Jake’s father disappears while working on mysterious experiments with the obsessive, reclusive Oberon Venn. Jake is convinced Venn has murdered him. But the truth he finds at the snow-bound Wintercombe Abbey is far stranger.

The experiments concerned a black mirror, which is a portal to both the past and the future. Venn is not alone in wanting to use its powers. Strangers begin gathering in and around Venn’s estate: Sarah – a runaway, who appears out of nowhere and is clearly not what she says, Maskelyne – who claims the mirror was stolen from him in some past century. 

There are others, a product of the mirror’s power to twist time. And a tribe of elemental beings surround this isolated estate, fey, cold, untrustworthy, and filled with hate for humans. But of them all, Jake is hell-bent on using the mirror to get to the truth. Whatever the cost, he must learn what really happened to his father.

Characters: Some really mysterious characters in this story that definitely kept me guessing for most of the story.  The main character is Jake is a character which from the start of the novel I thought was a trouble maker but I couldn’t be more wrong.  Jake is a character that I really warmed to as the story went on.  You also have Oberion who is this mysterious character who Jake suspects of murdering his father.  A very mysterious character that has a secret or two to give away.

Originality: Time travel is a theme that I have not come across often.  In fact, I believe I have only read one other, which was the Time Traveller’s Wife.  So for me this was a brand new theme and I have to admit that I am completely hooked and definitely on the lookout for more time travel stories.

Plot: Time travel, a missing person and a mirror that can take you through time, what more could you want!  Jake is the main character of the book and we mostly follow his story as he confronts Oberon Venn and goes on a quest to discover the truth about Venn, his father and the black mirror.  There are quite a few twists and turns in this story and a shocker near the end which I was definitely surprised about.

Writing: I loved Catherine’s writing style.  The writing flowed and was very easy to get into and follow the story.  I really enjoyed the suspense build up in the story, there was a point where I got to where the main action was taking place and I just could not put the story down.

Debs’ Rating: I really enjoyed this first instalment in the Chronoptika series and really can’t wait to find out what happens next.