Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

As a Canadian, the very first thing I need to point out is that Calgary is in Alberta, not British Columbia as mentioned in the book - hopefully this was just in the ARC and will be fixed for the publication. Other than that little geographical error I absolutely loved it.
Some parts were a little slow or predictable but overall it was a great read with some bizarre twists that kept me guessing. It was well written and has great character development. I was hooked from the beginning and HAD to know what really happened during the Alone Time.

Elle Marr is one of my favourite authors, and I was delighted to read an Advanced Reader Copy of her latest book, “The Alone Time”.

I was particularly looking forward to reading this one as I had seen Marr posting about it as she was still writing it. What had caught my attention was that it involves a plane crash. Having been conducting research about the JL123 plane crash for many years, I reached out to Marr in case there was anything I could help with (just as Sarah Lotz found my book “Dealing with Disaster in Japan: Responses to the Flight JL123 Crash” useful for her book “The Three“). The response that I got was unexpected, to say the least. Marr has been in a plane crash herself. This is something that, to date, has not publicised much (but Marr has confirmed that it’s not a problem to mention it in this review). I have to admit, knowing this about Marr meant that I probably read the book in a different way to if I hadn’t known this. It was inevitable that I would draw parallel’s with Hideo Yokoyama’s book “Kuraimazu Hai” (“Climber’s High”/”Seventeen“) – a book about a local newspaper covering the JL123 crash, just as Yokoyama had been a reporter at a local newspaper covering the crash in 1985.

In the case of Yokoyama (as he told me in an interview), it took him many years to come to terms with his experiences in 1985. That is one of the reasons why “Kuraimazu Hai” (“Climber’s High”/”Seventeen“) was not one of his first novels. Perhaps, this is also the case for Marr.

But perhaps it’s also not wanting to be overly associated with what she experienced. Marr has four other excellent books already, and although I am probably not the first and won’t be the last to make the connection between her own experiences (albeit I don’t know the details) and the contents of “The Alone Time”, it is unlikely to become something that defines her. I certainly hope it won’t.

This is somewhat different to the protagonists of the book itself, two girls who survive a plane crash, the result of which means they grow up without their parents, and who walk a tightrope of trying to deal with their trauma while not wanting to be seen to profit from their experiences.

There were a number of lines that stood out for me – many of them related to this conflict between people needing to come to terms with their experiences while also trying to find the appropriate way to express it. For example,

Art is never more than a reflection of an artist’s twisted mind.

and

Try to block out the nasty energy of rubberneckers seeking more page views at my emotional expense.

and

Creative writing in particular is so helpful to reveal details in our subconscious that we may have forgotten. Kind of like therapy in that way

and

Doesn’t everyone deserve a little happiness? Don’t I? My fingers twitch at my sides. I usually know better than to ask myself that question. One more day, one step forward. That’s my mantra. Just make it to one more day and the morning might look different.

and

Isn’t all art an exploitation of a hurt, a trauma, an unresolved fear?

and

I’ll never be more than one of the girl-survivors, and I’ll never be allowed to work through my trauma on my own terms,

and

… been mistaken for cold. It’s the opposite in fact: I feel things so deeply that I turn off my emotions in order to survive… After a certain level of trauma is reached, the only choice we have is to either feel the pain in all its depth and depravity, or choose numbness— ice to assuage the heat

and

people don’t want to befriend me or admire my work; they want to profit from it, from my story. No one actually sympathizes with something beyond their comprehension. They ogle it.

and

Creative writing in particular is so helpful to reveal details in our subconscious that we may have forgotten.

As a result of the plane crash, the protagonists grow up without their parents. Despite them not being around, we learn how they still want to make the parents proud. This, and the feeling of loss, reminds me of some of the things that Diana Yukawa discusses in a podcast episode about her feelings towards her father, who died in the JL123 crash, weeks before she was born.

The family in “The Alone Time” are of Chinese ethnicity. Marr is clearly able to pull on her own experiences in this regard. But I wonder how familiar all readers will be with some of the words and concepts that are dropped into the text. Perhaps some additional explanation or description would have been helpful in a couple of cases.

