The Drafter by Kim Harrison
Series: The Peri Reed Chronicles #1
Gallery Books
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Date Read: November 21, 2016
Source: Purchased
★★★☆☆
The Bourne Identity meets Minority Report in this first highly anticipated installment in number-one New York Times best-selling author Kim Harrison’s sexy new romantic suspense trilogy, featuring a brilliant special task agent at the top of her field and set in a futuristic Detroit.
During a routine but dangerous Opti task, Peri Reed finds out her trusted partner has made her a corrupt agent. Her unique ability to jump back 40 seconds in time to correct a mistake leaves her vulnerable when her partner, who is responsible for replacing her memory of the event, gives her a false one. But Peri lives and dies on her intuition, and she begins to piece her twisted reality together as she flees her one-time secure situation at Opti and tries to find the truth with a sullen but talented psychologist named Silas who works for the very agency trying to bring the Opti corruption to light.
With Howard, tech and med specialist, and Taf, gun-toting daughter of the opposing grass-roots agency, Silas and Peri try to rebuild her memory of the night she killed her partner, knowing it will put her mental stability in danger. Peri remembers, and thoughts of revenge keep her alive and moving forward as she tries to put an end to Opti, working with the very faction that wants to see her dead.
I have some mixed feelings regarding this book. I did like it but I found it to be a bit tedious at times. I love the idea behind the book. I can’t tell you how many times being able to rewind time a few seconds for quick “do over” would have come in handy during my life so the idea is very compelling. The part where you need partner to help you only remember one of the timelines so that you remain sane doesn’t sound quite as appealing in real life or in the book.
Peri is a Drafter, which means she has the ability to rewind time for just a brief moment. She works with a partner, her anchor, whose responsibility is to help her remember only one of the timelines. Without an anchor doing his job correctly, she would be at risk of going insane anytime she drafts so it is a relationship built on trust. Peri is put in a position where she isn’t sure that she can trust her anchor and senses that something may be wrong.
When Peri meets Silas, she is already sensing that something is wrong at Opti, the company she works for. Something seems to click with Silas and Peri starts to trust him early on. Silas is able to act as an anchor for Peri when needed and helps her start to piece together parts of her past that are bothering her. I found Silas and his friends to be immediately likeable and easily my favorite parts of the book.
The memory issues that go hand in hand with Peri’s drafting made for confusing reading at times. Events would happen in one fashion and then it would change and I was left not knowing what was real and what wasn’t. This is exactly what Peri is dealing with in her life over the course of the book but as a reader I found it tedious and tiring.
There were some really strong points in the book as well. The idea behind the story is genius. Peri was smart and really grew on me over the course of the book. There were parts of the book that were action packed and quite exciting. The story ended with a lot of promise for the next book which I am looking forward to reading soon.
About the Author
photo by Myra Klarman Photography Kim Harrison, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows series, was born in Detroit and, after gaining her bachelor’s degree in the sciences, she moved to South Carolina, where she remained until recently returning to Michigan because she missed the snow. When not at her desk, Kim is most likely to be found landscaping her new/old Victorian home, in the garden, or out on the links.
At first glance, this looks like a hardcover dystopia, based on the cover! There's a bit of time travel, interesting… This one sounds intriguing and a little complex. I' glad you were able to give it a chance and somewhat enjoy it. Great review, Carole!
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Yes, alternate time lines and drafting missions sounds like neat worldbuilding and would be tense if she couldn't trust her anchor. I've read a few sci-fi like this that really knock me off balance.
oh wow…this sounds like some great world building and I like the idea behind it too.
I have heard of this one before, through other people's blogs. It seems like it generally gets a mediocre kind of rating I know rewiniding time would be able to help me an awful lot in my life as well! But for some reason I think I will skip over this one…