Spotlight on “The Day Tripper” by James Goodhand

by LitStack Editor

In The Day Tripper, James Goodhand takes readers through a time hop of suspense and mystery in this page-turning thrill ride. 

The Day Tripper and author James Goodhand

About The Day Tripper

The right guy, the right place, the wrong time.

It’s 1995, and Alex Dean has it all: a spot at Cambridge University next year, the love of an amazing woman named Holly and all the time in the world ahead of him. That is until a brutal encounter with a ghost from his past sees him beaten, battered and almost drowning in the Thames.

He wakes the next day to find he’s in a messy, derelict room he’s never seen before, in grimy clothes he doesn’t recognize, with no idea of how he got there. A glimpse in the mirror tells him he’s older—much older—and has been living a hard life, his features ravaged by time and poor decisions. He snatches a newspaper and finds it’s 2010—fifteen years since the fight.

After finally drifting off to sleep, Alex wakes the following morning to find it’s now 2019, another nine years later. But the next day, it’s 1999. Never knowing which day is coming, he begins to piece together what happens in his life after that fateful night by the river.

But what exactly is going on? Why does his life look nothing like he thought it would? What about Cambridge, and Holly? In this page-turning adventure, Alex must navigate his way through the years to learn that small actions have untold impact. And that might be all he needs to save the people he loves and, equally importantly, himself.

Praise for James Goodhand’s The Day Tripper

“Witty and wise, The Day Tripper had me pulling for Alex through all of his mixed-up days. James Goodhand brings a fun, fresh voice to the time travel genre in this gem of a novel. I loved it!”—Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

“The Day Tripper is absolutely astonishing, from first page to last. Warm, clever, hopeful, and superbly written. James Goodhand is a brilliant storyteller at the top of his game. I adored it.”—Stuart Turton, Sunday Times bestselling author of The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

“The Day Tripper is a brilliantly-written exploration of the choices we make every day, and how those choices shape the people we become. It blew my mind and broke my heart, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished it!”—Gareth Brown, author of The Book of Doors

“A page-turner.”—Booklist

“Goodhand’s debut is a compelling look at the way decisions, good and bad, build up over time to create a life.”—Library Journal

“A powerful, poignant twist on the time travel story that had me gripped right from the start.”—Bobby Palmer, Sunday Times bestselling author of Isaac and the Egg

“I adored The Day Tripper. Utterly original, moving, and so brilliantly crafted.”—Louisa Reid, author of The Poet

“James Goodhand takes the time-travel genre and reshapes it into something wonderful. A tender, compulsive, miracle of a love story that’s stays with you long after the final page is turned. Essential.”—Adam Simcox, author of The Dying Squad Trilogy

About James Goodhand, Author of The Day Tripper

The Day Tripper

James Goodhand has written two YA novels. His YA debut, Last Lesson, was called “a powerfully charged study in empathy,” by the Financial Times. The Day Tripper is his adult debut. He lives in Englad with his wife and young son.

Titles by James Goodhand

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The Day Tripper

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