Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult (2014 fiction)
Thirteen-year-old Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident when Jenna was three years old. After searching through Alice’s old journals and Internet websites to no avail, Jenna enlists the aid of Virgil Stanhope, a private investigator who originally investigated the case, and Serenity Jones, a once-popular psychic. The unlikely threesome begins to piece together the events that occurred ten years ago, uncovering a completely unexpected set of circumstances Interspersed with this story is that of Alice’s career as a scientist dedicated to the study of elephants, which is wonderful and full of fascinating information. For fans of Jodi Picoult, this book was written with her usual well-researched attention to detail. Its twists and turns hold the reader’s attention until the last page. The book also includes a (prequel) novella about Alice’s elephant research in Africa, which is entertaining and enlightening. Recommended.
Reviewed by Ginger Russell
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