A tale of mystery romance and revenge. It is set in Corsica and divided between the present and a summer in the central characters' youth when she was on holiday there. She was in a car accident that killed her parents and brother. On this visit with her husband and daughter whe receives a letter purporting to be from her mother...
The plot is complex and at times far fetched enough to stretch your credulity. You are unlikely to guess who the killer is. The denouement is action packed but stretched my credulity beyond its limit.

Thanks to net galley and Orion Publishing Group for the opportunity to preview this book.

It starts well with a dramatic event that leaves the lead character of Clotilde in a state of shock and bereavement. Then it moves on to 27 years hence, when she returns to Corsica with her daughter and husband. I found it a bit slow, to be honest, and only persevered because of the excellent reviews I'd read.

In summary, not one for me, in that I found it quite difficult to follow at times and the repetition, frustrating.

Time is a Killer is a haunting thriller .I found it very slow to begin with as the plot developed very slowly .The story switches from past to present and is also told through Clotildes teenage diary.I thought the story was very intriguing ,I didn't know what was going on and where the story was leading almost until the end but the ending did tie everything up neatly

I think something has literally, got 'lost in translation' in this book. 'She had always remained in regular contact with them; the odd post card, a birth notice, some photographs, always accompanied by a few words...'. I found it a chore constantly wading through sentences like this one. Some of the narrative is written in the form of a teenager's diary, the style of which didn't ring true to me. The plot developed very slowly and by the middle of the book I realised that I just couldn't care less about any of the characters and wasn't interested to find out what had actually happened. This one wasn't for me, I am afraid.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

First book I've read by Michael Bussi. The translation seems excellent with prose that flows and sounds perfectly natural. The story centres on a car crash in 1989 in Corsica that wipes out most of a family. Clotilde, a family member survives and returns 27 years later to pay her respects and lay to rest some ghosts.

The narrative switches between past and present and bit by bit Clotilde recalls events. The story is set in Corsica and there's a strong sense of place and people. This becomes increasingly important as you realise they're bound by a code of silence and unwilling to reveal secrets of the past. This is a thriller with a difference; although in places it lacked a little pace, the tension does build and the finale was totally unexpected. Well depicted characters and I'm keen to read other books by Bussi.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

I have previously read After The Crash and Black Water Lilies by Michel Bussi (both excellent) so I had some idea of what to expect with this new book. So I thought. But Michel Bussi just gets better. He has an extraordinary ability to intrigue. Time is a Killer presents a broad tapestry of the Idrissi Corsican family. A catastrophic car crash in the summer of 1989 leaves three members of a family dead; only the daughter Clotilde survives. Wind on twenty-seven years. Clotilde (Clo) returns with her husband Frank and teenage daughter Valentine. Clo wants to exorcise the past and build bridges with her errant daughter. They visit the ravine where the crash occurred.

”It was here, Valentine. It was here that your Grandpa and Grandma died. And your Uncle Nicholas as well…. Frank and Valentine appear disinterested.

In 1989 Clotilde kept a journal of events that summer. It remained lost for twenty-seven years. Or so she thought. Someone is reading it. Could it contain clues to what really happened? And then Clotilde receives a letter, in her mother’s unmistakeable handwriting. As if she were still alive…

Bussi moves smoothly from events in 1989 to present day. Fragments of memory return to Clotilde. But how can her mother be alive? The tension and menace builds, page after page. The pace is relentless as further clues surface. The reveal is breathtaking.

The Corsican characters are totally believable, some hide behind omertà, the code of honour that places importance on silence and non-cooperation with authorities. What is there to hide?

Michel Bussi has written another compelling and stunning read with a truly shocking ending. Certainly a candidate for my Best Read of 2018.

Praise must also go to Shaun Whiteside for the brilliant translation from the original French.

Highly recommended.

I became a fan of Michel Bussi after reading After the Crash so I was so pleased I was accepted to read this. It started off well and there was lots of intrigue around a crash that killed Clotilde’s family 27 years ago. However, as the story went on I felt it was all a bit too drawn out. It went on too long and kept going over the same information with nothing really new happening. I was slightly disappointed as I really wanted this to be good but I’m afraid it’s only slightly above average.

This book was very slow to start and I felt it was just around the last quarter of the book that it really started to to keep my interest going. So I am afraid I would not recommend it. I thank Netgalley and the publisher the chance to review it.

