It's rare that I read an entire book in one day, but I was unable to put this down.

Very fast paced, so much so I kept double checking my progress because it felt like words were flying off the page.

Ben H Winters is brilliant. I knew this already from The Last Policeman trilogy so I was eager to read his latest book.

The science here is super interesting and from an ethical standpoint, terrifying. Very much a story that will stay with you. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a good scientific thrillers especially one who enjoys strong, female driven protagonists. Fans of Blake Crouch get your money ready.


Thanks to Netgalley and the author for this advanced copy. Opinions given by me are completely my own. I have not been paid to write this review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC. I have been reading Ben H. Winters since his "Last Policeman" series and enjoy his writing. While, I also enjoyed this book, it seemed a bit "flimsy" in comparison. Some characters were well developed, while others seemed pretty flat. The plot moved along pretty quickly, but it felt like a lot of it was spent with characters driving (or being driven) to different locations, or through exposition and dialogue of characters. It wasn't a bad book, but definitely not my favorite from this author.

Wow! This is one interesting book. I requested the ARC because it sounded a bit like the movie “In Time”. It’s completely different in plot, but both take a look at the idea of time being a currency of sorts. When rich people develop the power to harness something, what will happen to the poor?

This story starts with Allie handcuffed in the back of an SUV. She’s been kidnapped by a woman calling herself Desiree, but she has no idea why - she’s a boring middle school teacher who was at the park with her baby, Rachel, when she was taken. After an accident with the vehicle, Allie is able to escape and ends up in the hospital, where they see she has a very strange portacath implanted in her chest.

Grace works for a division of the FDA that deals with medical implants and devices. She’s called upon to try to find out what this strange device is, which leads to her to discover papers about a seemingly defunct company that wanted to extract time - calling it a “durational element”. This itself leads to her and her non-binary child, River, to do some research. Maybe it’s research they shouldn’t have done. Maybe it was the right thing, even if they put themselves in danger? You can be the judge as this story plays out…

“A Wrinkle In Time” was my favorite book as a child, because I love thinking about time being non-linear. I love how this book used that same thought to produce an action-packed, suspenseful science-fiction story. This dragged in a couple of parts, and I would have liked more backstory and character development, but those are my small complaints. This book was crazy in the best sense of the word, and the ending was fantastic. 4.5 stars.

(Thank you to Mulholland Books, Ben H. Winters and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on March 5, 2024.)

Winters hooks you right off the bat with a mysterious kidnapping and then sets the stage for an absolutely unique science fiction premise. This would be a great selection for discussion in a book club group. In fact, I may nominate it with my science fiction book club.

I loved Big Time! I loved the fact that Winters kept us in suspense about what was really going on for a long time. I loved the fact that the heroine of the story is a nondescript mom/lawyer/government bureaucrat!

It was a fascinating concept--what if we could transfer time from one person to another? The ethical dilemmas are boundless.

I loved that there was queer representation, and River had a major role to play in their mom's ability to save the day.

I've read some of his books before, but now I have to systematically go back and read everything that I've missed. So good!

3.5 from me, but rounding up because in general, this is the type of book that people will talk about and debate about and have a ton of fun discussing. I love a good time travel book and this one has a plot that keeps you turning pages and characters I enjoyed. The "science" (and obviously I'm using that word liberally) fell off a bit for me, which took me out of the story a bit, but that could be my own preference for writers like Blake Crouch and Andy Weir who some say give us too much science background. All in all, this is a fun thriller I think most people will enjoy. And props for a great title and a fabulous last line.

Brilliant, just endlessly entertaining. I devoured this in a day. Fans of twisty, sci-fi thrillers will love this one.

I liked the crisp and clear writing as well as the memorable characters. Like other books by this author, this story was a unique combination of mystery and science fiction.

This explosive sci fi-tech-thriller hit the ground running and didn't let up for a page, keeping me hooked the entire time. The book follows Allie, a woman who has been kidnapped for apparently no reason, and Grace, a woman who works for an obscure branch of the FDA. When Allie escapes her kidnapper, she ends up in a hospital with memory loss, where she and the medical staff realize she has an unusual medical device implanted in her chest. This is where her story intersects with Grace, who is tasked with identifying the device in hopes of helping staff identify their injured patient whose amnesia seems to be getting worse by the minute. Revealing any more would give too much away, but suffice to say that Allie is in danger and Grace is determined to help her.

