Unraveling Secrets Across Timelines: A Review of The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE TURNGLASS by Gareth Rubin Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: THE TURNGLASS

Author: Gareth Rubin

Pub. Date: December 3, 2024

Publisher: Union Square & Co.

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 443

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/THE-TURNGLASS

 

This beautifully written, immersive, and unique crime story is a tête-bêche novel—two intertwined stories printed back-to-back. Open the book and the first novella begins. It ends in the middle of the book. Flip the book over, head to tail, and read the second story in the opposite direction. At the book’s core are two separate mysteries running across two different timelines, which are inextricably, forever linked.

1880s, Essex, England: Idealistic young doctor Simeon Lee is called from London to treat his ailing relative Parson Oliver Hawes, who lives in Turnglass House on a bleak island off the coast. Hawes believes he’s being poisoned by his sister-in-law, Florence, who was declared mad years ago after killing the parson’s brother in a jealous rage. Hawes keeps her locked in a glass-walled apartment in the Turnglass library; the secret to how she came to be there is found in his tête-bêche journal, where one side tells a very different story from the other.

1930s, Hollywood: Celebrated author Oliver Tooke, the governor’s son, is found dead by apparent suicide. His aspiring actor friend Ken Kourian isn’t so sure Oliver took his own life. He finds a link between Oliver’s death and the mysterious kidnapping of Oliver’s brother when they were children. He also discovers the secret incarceration of Oliver’s mother, Florence, in an asylum. To get to the truth, Ken must decipher clues hidden in Oliver’s final book, a tête-bêche novel called The Turnglass—which is about a young doctor named Simeon Lee . . . 

 

 

Why Should You Read It?

Gareth Rubin’s The Turnglass is a creative and atmospheric dual-timeline mystery that captivates with its originality and clever narrative structure.

What Worked:

• The tête-bêche journal is a fascinating storytelling device, offering a unique way to explore conflicting perspectives and unravel secrets.
• The settings are wonderfully atmospheric: the bleak isolation of 1880s Ray Island contrasts beautifully with the glamour and intrigue of 1930s California.
• Rubin’s ability to weave intricate plot threads across two timelines is impressive, giving readers plenty of twists and turns to uncover.

For fans of gothic mystery and literary puzzles, The Turnglass is a smart, thought-provoking read with a deeply immersive atmosphere.

 

 

About Gareth Rubin:

Gareth Rubin writes about social affairs, travel, and the arts for British newspapers. In 2013, he directed a documentary about therapeutic art at the Bethlem Royal Hospital in London (Bedlam). His books include The Great Cat Massacre, which details how the course of British history has been changed by people making mistakes; Liberation Square, a thriller set in Soviet-occupied London; and The Winter Agent, a thriller set in Paris in 1944. He lives in London.

Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of THE TURNGLASS, US Only.

Ends December 17th, midnight EST.

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