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A special thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Douglas Schofield delivers TIME OF DEPARTURE —a spellbinding unique mix of mystery, romance,  cop-procedural, crime, thriller, and science-fiction/ fantasy.

MIND BLOWING. Cleverly crafted. Time travel. A strong woman and a compelling love story rolled into one.

Gainesville, Florida state prosecutor Claire Talbot, early thirties, is tough; however, the good old boys are not so keen on the newly promoted Felony Division Chief.

A highway construction crew uncovers skeletons in a grave and Claire reopens the investigation---all which took place before she was born. During the investigation she meets retired cop, Marc Hastings who worked on the case back when. A 1970s cold case involving eight abducted women.

You soon sense something strange lurking –Marc seems to know things about Claire and provides other clues involving the case. At first she thinks he is just an older cop, haunted by a cold case, as most are. She is drawn to him, even though a huge difference in age.

A TWIST: After a complete derailing, readers will be lead down a path….a secret. An eerie creepy feeling. Chilling. The key to the killings are connected to Claire’s past. From memories, past to present to future . .

You are immediately hearing the lyrics and music of Twilight Zone (Golden Earring), and The Twilight Zone by Rod Serling. From drama, psycho-thriller, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and suspense with an unexpected twist. The Time Element

TIME OF DEPARTURE is different, original, out of the box, unexpected, and unique. Agree with a few of the other reviewers. Starts out as a hard- boiled detective crime thriller, clever, and slowly turns into a fantasy type reminding me a little of Andrew Neiderman and Audrey Niffenegger,  and in some parts: a mix of Stephen King and Dean Koontz.

By viewing the front cover, you are not expecting what lies between the pages. When you finish you understand.

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” ― T.S. Eliot

“Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future
And time future contained in time past.”
― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

Surprise? Yes. Reference: As in literature--"A Chinese box structure refers to a frame narrative, a novel or drama that is told in the form of a narrative inside a narrative, giving views from different perspectives."

Schofield sets up a cop-procedural crime mystery, and in combination of strong characters, time, mystery, events, with a twist. Working from inside out, or outside in?

Readers will enjoy the book if not locking themselves into certain expectations or genre. Some great writing. The unexpected. Entertaining. Take a step back. The end is back at the beginning.

Suspension of disbelief. “The willingness to suspend one's critical faculties and believe the unbelievable; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment.”

“Unless you leave a person both physically and mentally, you are still with that person and there is no real departure!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan