Time Will Tell by Eva Jordan; Urban Publications Limited
Page Count (e-book) – 360
The Blurb:
Writer, Lizzie Lemalf, and her loving but somewhat dysfunctional family are still grieving over the loss of a much-loved family member. Lizzie is doing her best to keep her family together but why does the recent death of a well-known celebrity have them all in a spin? The police suspect foul play; Lizzie and other family members suspect one another.
Lizzie begins searching for answers only to find herself being dragged back to the past, to 1960’s London to be exact, and to the former life of her father, that up until now she has never been privy to. Every family has its secrets but how can the past hold the key to a present day celebrity death? They say the past comes back to haunt you. Surely the truth will out? Maybe, but only time will tell…
My Review:
I did not realise, until I was roughly 45-55% of the way in, that this book is actually the third in Eva Jordan’s trilogy. Had I been aware, I would have promptly put it to one side and read the series from the beginning. When I read the first chapter of this book, I was left feeling a bit confused by the end of it for it introduced quite a few characters and I was struggling to remember who they were and their relationship to each other. It took a few chapters to begin to see where everyone slotted in. That said, once I’d sussed out who was who, the book DOES work as a standalone although some references to events in the previous books do come up.
The story itself, of Lizzie Lemalf and her family, is good and engaging. It is written with a dual timeline – current day and the 1960’s / 1970’s and it was the latter which I engaged with more. Again, I believe this may be down to not having read the first two books and so came to the modern day family from a point of ignorance.
The life story of Lizzie’s father, Salocin Lemalf, is well written and wholly absorbing. There were occasions when I almost felt the modern family were intruding when I would reach the end of his chapters and would find myself being pulled back into the 21st century. Please don’t think that I disliked the modern timeline for this is very much not the case. No, it is testament to the quality of Ms Jordan’s writing that I became so fully absorbed in Salocin’s life and had to give myself a small mental shake when the current day family were having their say.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It kept pulling me in and even now, a few weeks after finishing it, I still find it sitting at the front of my mind. It’s a story that is not forgotten in a hurry.
My only regret is that I have read the trilogy out of sequence but, now I know how the story ends, I’ll be damned sure to go back and see how it all began.
A Message from the Author:
Thank you to the lovely Kiltie for having me on her blog today, and for kindly reading and reviewing my third novel, Time Will Tell. Although written as a standalone, Time Will Tell is also the third and final chapter in the trilogy concerning Lizzie Lemalf and her somewhat dysfunctional but lovable family. I’ll let you into a secret, though; I never set out to write a trilogy (nor do I think I’ll write another!). Time Will Tell, or at least some aspects, came from what was my first (proper) attempt at a writing a novel which was a love story come thriller set in 1960’s London. However, after 40,000 words I abandoned that story and wrote what became my debut novel, 183 Times A Year.
I’d always wanted to write, and although lack of opportunity, inexperience and bad life choices held me back when I was younger, a lack of belief in myself is what held me back the most. However, by the time I began seriously writing my first book, I had also just graduated as a mature student with a BA Honours Degree in English and History, which I felt gave me the tools and confidence to give it a real shot. By then I’d also met my other half who, like me, was divorced with two young children. We all moved in together and became a blended family, and I went from being a single parent of two, to a mother and a stepmother of four children, which took some adjusting to on all our parts. I didn’t realise it at the time, but it planted a seed, and ideas for what later became my debut novel began to form.
Being part of an extended family is fun. However, bringing up children, whether it’s your own or others, is not always easy. Trying to navigate my new life as a working parent and stepparent proved to be both good fun at times, fraught at others, especially as all four children morphed into teenagers. To help with the day-to-day problems I was experiencing, I began reading some self-help books, doing some online research. Sometimes just having a bit of a moan to friends and colleagues was enough to ease the stress. It was’t long before I realised everyone struggles at times, especially with moody teenagers, regardless of family structure. That’s when I started to write 183 Times A Year—a humorous observation of contemporary family life, which, although tragic at times, is also a poignant and heartfelt look at that complex and diverse relationships within today’s modern family.
However, when I finished writing 183 Times A Year, I found myself waking up in the middle of the night, the characters of my debut whispering in my ear, insisting their stories hadn’t finished yet. That’s when I wrote the sequel to my debut, All The Colours In Between. I knew though, as I raced towards the end of my second novel, the story still wasn’t finished. That’s when I had the idea of going back in time, especially as feedback from readers and reviewers highlighted one character in particular as a firm favourite, despite only being a minor character. Grandad, also Dad to main character, Lizzie, otherwise known as Salocin Lemalf, hailed from the East End of London, which is also where he met his wife, Ellie (Lizzie’s mum), during the 1960’s, so… you can see where my mind started to wander? Yep, you’ve guessed it, back to the first novel I’d started penning… so the rest, as they say, is history.
It was fun going back in time for Time Will Tell, both in terms of research and writing, especially as it was the same decade my parents met and married and also the era I was born. It’s hard to believe how much life has changed in such a short space of time. I also discovered that writing a series isn’t easy, particularly if you didn’t intend to! You definitely need to be organised, and have a good memory! I’m proud to say I did it, though, and this time, as I typed THE END, I knew it really was. I think of Lizzie from time to time, wonder if she’s okay, or if Cassie is still dropping some clangers with her classic malapropisms and spoonerisms, but I’m working on a new story now, with new characters, so all I’ll say is… watch this space!
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All books by Eva Jordan are available in e-book & paperback on Amazon
