More than movies, music, or any other medium, books have the ability to completely transport readers to new cities, countries, continents, and planets, and even through time. Every book has this capability: fiction or nonfiction, realistic or the highest fantasy. A story only has to exist for it to create a new world. In addition to this ubiquitous (but still amazing) function of reading, The Rich and the Dead by Liv Spector and The Widow’s Walk by Robert Barclay also send their characters on romps through time and space within the story itself, all while simultaneously doing the same for the reader sitting comfortably in his or her favorite chair. So meta.
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The Rich and the Dead: The year is 2018, and ex-Miami PD officer Lila Day is not doing so well. Four years earlier, on New Year’s Day 2014, twelve of the world’s most powerful people were found killed in the basement of a lavish Star Island estate. Lila was lead investigator in the case, but she was never able to find the murderer, leading her to be dismissed from the force. Now, reclusive billionaire Teddy Hawkins has approached her with the chance of a lifetime—to travel back in time to before the murders occurred to collect evidence that will convict the killer in the present day. Seems like a good plan, until Lila starts to care for the people who are destined to die. Can she say goodbye, or will she risk setting events in motion that would change the future—her present—forever?
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The Widow’s Walk: Garrett has always wanted to live by the sea, and now he has the chance to purchase and renovate the old home known as Seaside that has always captivated him. Then one night he sees Constance Elizabeth Canfield, who says she’s lived at Seaside for over 150 years. She’s not a ghost though, instead claiming to be somehow stuck between this life and the next. Love soon blossoms between the two, but as their relationship grows, Constance begins to fade away. Will their love fade along with Constance’s presence, or will it somehow be able to transcend time and death itself?
So you want to go to the beach? Fall in love? Solve a cold murder case? Here’s your golden ticket to any place and any time you can imagine.
-Amanda