This is a superb book - really well written and translates well into English. The book chapters alternate between now and 27 years before building up to what happened on August 23 1989. I was never certain who was responsible for the crash and why mysterious things were happening now. You are taken down a path and think - yes it must have been character A then something happens to disprove this and lead you to suspect character B and so on. I didn't really work out who it was before the final revelation. A book not to miss. My only criticism is that the book seemed to be longer than it needed to be. I read the book on my Amazon Fire tablet and I would read quite a few pages only to find the percentage complete had increased by only 1% or 2%. Nevertheless well worth reading

There are lots of intelligent components in this international thriller; The backstory in the form of a real-time teenage diary. Corsica's way of life that is often at odds with the legal system and government that allows illegality to go unpunished and the parallels between the family in August 1989 and the family in 2016.

The characterisation is convincing and compelling, through Clotilde's eyes they come alive both in the past and present. The twisty plot takes away as many clues as it gives and to truly understand it you must accept the Corsican culture's uniqueness.

Compelling and detailed it's a page-turning read but a very long story. The repetition is necessary for the story as Clotilde's memories return but this adversely affects the pacing and reduces the impact of the revelations.

There is an overriding sadness to this story of loss and, so many lives blighted but the ending is adrenaline-fueled and suspenseful, and the balance of good and evil returns.

I received a copy of this book from the Orion Publishing Group W&N via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Clotilde Idrissi, a young 15 year old girl who spben nds her summer holidays in Corsica, the home country of her father. The summer of August 1989 sees Clotilde enjoying the time with her brother and other friends, keeping a record of her feelings and observations in a diary that never leaves her side - until one day after a family argument her father drags her away leaving the diary behind. Little did she realise that day, the 23rd August 1989 would end with a car crash that killed her parents and brother. The story then jumps 27 years when she decides to return to Corsica with her husband and 15 year old daughter to pay respect and memory to her lost family. Her return to the island brought back memories of that last summer, but also aroused memories of another - somebody who found her diary, read her words and knows that the truth is about to be revealed. The book switches between the three weeks of August 1989 and the same three weeks in August 2016 leading to the anniversary of that car crash. Is history repeating itself? Who has her diary and who has been sending her letters containing details only her mother would know... except her mother is dead?

The first few chapters of the book are a bit confusing as they sets the scene between the two years but once it settles down and flows it grips you to the end with a few unexpected twists. Look forward to reading more from this author.

This is my first novel from this author so wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Unfortunately I found it quite slow going which made it hard to read so I didn’t manage to finish it. I will try another novel from this author and will review that in due course.

This book revolves around Clotilde, a married mother visiting Corsica where her father’s family live and where she used to holiday as a child. During one of these holidays, her father, mother and Brother died when their car went over the edge of a cliff. Clotilde was the only survivor. Or so she has always thought, As the days of her holiday go on, she starts to investigate the events surrounding the tragedy and whether it was an accident after all. She also receives a strange message which she believes can only have come from her mother. Interspersed with this current investigation is the reading of her diary from the year of the crash. It is this part that I enjoyed the most as her teenage self has such a unique view of everything. I was keen to find out the truth and hadn’t guessed it all. The only thing that spoiled it for me was that some of it seemed very far fetched which is why I am giving it three stars instead of four. I liked the characters of Clotilde and her daughter. Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sorry to say, despite loving After the Crash, this one is not for me. I found it slow and rather dull. Perhaps if I’d persevered, a good story would have evolved but I gave up. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Time is a Killer, but it was a poor choice from me.

After 27 years, Clotilde returns to Corsica to visit the scene of the accident that killed her parents and older brother. The longer she is there though, the more Clotilde begins to wonder if it really was an accident.

The viewpoint alternates between the Clotilde from 1989 (in diary form) and the present-day one. I'm really not sure of what I made of this one; it was very slow at the beginning, and although it picked up part way through the book, I wasn't overly enamoured with the ending. I didn't find any of the characters appealing - Clotilde's daughter was particularly annoying, and her husband not much better. Without giving away any spoilers, there's only one character I had any sympathy for at all.

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers, Orion Publishing Group, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

What was supposed to be a three week holiday in her ancestral and idyllic Corsica turns into a defining time for the 15-year-old Clotilde. Not only does she fall in love for the very first time, but she discovers that her parents and brother have secrets, which culminate in a tragic and fatal accident.

The sole survivor, Clo revisits the events 27 years later by taking her husband and 15-year-old daughter to see her grandparents. From the first day odd and disturbing start to haunt Clo, who becomes increasingly isolated from her family and who gets sucked in ever deeper into the memorues of ehat happened all those years ago. The reader alternates between 2016 and 1989, as the events are told from her diary of that summer that she lost just vefore the accident.

