Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Tilia Klebenov Jacobs

I expected to love this book. The plot summary was described exactly as follows:

"When Tsara Adelman leaves her husband and two young children for a weekend to visit her estranged uncle, she little dreams he is holding several local children captive on his lavish estate. Mike Westbrook, father of one of the boys, kidnaps her to trade her life for the children's. Soon Tsara and Mike are fleeing through New Hampshire's mountain wilderness pursued by two rogue cops with murder on their minds."

I mean the book sounds like a slam-dunk, amazingly good read, right? While I did enjoy the book, I am very conflicted over how to rate it and if I really even liked it. So, let me just break down what I liked and what I didn't like and I will leave it at that. 

 Tsara is a character you just love. From the very beginning of the book you like her and are rooting for her. The way the author slowly came out with details of her life was very satisfying, like how you learn bits and pieces about a person when you first become friends. I wasn't bombarded with information all at once. 

I also like how the author covered all points of views of each character. From child abductor/cop, to kidnapper/father, to niece/mother/wife/hostage, each chapter gave me a different view and look into a character. I got to understand the psych of each character and  what drove them to behave how they did. 

 I was very surprised that at 50% done what I thought would be the entire book- the kidnapping/hostage story- was over. I was shocked and it made me wonder what the author filled the rest of the book with. Turns out it was overly detailed plot of day to day life after being kidnapped. Which I guess I get. The author wanted to share the whole story. Life AFTER a traumatic event. The effects it has on the family. The trial process... blah blah blah. It was just really boring and so detailed that I skimmed through most of it. 

Also, there is a lot of Jewish rituals, beliefs, and talk in this book. The fact that I am not Jewish and had no understanding of what was happening was a bit of a turn off. I quickly learned to skim over the parts where her and her rabbi talked or met up. 

I guess I was expecting a book that was full of suspense, mystery, and thrilling adventure. I wasn't expecting a "law and order" type book that gives you the crime, the trial process, and what happens after all of it. It was unique in that fact. It made for a very satisfying ending. I knew the entire story. There was no "what happened after that" thought when I finished. But at the same time it was predictable. I pretty much had guessed how the book would end. 

All in all, I give Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Tilia Klebenov Jacobs  a solid 3.5 stars. Not wildly thrilling, but overall enjoyable. Great for a vacation read! 

Happy Reading!

I received this book to read and review via NetGalley.