Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Speculative thriller
Formats: $28.99 hardcover | $18.99 paperback | $14.99 ebook | $27.99 audiobook
Release date: August 2, 2022
Gillian McAllister is the author of seven thriller novels, all of which have been Sunday Times (UK) bestsellers. An eighth is releasing in August 2023. All are standalone and can be read in any order.
Wrong Place Wrong Time released in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook in August 2022 and is McAllister’s first New York Times bestseller. It was also the August 2022 Reese’s Book Club pick. It released in paperback in May 2023 and hit the USA Today bestseller list in June 2023.
In Wrong Place Wrong Time, Jem bears witness to her teenage son committing a murder on the morning of Halloween. She doesn’t know who the victim is or why Todd has committed such a devastating act of violence. All she knows is that her life and Todd’s have been shattered. But the next morning, she finds herself at the start of yesterday all over again. The murder has not happened yet—and there may be a chance to stop it. Each time Jen wakes, she is further back in the past—first weeks, then years before the murder. Somewhere in the past lies the trigger for Todd’s terrible crime. It is her mission to find it and prevent it from taking place.
When asked what contributed to her book landing on the USA Today bestseller list, McAllister said: “The biggest moment was being a Reese’s Book Club Pick for August 2022. This led to word of mouth success, which floated the paperback onto the bestseller list when it came out in May 2023.” McAllister was not directly involved in her novel’s selection but understands the novel to have been submitted for consideration following a standard nomination process by the book’s promotion team. “I’m not being deliberately vague, but I actually don’t know how it works!” she said.
There was no specific promotion campaign around the paperback release that spurred it to the USA Today list, but the momentum of the Reese’s Book Club placement was bolstered following release by additional book club selections, as well as by events at bookstores (such as Henpicked and Main Street Reads), digital events (such as this interview hosted by LB the Lover of Books), coverage from online book reviewers (such as Book Club Chat) and online book influencers on Instagram and TikTok, where McAllister maintains accounts with strong followings.
McAllister advises other authors to remain optimistic. “Wrong Place Wrong Time is my seventh published novel here (UK) and my third in the States. It doesn’t always have to be your debut, and you can have a Big Idea deep into your career that breaks you out,” McAllister said.
Emily Wenstrom is a freelance writer and platforming expert and writes award-winning speculative fiction for teens and adults as E. J. Wenstrom.
E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including her new release, a young adult dystopian novel titled Departures (August 10, 2021). When she isn’t writing fiction, E. J. Wenstrom is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the Fantasy+Girl Podcast. Learn more at her website.