The book proceeds by having chapters primarily focussing on the viewpoint of one of the characters – with us jumping between characters and also the present and the time of the plane crash and its aftermath. Gradually, all the pieces of the jigsaw come together. It’s gripping from start to finish.

After finishing the book, I read the Acknowledgements (as I always do) and liked it how Marr thanks the readers for doing so. But it also led me to the final sentence – “Finally, thanks must definitively go to my dad, who landed the plane.” I suspect there is a story (in the sense of more detail rather than a whole book) to go with this. I just hope that when/if the media look to find out more about Marr’s own plane crash experiences, that it doesn’t detract from discussing the contents of “The Alone Time” itself, which is an excellent book that I would highly recommend.

See also https://hoodcp.wordpress.com/2023/12/04/book-review-the-alone-time-by-elle-marr/

What a book. Sisters Fiona and Violet were the sole survivors of a plane crash that claimed their parents. Or did it?
Fiona uses her experience to make art. She's on the cusp on making it. Violet struggled with drug addiction and lack of focus in her life. Violet has cleaned up and gone back to college. Fiona has a big show coming up.
A woman from their father's past begins to do interviews that question the story of what happened in the plane crash. Determined to remember, the sisters return to the scene. They begin to remember the past. How much of it really happened?

Fiona and Violet survived the plane crash that killed their parents. After twelve weeks in the wilderness, they were rescued. Now twenty five years later, new details emerge about the plane crash.

The past scenes where they were in the wild were way more interesting to me than the present scenes. It was too much of a disconnect for me since my interest level kept going back and forth. I loved the Yellowjackets type plot, but I didn’t connect with the present time line story enough to enjoy it.

“Predator or prey, I have a feeling we will find out which role is ours sometime during the night.”

The Alone Time comes out 3/12.

My favorite book of Elle's thus far! Chilling, family drama, and secrets make this book a page turner. The sisters are deep and rich characters that you will make an instant connection with.

This is a quick thriller. It’s about a father who gets his pilot license and is able to take the family of four from San Diego to Calgary for a fun get-away. But it turns out to be a disaster when the plane crashes in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. Two people survive: the sisters when Fiona was 13 and Violet was 7.

The book moves into the future where Fiona is now 38 years old and excited to have an art show with sculptures of the tragic event from their childhood. Her younger sister of six years, Violet, escapes while writing poetry about what she remembers. A woman doing podcasts questioned what happened 25 years ago as if people would actually recall this news story amongst several others in the press.

Their father, Henry, had nightmares from his time in the war as a marine. His wife, Janet, tried to help him but their relationship was on the edge when she discovered he was having an affair. This made the two sisters upset.

The story was engaging yet there were a few holes in the story. I kept thinking, “how can this be possible?” However, it kept my attention. The characters were easy to keep track of and I could easily picture them in my mind. The journal written by Violet was intriguing as a child and also when she was writing poetry later.

The wild wilderness made me remember the times when I was hiking in the PNW with the rain, mosquitos and the possibility of bears, wolves and creepy things. This book made me think of the terrain when I was once on the trails.

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of March 12, 2024.

I just concluded my last book of the evening (lies) it’s only 10:41pm and that mean I have one last one in me before my head hits the pillow.

I know, I know, you think I’m crazy but after a wild thanksgiving, the only way I know how to reset and recharge is when I sit down in my reading room with my books.

I saved the best for last (for the night)

Drumroll please…..

The Alone Time

I bounce around from thrillers to romcoms, I know, wild and drastically different but I love both so much!

A good friend of mine hooked me on Elle Marr a few years ago and I haven’t been the same since . I absolutely adore these books and The Alone Time, is no different! This book right here is literally everything.

I had to catch my breath a few times and never once lost interest. I was completely invested in the storyline from page one. I mean, this is to be expected, it’s Elle Marr, we are talking about.

I felt the electricity in my soul and my just couldn’t believe what I was reading . This book has bestseller written all over it.

Teaser :

For two sisters, confronting the past could come at a terrible price in a riveting novel about a family tragedy―and family secrets―by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author Elle Marr.

