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1967 Four female scientists invent a time travel machine. They are on the cusp of fame: the pioneers who opened the world to new possibilities. But then one of them suffers a breakdown and puts the whole project in peril… 2017 Ruby knows her beloved Granny Bee was a pioneer, but they never talk about the past. Though time travel is now big business, Bee has never been part of it. Then they receive a message from the future – a newspaper clipping reporting the mysterious death of an elderly lady… 2018 When Odette discovered the body she went into shock. Blood everywhere, bullet wounds, that strong reek of sulphur. But when the inquest fails to find any answers, she is frustrated. Who is this dead woman that haunts her dreams? And why is everyone determined to cover up her murder?Kindle Pages: 372 Publisher: Head of Zeus Publication Date: August 09th 2018 Time Travel. It is diverse, it is complex, and it is limitless. When Time Travel is in a novel, it can take you anywhere. It can be historical, and futuristic. It can be dangerous, and fun. You can pick the good times, or blindly leap into the unknown. That being said, The Psychology of Time Travel was an interesting read. Triapsing through diverse ideas, playing with the very construct of reality. Kate Mascarenhas has constructed a gem of a piece, that is by focusing on the psychological impacts of such magnificence, shes opened the already limitless idea of Time Travel and made it more. It is realistic, and fantastical enough to leave the reader hooked and wanting more. | Spoilers | In this novel, we see four women inventing time-travel in the 1960’s. After using this miraculous machine, one of the women (Barbara) loses her mind. She struggles with the mundane, unable to form a coherent sentence. After this is discovered on live television, the women disown Barbara in an attempt to retain their scientific credibility. Their research, concludes that Barbara as someone susceptible to mental illness, was open to the detrimental effects that time-travel can result in. As a result their tests are rigorous, ensuring that the candidates for time-travel are psychologically sound, and not weak-minded. In writing this, Kate Mascarenhas jumps through perspective. Perspectives jump across people, areas and time. As the novel progress’, it does so with the added boost of the discovery of a dead body circa 2017. With something as fundamentally world-changing as time-travel, how does one find a murderer. Adding another spanner to the works, this women is a Jane Doe. Not a single iota of identification is found on, or near her body. She’s so badly damaged that she could be anyone. By anyone, we are literally talking about anyone. You could have jumped through time – a future you – and committed this murder. You wouldn’t know. Discovering this murder, and perhaps investigating something in relation could be what leads you to commit this murder. It really acts as provocation for some rhetorical thinking. Shall we ignore the mind-boggling intricacies of what-if, and the very really potential of this technology already existing and this situation being something that could happen? I digress. Kate Mascarenhas, a intelligent women with a PHD in Literary studies, and Psychology adds an interesting dimension to the novel. Her academic background lends brilliance, and imagination. It leant enough structure that the messiness of the plot did not detract from the overall story-line. Despite this, Kate Mascarenhas has created a well-throughout, provoking novel with themes that traipses the normal boundaries of time travel and make it more. I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. For more Bookish Content, visit;
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