This was gripping from start to finish. The stakes start out high and only get higher as the book goes along. The pacing is excellent--lightning fast and pulling you through the book with the same sense of urgency and danger felt by all the characters. Several different points of view are introduced throughout the book and that is an effective way to slowly dole out information to the reader as you start to understand more about what's really going on. The ending, although not what I would call satisfying necessarily, felt realistic to the situation at hand in the world the author has created. I would highly recommend this title and will definitely be checking out the author's previous works as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How often do you come across a thriller with a protagonist who is a government office worker, divorcée living with her non-binary surly teen and her constantly-complaining mother? Well, get ready for Grace Berney. She works for the FDA vetting medical devices, and when she’s asked to come in after hours to try to identify an unusual implant discovered in a young woman who has been through some kind of trauma, Grace feels sure the young woman needs help and concludes she has to be the one to provide it.

This thriller runs at full tilt, with the young woman on the run, pursued by a beautiful but very scary would-be kidnapper, while Grace and her kid do some high-level sleuthing to track them down. The MacGuffin in the case, which is behind the questions of the young woman’s identity and why she is being pursued, has to do with a biological method of manipulating time itself. There are a few twists and turns in the plot, but it’s mainly a straight-ahead chase-style thriller, with an unusual and appealing lead.

If sci-fi is a genre that interests you, particularly the concept of time/multiverses (is that how it is called?), then this book is definitely for you!
The book was well-written and I loved that they included a non-binary character (they’re my favorite character in that book, that’s for sure!).
But I found the process of reading this book confusing. I was lost a couple of times and wasn’t really understanding some things, but that’s not because of the way it is written but more because of the subject! In my opinion, the characters could have been more nuanced or complex, I found them to be stereotyped a lot. Other than that, it was a good book.

I am a huge Ben Winters fan, starting with his Last Policeman Trilogy and especially Underground Airlines. If you haven't read these, you should do so immediately!

Big Time starts off with a bang--After being kidnapped for no apparent reason, Allie somehow manages to escape, and ends up at a nearby hospital as a Jane Doe. Grace, an FDA investigator, is called in to identify a mysterious medical device implanted in Allie. Allie runs away from the hospital and tries to figure out why she's suddenly having memories of things she know couldn't have happened to her.

Both Grace and Allie's kidnapper are furiously trying to track Allie down, and Grace is also trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. The story moves quickly and kept me on the edge of my seat. A great combination of a fast-paced thriller and an intriguing science fiction premise makes Big Time another winner from Ben Winters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ben H. Winters’ novels have been on my to read list ever since I finished his superlative Last Policeman trilogy. So when presented with the chance to read his new novel Big Time, I jumped at the opportunity. And I’m really glad I did.

From the opening scene in which Allie, for unclear reasons, has been kidnapped by Desiree, I was immediately hooked. A very readable and fast paced sci-fi thriller, I was riveted and finished the book in nearly one sitting. Filled with well developed and relatable characters, excellent plotting and pacing, and a total lack of coincidences in the plot that make the reader groan, Big Time was a completely enjoyable read.

Highly recommended.

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

What a fun ride! The premise was right up my alley. I enjoy sci/fi thriller combos with quick pacing and unique, although frightening, concepts. I look forward to more from this author! I will recommend this to readers who love John Marrs and Blake Crouch type sci-fi fast paced thrillers!

This book had such a unique premise and twist. I really enjoyed the characters and the exploration of time- I was not expecting the explanation of the scientific aspects or the way time was explored.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Mulholland Books for an advance copy of this speculative fiction thriller about time, medical ethics, and the persistence of one person to tell try to help others.

Big Business takes a lot from us in many ways. We seem to be spending more to get much less, in goods, in services, in treatment, the cost seems to be going up, our happiness seems to be going down. They even steal time from us. Dealing with a defective item, looking for the right product among a sea of different ones. In some place wage theft is another way of stealing time. Paying a person for two hours while making them work four hours, that should be a crime that is better addressed. Big Time by Ben H. Winters, ask a question. In a era where everything seems to be monetized, what happens when business starts to go after the only thing we have that is exclusively ours, the time left to us. And where would that leave the people whose times has already been taken?