Fiona and Violet Seng were just children when their family’s Cessna crash-landed in the Washington wilderness, claiming the lives of their parents. For twelve harrowing weeks, the girls fended for themselves before being rescued.

Twenty-five years later, they’re still trying to move on from the trauma. Fiona repurposes it into controversial works of art. Violet has battled addiction and failed relationships to finally progress toward normalcy as a writer. The estranged sisters never speak about what they call their Alone Time in the wild. They wouldn’t dare―until they become the subject of a documentary that renews public fascination with the “girl survivors” and questions their version of the events.

When disturbing details about the Seng family are exposed, a strange woman claims to know the crash was deliberate. Fiona and Violet must come together to face the horrifying truth of what happened out there and what they learned about their parents and themselves. Before any other secrets emerge from the woods

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Elle Marr, for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Alone Time was a great read, I really enjoyed it and read it in a day.
It was full of intrigue and suspense with some surprising twists and turns that I really didn't see coming.

I highly recommend and will definitely read more from Elle Marr in the future.

4 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maybe those childhood memories are repressed for a good reason…

Fiona was just thirteen years old when she & her seven-year-old sister Violet found themselves fighting for survival in the Pacific Northwest forest. Three months after the small plane holding them & their parents crashed, they were discovered by hikers with no concrete evidence of what had happened to their parents.

Two & a half decades later, Fiona has been using art as an outlet to deal with her past (even though some critics feel that it’s crass to “profit” off of her family’s pain) & Violet has finally circled back to her true passion (writing) after years of fighting various forms of self-sabotage. The sisters have always stuck to their original story (that their parents were killed instantly in the crash & animals took their bodies) - but with a determined documentarian hounding them for details & a mysterious woman soaking up the media spotlight with the claim that the crash was not accidental, the truth may have to finally be told…

I love how complicated Elle Marr makes her characters - this is the second book of hers that I’ve read & the women especially are always multilayered & authentically flawed. I felt like this story had more darkness to it than I was expecting, but the many twists that this thriller took had me reading quickly & appreciating all the little details that came together to make one very complicated family drama. I also loved Fiona’s Great Dane, Marshall.

Thank you to NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is probably in the top 3 of my favourite thrillers that I have read this year - I absolutely LOVED this, finished it within a day, could not put this down! I have been thinking about this book since I finished!

I’m still reeling from that ending! Marr takes us on a journey, and there are so many ups and downs, it’s almost like flying in a small plane you borrowed from your friend. (Too soon?)

There’s an almost paranormal, eerie vibe going on here, and the flipping back and forth between past and present only serves to heighten the creepiness. Also, one wonders how two young girls managed to survive on their own in the wilderness for twelve weeks, during winter…

In short, as more and more clues are revealed, you may get a little cocky and think you know what actually transpired at the crash site, but trust me—you don’t.

Fiona and Violet Seng were just children when their family’s Cessna crash-landed in the Washington wilderness, claiming the lives of their parents. For twelve harrowing weeks, the girls fended for themselves before being rescued. Twenty-five years later, they’re still trying to move on from the trauma. Fiona repurposes it into controversial works of art. Violet has battled addiction and failed relationships to finally progress toward normalcy as a writer.

The estranged sisters never speak about what they call their Alone Time in the wild. They wouldn’t dare—until they become the subject of a documentary that renews public fascination with the “girl survivors” and questions their version of the events. When disturbing details about the Seng family are exposed, a strange woman claims to know the crash was deliberate. Fiona and Violet must come together to face the horrifying truth of what happened out there and what they learned about their parents and themselves. Before any other secrets emerge from the woods.

Definitely a page turner. The exploration of what trauma does to us, how we deal with things, and the secrets we harbor. I read this in one sitting (and stayed up way past my bedtime!) and couldn't put it down until I found out what happened. Fascinating, disturbing, satisfying. Loved it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

I am normally a sucker for thrillers which unnerves me but this book didn't even excite me at the slightest. It's really sad to say it like this as the story had ample potential.

That being said, the storyline got so jumbled up, some of the characters were not well thought of and the *spoilers* PTSD mentioned here morphed into multiple personality disorder and finally to spirit inhabiting the body. All was too confusing.