This is a startling psychological thriller that strongly reminds of Tell Noone. Up to the very resolution the suspense is skillfully maintained and one cannot help but be transported to the beautiful island that shapes the setting of the story. The characters are believable, even though perhaps very French in how they are depicted. It is a story of love, jealousy and bonds between parents and children as well as people and their place of origin. For someone who knows nothing about Corsica aside from the fact that it's Napoleon's birth place, the beauty and culture of the island was described in vivid colours without detracting from the plotline. Aside from a few language quibbles and the problematic kindle version, the only other criticism that I have is tgat a certain device was employed tgat us usually considered a cop out in crime writing - that of the doppelganger. While it was just about believable here, it is what it is.

Overall I enjoyed the book and it kept me reading. When I make it to Corsica I am sure I will try to visit the landmarks of the landscape I now feel I know so well.

Couldn't get into this really. Not for me- I didn't manage to finish unfortunately

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for this book. I felt it a bit slow to start with but once it got going boy did it go. I really enjoyed it and I must admit this is the first time I have read a novel translated into English . I would recommend it

I absolutely savoured every word of this most cleverly plotted thriller. We start with a really bad car accident with fifteen year old Clotilde being the sole survivor of her immediate family. Her parents, Paul and Palma, and brother, Nicolas, all dying at the scene of the crash. Fast forward nearly 30 years and Clotilde is now married with a fifteen year old child of her own and they have returned to her childhood holiday island of Corsica. The first time she has returned there since the crash. During her time away, she has thought a lot about what happened that summer and has questions that remain unanswered. She hopes that this visit can lay some of her ghosts to rest. Little does she know that her presence back on the island will be the catalyst that opens up old wounds for many people. But will she get the answers she so desperately needs? And at what cost to her, her family and the rest of the islanders.
Told in the present day, with the past injected at appropriate moments in the form of readings from Clotilde's childhood journal by an unknown person, we follow a dual countdown of the days before the crash and the events unfolding in the two timelines. In the past, we follow Clotilde and her brother as they and the other children at the campsite mature into young adulthood. In the present, we see Clotilde as she questions people from her past who were around at that time. It soon becomes obvious that certain people are withholding certain facts and that the crash may not have been the accident it was written up as. And then Clotilde receives a letter from her mother. But she's dead. But it's her handwriting and contains personal stuff that only she can know. This really puts the cat amongst the pigeons and makes Clotilde all the more determined to get to the truth.
For me, this book was a brilliant slow burner. Starting with a bang, literally, with the crash, we then slow right down in pace as Clotilde returns to Corsica to begin her, what I guess can be described, as a pilgrimage. A solo one at that as her husband and daughter couldn't be less supportive if they tried. Maybe they were trying to protect her but if so, it was a funny way to do it. Cutting to the journal entries corresponding to the same dates as the action unwinds in the present was a masterstroke and it really worked very well. We saw a young Clotilde as she spied on her brother and his friends, making very interesting reflections in her journal as to the group's dynamic. Back in the present, we follow her she visits many people and starts to ask some awkward questions, opening up some painful wounds for many people as she goes. We also see her reconnecting with her paternal grandparents who are big cheeses on the island both then and now.
The plotting is tight and extremely well executed. It's convoluted and interconnected and flows nicely from start to finish. Yes, there are the obligatory twists, some of which turn things upside down for a while but they are all very well explained - completely to my satisfaction and, unlike a lot of twists of the kind in so many other books, I never once felt cheated by the author. He has a way of building them up slowly from the start so when they occur they never come completely out of left field.
Characterisation is also excellent. I especially loved the differences and indeed similarities between the young and old Clotilde. I have read a few time hop books where characters have not matured congruently, but here that growing up has been expertly handled and completely believable. As I have said in many a review and must also say here, the setting of the wonderful Corsica can almost be considered as a character in its own right, so front and centre it is in the whole story. As indeed are the politics and ways of life portrayed by the population.
The translation of this book is also well worth a mention in my review as I know that the quality of this is key and can put people off trying "foreign" authors but here, it is completely seamless and at times I actually forgot it had been originally written in French. as there were absolutely none of the jarring phrases or strange words used that you can sometimes get with a translation.
All in all, a superb book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I am so glad that I found this author and, having read all his books that have been translated so far, I hope that the rest are soon to follow.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A beautifully descriptive novel and one for every reader who wishes to envelop themselves In the sights and smells of Corsica.. From the start the story unwinds and keeps the reader immersed but sadly this doesn’t continue and meanders a great deal in the middle as did my mind. However this picks up towards the end and one is left with a nail biting conclusion..