Publishers Weekly
★ 01/22/2024
Winters (Stranger) plays with readers’ expectations like a virtuoso in this stellar technological thriller, which opens on a nightmare situation and never takes its foot off the gas. New mom Allie Zerkofsky, a self-described “regular boring middle-school teacher,” and her infant, Rachel, are abducted from a New Jersey playground by two assailants, who separate them. When Allie asks her abductor what will happen to Rachel, however, her abductor says she has no idea what baby Allie is referring to. Allie’s responding howls of grief distract the kidnapper, leading to a car crash and enabling Allie to escape. Winters then introduces Grace Berney, an attorney for the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, whose boss asks her to trace an unusual medical device implanted in an unidentified amnesiac female patient—whose injuries readers will recognize as matching Allie’s. Grace’s digging leads to the defunct Substance Material Group, a business that had been exploring a new theory about time. Winters’s many jaw-dropping plot twists are always grounded in pitch-perfect depictions of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. Blake Crouch fans will be in heaven. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
One of the New York Times Best Thrillers of the Year So Far "A weird and wonderful cautionary tale about futuristic technology run amok."—Sarah Lyall, New York Times Book Review
“Big Time is a wild and wonderful trip, a kaleidoscope of mind-bending science, metaphysics, and good old-fashioned thrills. And most engaging of all are the characters Ben Winters creates: a hugely appealing Everywoman sleuth, a young woman struggling with a harrowing dilemma, and one of the scariest antagonists in recent memory.” —Lou Berney, author of the New York Times-bestselling NOVEMBER ROAD
“Ben Winters is a genre alchemist - the kind of writer who blends and weaves the preconceived ideas of story to create something wholly new and riveting, and Big Time is no exception. A brilliant thriller that also dances between the raindrops of reality and time itself, Winters continues to keep readers on their toes, in the best way possible. I’m so glad this book exists.”—Alex Segura, bestselling author of SECRET IDENTITY
"An exciting, thought-provoking, time-bending, and ultimately mind-blowing tale filled with the wonder, whimsy, and weirdness that make Ben H. Winters one of our most imaginative voices."—Thomas Mullen, author of BLIND SPOTS
“Big Time is a propulsive mix of big ideas, expert plotting, and deep character work—intertwined in the kind of way that only Ben Winters can do. This is a ‘clear your calendar first’ kind of book.”—Rob Hart, author of THE PARADOX HOTEL and THE WAREHOUSE
"Winters, author of the stunning Last Policeman trilogy and the mind-bending The Quiet Boy (2021), doles out another heaping serving of metaphysics. . . Winters asks us to open ourselves to the impossible by following real, relatable characters. Another strong, thought-provoking novel from a writer who gets better with every book."—Booklist
"Winters (The Quiet Boy) is an expert at gripping adventures that invite readers to ponder big existential questions. Here he explores the balance between scientific advancement and ethics, a timely theme. . . A fast-paced and thought-provoking speculative thriller with well-drawn and relatable characters."—Portia Kapraun, Library Journal
"Winters plays with readers' expectations like a virtuoso in this stellar technological thriller. . . jaw-dropping plot twists are always grounded in pitch-perfect depictions of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. Blake Crouch fans will be in heaven."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Library Journal
01/01/2024
Allie Zerkofsky, a middle school teacher from New Jersey, doesn't know why she has been kidnapped or where she is being taken. All she knows is that she will do anything to escape and get back to her young daughter. However, the further she gets from her home, the less of her life she can remember, and the more someone else's memories begin to creep in. Grace Berney's job at the Food and Drug Administration is steady and dull, until a photo of a young woman with memory loss and a unique medical device comes across her desk. Certain that Allie is in danger, Grace sets out to rescue her despite her boss's warnings to back off. As the two women search for answers, they discover that the plot goes much deeper than either could have expected. Winters (The Quiet Boy) is an expert at gripping adventures that invite readers to ponder big existential questions. Here he explores the balance between scientific advancement and ethics, a timely theme. VERDICT A fast-paced and thought-provoking speculative thriller with well-drawn and relatable characters. Give this one to fans of Blake Crouch and Mike Chen.—Portia Kapraun
JUNE 2024 - AudioFile
Eva Kaminsky had her work cut out for her narrating this very complicated story, which begins with the kidnapping of a young woman named Allie and involves a secret she's not even aware of. Kaminsky gives voice to Allie--and to Anna, a person in Allie's head who is part of the dark secret. Only Grace, who works for an obscure branch of the FDA, is willing to investigate the story's crazy-sounding conspiracies. The truth behind it all is bizarre and frightening, and the listener only learns what's going when the characters do. Grace's mother and rebellious daughter play minor but vital roles, and Kaminsky gives them distinctive voices. Ultimately, what appears to be a simple kidnapping turns into a scandal of national, even global, proportions. M.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
