Allie is being kidnapped. She's handcuffed and in the back of an SUV, driven by the kidnapper, Desiree. But Allie is just as confused as she is scared. She's a middle school teacher and she was just enjoying a day at the park with her infant daughter when she was abducted and rendered unconscious. An accident provides Allie with the opportunity to escape and get to a hospital where, to more surprise and fear, it is discovered that an odd device - some kind of portacath - has been implanted. It doesn't look like anything the local ER has seen before and they call in Grace who works for the FDA in a special branch that works with medical implants.

Grace isn't familiar with the device but digs into researching it, to discover it was produced by a company, now defunct, that was trying to 'extract time'. A thrilling adventure follows as Desiree looks to complete her mission and Grace tries to understand and save Allie.

Well ... almost a thrilling adventure.

The opening couple of chapters of this book really set an exciting tone with lots of interest and expectations. I was hooked. Something was going on and I wanted to know more.

Unfortunately I was let off the hook. With the introduction of each new character - some who seemed to be there just to add confusion - I grew less and less interested rather than more so.

What is maybe most intriguing about this book is that, in a book about time, perhaps author Ben H. Winters was playing with the reader and presented a book that was 'backwards.' Instead of starting a book with a congressional hearing that would garner some interest and ultimately lead to the massive kidnap and chase sequence, we go in reverse, starting with the massive chase and ending with the rather mundane 'talking suits.' The closer we get to this end, the slower everything seems to move, rather than ramping up the way one would imagine a thriller to work.

It's been 7 years since I last read anything by Ben H. Winters, and it might be that long again before I try another of his works.

Looking for a good book? Ben H. Winters's Big Time takes too much time to keep the energy moving.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4.5⭐️ this was such a fun and exciting sci-fi thriller. Really enjoyed all the twists and turns and ways it made me think.

QUICK TAKE: While the author’s LAST POLICEMAN series and GOLDEN STATE are two of my speculative fiction high water marks, I’ve been extremely underwhelmed with his last few books (THE QUIET BOY, THE BONUS ROOM, and now this book). His latest -about a mysterious technology that allows you to sell pieces of your “time” is…boring. It reads like a warmed-over episode of Black Mirror: small in scope, stereotypical characters, uninteresting plot device. It’s a pass.

You never know what Ben Winters is going to write, but they are always something original and turn out completely different than you expects. And here comes another one. The premise is another what-if, what if everyone's time is quantifiable and can be moved from one person to another? The old adage time is money? People do very bad things for money.
Surprisingly, this story doesn't read like science fiction, it reads fast and furiously like a thriller as seen through the eyes of three characters. Ana is the "victim," who wakes up tied up in the backseat of a car and remembers being kidnapped with her daughter (taken by someone else), so naturally does everything in power to get away and find her daughter. Grace works for the medical device branch of the FDA and is called in for overtime to research a device found on a comatose patient (Ana) in a hospital. She brings new meaning to the term overtime. Desiree is the professional who was supposed to deliver Ana to a client when things went off the rails. For her time is money, and she's wasting too much of it. She is not happy.
And off they go.
And if you're confused, well, so are they. Very confused. But very persistent. And all extremely well realized characters, as well as the secondary ones. Grace's boss, don't we all know him? And her non-binary teen is wonderful. It all makes for a fabulous ride whether you know what's going on or not (you will want to). And it all comes clear in the end.
And hopefully it is 100% fiction. Hopefully,
Highly recommended.

Big Time consistently remains as compelling to read as it is thought-provoking, meaning it should appeal to lovers of sci-fi thrillers and metaphysical musings alike.

Full review posted at BookBrowse: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/ref/pr306624

Thank you to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I have been aware of Winters since he wrote for historical mash-up novels for Quirk Books like Android Karenina and Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters as well as The Last Policeman. The concept of this novel was fascinating to see if you can extract time and give it to others. The focus on different characters and how they connect to the mystery was well done and I did not expect exactly where it was going to go. While the ending is somewhat pessimistic, it was true to reality. 3 stars.

Grace is stuck. Now middle aged, she is a single mom living with her daughter and aging mother. Once excited by her career, she finds herself working as a mid-level official in an obscure government agency. But her life is turned upside down when she is asked to help investigate a mysterious picture of a young woman who has been admitted to a hospital without any identification. Even when she is told that her help is no longer needed, Grace can't stop thinking about the picture, and decides to do everything she can to find the women -- even if it means risking her job and maybe even her own safety.

This was a highly engaging and fast-paced thriller that explored interesting ideas about family, choice, progress, and how people experience time.

Highly recommended!

This was my first time reading Ben H. Winters' work and I definitely want to read more after binging BIG TIME.

The premise is simple: a scientist discovers that time is something individually embedded in each human being and can be extracted and given to someone else. The three women in which the narrative evolves are all wildly different and in their own crises, leading us into a wildly adventurous journey. I really want to note here that one of the women has a non-binary child that was incredibly well-written and didn't mess around with any annoying tropes tied to TGNC characters.

This was a great dip back into the sci-fi pool for me and I appreciated the level of explanation and detail we got when the science of it all was described. I look forward to more of Winters' books and will definitely be recommending this one to a few friends. While also living in fear that time can be traded and/or stolen.