The book starts with a woman in the back of an SUV coming to the realization that she is being kidnapped. Taken for a playground her only fear is for her young daughter, a daughter that was also taken at, but the driver has no idea what the woman is talking about. The actions of a deer cause the SUV to lose control, there is a crash and the woman escapes. Grace Berney works for the FDA, with a specialty in a specific field, that was once interesting, but has left her trapped in a bureaucracy she is bored by, a marriage that has gone it's own way, and problems with both her mother and teen daughter who live with her. Grace is called in to identify a port in a patient that has come to a hospital with no ID. Hopefully identifying the port, a injector that is surgically attached to the skin to aid in medical procedures, could be used to identify the patient. Just as Grace starts to gather strange information about the company who used the port, Grace is called off. However it is too late. Grace is sure that something strange is going on, and wants to find the missing young woman, not knowing that someone else, someone far deadlier and on the clock, is also looking for this missing woman. And the consequences are deadly.

A medical thriller with a bit of conspiracy and science fiction, and a book that starts right off with out ever letting go. There are thrills, along with scenes of research and introspection, that are expertly balanced and tell a a very good story. Time is a major theme of this story, and one that many of the characters have to face. Grace is a fascinating character, one who knows that her time is probably on hold, while her mother dealing with the start of dementia and health issues is reaching the end of her time. Grace's daughter though has the whole world in front of her, her time is just beginning. The professional mercenary we meet at the beginning is also short on time. The longer her victim stays missing, the less money she makes. All this parallels the story, and adds to the plot. Winters is very good at making up plots that seem like they shouldn't work, and proving everyone wrong with a well plotted story, and lots of ideas to make people think. A very good, thrilling story, that has a whole lot more going on than expected.

Recommended for fans of Winter's previous works, and fans of big thrillers with close stakes. Again this story hits the ground running and never really lets up.

This was either a shorter book than I've been reading lately, or I blasted through it because I was hooked. Or, perhaps, both. The story of a woman who is kidnapped and begins to realize she has the memories of two different people in her brain. The book is about her trying to figure out what is going on. It is fast paced action mixed with scientific experimentation and a whole lot of 'how did this happen' and 'what is actually going on here'. It's got strong, smart, badass women characters, which made me enjoy it even more. Very happy I decided to request this title to review. I'm already sharing the recommendation with my reader friends.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC to review.


What would happen to your life if minutes were taken away and given to someone else? This is the question posed to the reader in Ben H Winter’s Big Time.

When Grace Berney, a bored employee of the Food and Drug Administration, boss gives her a strange photo of a young woman in a hospital, she makes it her task to figure out how the woman ended up in the hospital and where she is now. As Grace becomes more and more obsessed with finding her and bringing her home to safety, she finds herself embroiled in something crazier than she ever could have imagined.

While books involving elements of science fiction are not usually ones I gravitate towards, I enjoyed this one. I thought the relationship between Grace and her nonbinary child River was realistic and River’s personality rang true of a teenager finding their identity. Additionally, the mystery of the woman in the hospital offered up an intriguing storyline. I was curious to see where it was all leading.

This is a quick read that would make a fantastic book club pick, as it is bound to lead to interesting discussions.

An interesting premise and fast-paced suspense thriller, I absolutely raced through this novel! I would have liked to have known what was going on earlier as it would have been interesting to explore the implications a little more. I also would have liked to know where Ana/Allie was during the period between her “accident “ and when she is abducted by Desiree. Did she really live that life with a daughter (and if so, what happened to her)?

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC of this novel. Read time: 3.5 hours

Intriguing sci-fi, semi thriller read following primarily Grace, an FDA patent lawyer, who stumbles across an odd portacath in a confused patient. Winters poses an answer to the always-asked question--What happens when you play with time? Appreciate the use of pronouns! Dragged a little in the middle when stuck on just Grace's perspective, but overall would recommend. Good enough to read in a couple hours :)

Definitely recommend for fans of timey-wimey sci fi reads such as Dark Matter and Wrong Place, Wrong Time.