, Ian is credited with predicting 9/11 before it happened and going on to win Pulitzer prizes for his books about the horrible day. Part of the story is told from Ian’s point of view.

I won’t share anymore about what happens because you have to experience this one. Lydia’s determination to be heard and believed is admirable and compelling. Ian’s transition from skeptic to believer is realistic.

The attraction between the main characters is bittersweet, since the 2001 Lydia is newly married. She knows she must stay in her marriage to ensure that the son and daughter she remembers from 2021 are born. Lydia and Ian spend one incredible day together, trying to convince the “powers that be” of the horrors that are coming on September 11.

I won’t say whether they succeed or not. But as a huge time travel fan, I predicted part of the ending, and I was happy to be exactly right.

This doesn’t have the eerie supernatural tone of Stephen King’s 11/22/63, but it’s the same general theme: is it possible to undo the defining moment of an entire generation?

Content warning: As the author states in the opening, if you have any personal ties to 9/11 or are triggered by descriptions of that day, you may want to skip this one.

The narrator, Marian Hussein was new to me and quite good.

A Fantastic Story…Executed Beautifully

I was initially pulled in by the idea of the story. Asking “What If?” is easy enough…but to do it with a subject this important, this sensitive…something so terrifying and forever real…takes plenty of guts.

I’m thrilled to say that Jessi Gage pulled it off beautifully. While the events are fantastic in nature, she manages to keep everything feeling grounded and factual. And she never treats the actual events with anything but care, honor and compassion.

Her writing is impressive…smart, emotional and well researched.

If you like mystery, history, countdowns or what ifs…this is highly recommended.

Fantastic!

I haven’t read a Jessi Gage book in several years, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was blown away at how much I loved it. I was excited with the premise of this book. The timing was just right as well as the 20th anniversary is close . This was everything I could’ve hoped for. The narrator was wonderful. The story was tense yet respectful.
I received this as a free copy for a review, though it didn’t change my review.
Listen to this book.

awesome book

I highly recommend this book.
This book was so intriguing that I found myself sitting in my car in the garage still listening when I got home from work. I found myself sitting in my car at work still listening. Great concept. love the narrator.
One of the best audio books I've read this year.

Well Done

This was a fantastic idea for a novel and Jess’s writing made it an enjoyable journey.