The conclusion/ending also didn't sit well with me, there's definitely a good audience for this book but just that it wasn't for me.

This book reminded me of “Yellowjackets” when I read the blurb and there are definitely similarities. Like the show, it goes back and forth in time to now and when they were in the wild. It's the story of two sisters who survived the plane crash that kills their parents. And years later there are new details that cause a new investigation and we follow along as things unravel. It's a fast and interesting read, even if a little over the top.

with gratitude to netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Normally I enjoy Elle Marr's book but the characters in The Alone Time were too flat for me to appreciate. Because of the nature of the story line, the trauma that the two girls endured, I should have been able to feel more emotion from at least one of them. Instead I got nothing which made the entire book quite boring. It also bordered, at times, on unrealistic. This will be a do not recommend from me.

The Alone Time tells the story of two sisters who survived a small plane crash and lived in the wild for months before being rescued from their perspectives of when the crash happened and 25 years later.

Twenty-five years after the crash, a documentary maker approaches the sisters to catch up with them, discuss their current situations, relive the crash and subsequent immediate deaths of their parents. and perhaps find new truths that may have been hidden in the past. It seems someone who claims they have knowledge is contradicting the story that has been told.

Will the sisters’ story continue to be believed or have they been lying all this time and hiding something horrible that could put one or both of them in jail all of these years later?

What I liked about this book…

1) It was a fairly quick read. It has short chapters that are clearly understood to be told by the dedicated person’s perspective at whichever point in the history of the story.
2) The book is descriptive. I could very easily visualize everything described and put myself within the different locales referenced or the head-space of the characters.
3) The book was twisty. Just as I thought I knew what was going to happen, I’d be thrown off kilter and another option would present itself.
4) There was a clear and concise ending. No cliffhangers here.

What I didn’t love about this book….

1) For the most part, the characters are likeable. However, without getting into spoilers, there are a couple that I just didn’t quite understand. To me, two in particular begin as likable and then very quickly become unlikeable. It happens so fast that it doesn’t quite make sense to me. There's some explanation in later chapters but I wasn't satisfied.
2) I feel that in some parts of this book the reader has to possess a willing suspension of disbelief. There were times I was reading where I just had to tell myself, “It may not make total sense to you but just go with it”. If you’re able to do that, you’ll be fine.

Conclusion:

Entertaining and definitely worth a read!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a free copy for an honest review.

Violet and Fiona survived a nightmare. When their small plane crashed in the woods of Canada, their parents were killed and the two young sisters survived for weeks on their own. Years later both sisters are still reeling. Feelings come to a head when Fiona is lined up to have her very first serious art show. The promotions bring up the history of the family and a dogged filmmaker contacts her with questions.

Suddenly Fiona and Violet are both off balance as the questions begin to pile up.What really happened in the woods during "The Alone Time?"
events.#Thomas&Mercer #Thealonetime #Ellemarr

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

I am always excited when Elle Marr releases a new book, because she has an apparently limitless imagination when it comes to writing about unique scenarios (a rare trait these days).

The story opens with a family traveling on a small commuter plane, which inexplicably begins to lose fuel as they are flying, forcing a crash landing in the wilderness, with no one in the communication tower having any idea of where their plane went down.
.
As the two daughters in the family grow to adulthood, they begin to unravel secrets that might point to sabotage and murder; but who would benefit from such a horrible tragedy and crime.

Dear readers, do yourselves a favor and pick up a copy of this novel from one of the best modern authors of our time when it comes to penning one-of-a-king imaginative, psychological thrillers.

This book is a mystery/thriller with different point of views from the characters and beautifully written. The timelines were also very well written.

I read this book in a day and I never looked back! The twist and the plot were pretty easy to identify but the different POV's kept me intrigued to see how everything was going to unfold. A couple of the characters were so unlikable that it made it hard to feel bad or connect with them in any way. I do wish that the ending would've given a little more, I wanted to know how the characters dealt with the aftermath.

Overall I give this 5 out 5 because it really was a great book and I will definitely read more from this Author. I enjoyed the thrill of the plot and its twists.