Bassett Clark’s bar is empty, along with his future, and his bank account. He wants more out of his monotone life, but isn’t willing to change. His nondescript bar is struggling. His girlfriend, a Dachshund-loving, would be novelist, is eager to move their relationship forward. His best friend, a quirky chef, urges him to spice up his menu. But Bassett can’t think outside the takeout box, let alone wrap his head around the idea of mixing chicken with peanut sauce.
Meanwhile, bills are piling up, and Bassett could lose everything. Renaming his establishment time travelers’ rally point, Bassett, his girlfriend, and his bestie jazz up the decor with eclectic items. Soon, ttrp becomes a time travel themed bar and restaurant, and business improves. But as soon as the old bar gains new life, unsettling events unfold.
Cryptic text messages show up on Bassett’s phone. Strange patrons arrive, some in odd period attire, others with curious patterns, and almost all with peculiar behavior. A toolbox full of money appears. But when a customer is murdered inside the locked bar after hours, things begin to unravel.
Suddenly, this meat and potatoes guy is thrust into an exotic jaunt through time, and a quest to find something he didn’t know he’d lost. Along the way, KGB spies, police investigations, international criminals, secret researchers, and H.G. Wells join the fusion of unexplained coincidences.
Time Travelers’ Rally Point by Justin Mitson is a tasty journey through comfort zones. The reader, and characters, will question whether each day is a flashback, a premonition, or something else entirely. It isn’t until Bassett literally comes face to face with his future, and his past, that things begin to come into focus. Sort of.
What happens next? Take a spin on one of ttrp’s bar stools and find out.