Many thanks to Mulholland Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC of the book.

I liked this book! Definitely a page-turner - I can see why people are calling it Blake Crouch-esque.

I loved the premise, appreciated the appropriately fast pace, and felt equally invested in the protagonists. I was hooked from the first page - what a high-stakes opener! - but the final third was a bit of a letdown for me. I would have loved more on the implications of commodifying time; we wrapped up just when we were getting to it! I also found the ending a bit too pat - yet even as it felt over-resolved, it still didn't totally come together for me. Keeping this vague to avoid spoilers, but the question of one person's identity is at the heart of this book, and I felt the resolution was disappointing. Overall, an enjoyable read that I liked more at the beginning than end, but I'll still confidently recommend it to folks looking for a unique thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

What are the implications if you could extract people's time and buy and sell it like any other commodity? And what if the first people to discover this technology weren't particularly worried about the ethics?
This book asks a lot of questions like that, and it also has a lot of straight up action. The main characters were sympathetic, as we could see the effects of what it was like when time was stolen from your life without your permission.
I liked how the story focused on a mother who had to bring her child to work while working out what was happening. Instead of romance, there was a focus on the relationships we share with other friends and family.
This writer always has something interesting and his books are always so different. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Thank you Mulholland for Big TIme! I love books that have time as a theme, that bring it in as a character in the book and I loved how this was blended into a sci-fi thriller genre in ways that really worked to tell a fun, inventive, and suspenseful story. A page turner, quick sharp chapters, a likeable everyday person roped into a mystery, and some witty moments that highlighted a perfectly great escapist read. I really liked how the story came together, woven by 3 main POVs in a way that made the plot come together, to help me cheer on Grace and her part in the story. This is one I can recommend to a lot of readers, especially readers looking for something fast and engaging for a Spring trip or book clubs looking for something to change up the usual book club picks.

Super fun , entertaining engaging and a total page turner, this book was fun and reminded me ok a Blake Crouch good which i loooveeeeee. very thought provoking!

Special thanks NetGalley and Mulholland Books with NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This was a great thriller, ,unique ((my favorite),) and a very fast page turner. I really liked it so much, I'm recommending to all things large and small. People, that is.

Big Time starts off with a bang and transforms into a story about ordinary people solving extraordinary circumstances.

Allie is trapped in the back seat of an SUV with a woman who snatched her off the street. She's determined to get back to her life as a mother and teacher, and does what she needs to to get away from her domineering captor.

Grace works at the FDA, and a mysterious request comes in from a hospital about a patient's strange portacath. As she gets more intrigued by the case, her findings explain why Allie is having conflicting memories as she tries to evade the woman chasing her.

Big Time takes a look at how people in unexpected circumstances figure out what's happening to them, and what happens when time can be extracted from a person and donated to another human. I would almost call this more sci-fi speculative fiction than a thriller, and if you go into it expecting an examination of time and personal relationships.

Sadly Big Time didn’t work out too well for me as a sci fi thriller. The questions meant to propel the plot didn’t really hold my interest, and the character never stood out much in any way. Things felt a bit meandering and I never was especially invested in anything. I ended up deciding to DNF at about 50%.

Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest review

Ben Winters came to the forefront when he wrote the great trilogy The Last Policeman. Since then, he has become even more adept and is one of my go-to writers for mystery, suspense, horror, his scary and early novel Bedbugs. Big Time has science fiction, mystery, thrills, and philosophical questions about life, time, and money. From the outset, one of the characters has been abducted, but why? No clues make the reader curious and rattled with anticipation and unease. The plot carries the reader on a breakneck ride filled with uncanny and peculiar occurrences, leaving the reader wanting to get to the bottom of Big Time, one of Winter's most memorable and fascinating works.

Bold, inventive, and thought-provoking ... but doesn't quite hang together like I had hoped. I look forward to reading more from Winters.

In my opinion, this book was the makings of the perfect thriller. Fast paced, quick read, incredibly unique plot, and great twists and turns. I would LOVE to see this turned into a screenplay! I feel like I can't say too much about the plot because I would hate to give anything away, because it's much more fun to read going in a little blind. However, I will say that this was the first new perspective on the concept of time that I've read in a while, which made the plot all the more exciting and engaging. Also, all of the characters were each interesting and developed in great ways.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mulholland Books, and Ben Winters for the ARC!

I'm so thankful to Mulholland Books, Ben H. Winters, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital and physical access to this one before it hits shelves on March 5, 2024. I really enjoyed being transported into this storyline and revolutionized by its prose.

"Big Time" is a bit like a Blake Crouch novel: focused on a new technology with characters on the run. It centers on three characters: a woman running (Allie), the woman doing the chasing (Desiree), and a FDA employee (Grace) closing in on the nefarious conditions upon which the new technology was created. The pace is good: there's no lingering on irrelevant details or complicated scientific principles. However, I found the world building to be almost too minimal and the characters a bit cartoonish. There are some valiant efforts at humor but they also confused me as a reader: is this a thriller? A comedy? I couldn't quite figure out the tone, and the ending was underwhelming at best.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!