ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Time’s Prisoner by Linda Gillard

Time’s Prisoner by Linda Gillard is independently published by the author and is available now in paperback and eBook. I purchased my own copy.

Linda Gillard has long been one of my favourite writers and so I was surprised to find I hadn’t reviewed any of her books on my blog (most were pre-blog). I still have to catch up with the book before Time’s Prisoner, Hidden, but did do a Q&A with Linda about it. I’ve read all of her other books (Star Gazing is my particular favourite) and can recommend them all.

A romantic gothic mystery for fans of Daphne du Maurier, Susanna Kearsley and Mary Stewart.

TIME’S PRISONER, the new novel from the author of Kindle bestsellers, THE MEMORY TREE and HOUSE OF SILENCE.

The dead are invisible. They are not absent.

With her personal and professional life in ruins, Jane Summers, author of historical whodunnits, receives an extraordinary bequest from an old enemy. But there’s a condition attached. If she is to become more than just a sitting tenant at Wyngrave Hall, a crumbling Elizabethan manor house, Jane must solve a centuries-old mystery.

She invites a motley crew of women to share her new life at the Hall: Rosamund, a tough but troubled nurse; Sylvia, retired actress and national treasure; loyal Bridget, gardener and handywoman, who knows the chequered history of Wyngrave Hall and understood the selfish eccentricities of its previous owner.

But unknown to the women of Wyngrave Hall, there is another, unseen occupant, one with a desperate agenda: to enlist Jane’s help solving the coldest of cold cases.

“I’d gone to great lengths to avoid the lonely life of a middle-aged, reclusive divorcée, but it was some time before I admitted to myself that I disliked spending a day working at home on my own, not because I feared to be alone in the ancient house, but because I feared I wasn’t…”

Time’s Prisoner begins with Jane Summers, author of a once popular but now out of favour historical fiction series, receiving two unusual bequests from somebody she has never met (but there’s some history between them, nevertheless). She has been left the tenancy of Wyngrave Hall and, if she accepts it, a mystery to be solved. Deciding to accept the bequests, she moves in with three other women who have links with the hall and makes new and lasting friendships with them.

As I’ve previously found with Linda Gillard’s books, it’s very difficult to summarise this book without going into too much detail, but it’s fair to say that Jane gets a little more than she bargained for with the other bequest and the mystery turns out to be something quite unexpected and other-worldly. This thread is constructed so well that I didn’t need to suspend belief – it just worked, testament to the quality of the writing.

Gillard always writes insightful stories which delve deep into the innermost feelings of the characters. Jane becomes very involved with her new home and in particular develops strong emotions about some of the former residents. This leads her to meet Jesper, an art restorer who I understand will appear in the planned sequel to Time’s Prisoner (which I’m looking forward to very much).

There are some real lump in the throat moments and as I read on I became more and more invested in the outcome of the mystery and whether Jane would solve it. I really enjoyed the way that storyline was weaved into the present day events. This is not a dual timeline story but one where the past has echoed down, leaving disquiet and unfinished business in its wake.

Time’s Prisoner has it all. Its characters and plot are equally strong, and Wyngrave Hall and the centuries of family life and secrets contained within its walls make for an enthralling setting. Once I’d got stuck in I found it very difficult to put down. A wonderful read!

Linda Gillard lives in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. She’s the author of ten novels, including STAR GAZING, shortlisted for Romantic Novel of the Year in 2009 and the Robin Jenkins Literary Award for writing that promotes the Scottish landscape.

HOUSE OF SILENCE and THE MEMORY TREE became Kindle bestsellers. Linda’s tenth novel, TIME’S PRISONER was published in February 2024 and she’s now working on a sequel.