Outsmarting Time: A Twisty Time Travel Adventure

by Laura Hanks Kline

Nothing is working out the way Edie Donne planned. She didn’t get into grad school, her parents are barely speaking to her, and her job is a dead end. But then she’s pulled fifty years into the future and is held captive by ChronoTech, a high-tech time travel research corporation led by a team of obsessed scientists. And there’s no way home. Aided by two ChronoTech defectors, Edie escapes from the lab and convinces her new allies to help search for the truth about the past she lost. What they uncover launches Edie on a daring mission to change her family’s fate, stop a deadly accident, and—if she’s lucky—prevent her own murder. But her plan hits a snag when she finds that she’s pitted herself against an adversary that might never be bested—Time itself. Edie has one chance to set the past right. If she fails, she loses her family to a timeline that was never supposed to happen, but, if she succeeds... she may lose everything. "Laura Kline really knows how to make an entrance on the literary scene." Indies Today

428 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 6, 2020

About the author

Laura Hanks Kline is a novelist, book lover, graphic designer, and communications specialist. She lives in southeastern Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids, an average-speed WiFi connection, and a robot vacuum named Velma.

Reviews

[Donna Young]

Escape your own life; you need a spatial chronology interruption.

“Edie Donne had never spit in anyone’s coffee.” The reader and Edie immediately bond. Your new friend? ...an everyday, run-of-the-mill, “off-brand barista” with a hilarious commentary on life. It's the 'unremarkable' quality of the heroine that seamlessly transitions the reader to exceptional times, fifty years in the future. ChronoTech targets Edie (apparently at random) and transports her forward fifty years to 2067. Talk about life interrupted…or, in Kline’s lingo, “spatial chronology interruption”. Edie becomes a fugitive from ChronoTech at the mercy of time. Is a return to her common life in 2015 even worth it? As Edie uncovers history, truth and time compel her return to 2015. But nobody has ever outsmarted time.

I devoured this book in three days. Edie’s personality and unique “take” on life laced this book with laughter. Kline seems versed in technology of the future, making Outsmarting Time believable. (I want to own an optinet lens / headset and watch holographic billboards!) The twists and turns in the plot truly surprised me. I overlooked Kline’s subtly placed clues. Escape your everyday world, join the battle to outsmart time in a gripping sci-fi adventure lightly spiced with romance. This book pairs well with milk and Oreos. (Spoiler alert: Oreos are still around on 2067!)

[Sarah Hubbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will admit that you will rarely see me pick up a science fiction book of any kind. However, I am so glad I chose this one! The author writes in a way that you can actually feel the emotions of the characters and includes some tough topics beautifully like death, grief and PTSD. The last third of the book I was so engulfed in the story, wanting to know how it ended, that I forgot to eat lunch. The book was in no way predictable, always keeping me surprised and on my toes. Definitely add to your summer reading list 😊

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not my typical genre but picked it up on the recommendation of a friend. Even though there is time travel to the future it is not too futuristic. The characters were well developed. There were a couple of plot twists I did not see coming. Found it to be a quick read because I wanted to find out how it would all be resolved.

[Kirstie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is easy to read and hard to put down. It is a book about time travel. I enjoyed reading this book. It has 3 parts, each part leaving you hungry to know more. Well done Laura Hanks Kline!

[janet havrilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this but it turned out to just suck me in. A page turner with lots of twists and turns which I love. Not a full moment in the whole book. Kudos to the author for this fantastic story.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!

Loved it!
I'm not one for sci-fi books, but I loved this one!
Once I started I couldn't put it down.
Hoping there is a sequel one day.
Thank you!!

[Judith Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful mess with your head time travel paradoxes, I enjoyed the twists and turns tremendously.
Great to have a female sci-fi protagonist with brains and courage to match.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

If your looking for an adventure sci fiction book, search for another book. The summary of the book is half the book, that's the pace of the story. I feel this could have been a nice short story but for me wasn't enough for a book. I don't know how to explain it without spoilers, but this is more of a romantic drama with time travel than a science fiction book.

[Joel Rickert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paradocs?

Believe in time travel, or at least suspend disbelief. Otherwise you won't enjoy this book, which moves back & forth through time--sometimes instantly...other times slowly. Keep an open mind; focus on the experience of the woman. Happy Trails!

[Laura Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reviewing my own book because I recently picked it up off my bookshelf (where 10 copies live, waiting to go home with friends I haven't invited over since before COVID because life is just different now), and I made myself laugh out loud in the first few pages. Man, I forgot how funny I am. Ha. Hope you enjoy it too!