Big Time

A Novel

By: Ben H. Winters

Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Quiet Boy comes a speculative, corporate espionage thriller that takes the adage "Time is money," and makes it literally, frighteningly so.

What if time could be taken from us—the minutes, the hours, the years of our lives, extracted like organs taken for transplant? What would it mean for the world? And what would it do to the person from whom it’s taken?

Grace Berney is a mid-level bureaucrat in the Food and Drug Administration, a woman who once brimmed with purpose but somehow turned into a middle-aged single mom with a dull government job and a melancholy sense that life has passed her by. Until the night a strange photo comes across her desk, of a young woman in a hospital bed who has been subjected to a mysterious procedure. Against orders and against common sense, Grace sets out to bring the girl to safety, and finds herself risking her job, her future, and her life on whether she can find the missing girl before an obsessive and violent mercenary who’s also looking. Big Time is a fast-paced thriller and a metaphysical mystery about the very nature of our lives.

interesting premise, good narration

intriguing premise
narration was good
writing style was… unpolished (characters seemed "stiff" - they seemed to be there just to move the story along without actually being present in it)

Waaaaay too many F bombs!

I wanted to like this book…I did. The first half was pretty good; however, the gratuitous, thickly flying F words were just overwhelming! And, WHY would you connect them to Jesus Christ? Come on! I had to stop at Chapter 24. I saved my credit for six weeks for this??! Maybe I can help you save yours!

Riveting, with female heroines and villains!

This book grabbed my attention from beginning to end. It has a creative premise and strong female characters. I also loved the ominous reference to the future, based on the story’s events. Outstanding!!

Really enjoyed this surprise find that was off my radar

Really enjoyed this surprise find that was off my radar.

While some facets were predictable they were in an endearing way, felt like a mix and homage to episodic mysteries the likes of X-Files and Fringe.

Enjoyed the immediate immersion into action, the characters, pacing, and even resolution.

A brave new world

Ben Winters delivers again with edge of your seat world building and deep character development.