Fragments (Out of Time, #3)

by Monique Martin

[kalventure]

Fragments is great and it really seems that Martin is coming into her own with her characters. While there is still a "romantic issue" for Simon and Elizabeth, it isn't as much the driving force of the plot but ancillary to the overall adventure.

While on holiday in present-day England, Simon and Elizabeth see someone they recognize in a photo at a museum, suffering from shell shock and amnesia. They head to 1942 England to rescue their friend from a hospital, but it isn't as easy as they expected.

Martin outdid herself here - it is obvious that she has done a ton of research into the time period and of the London area. This feels like a time travel book, whereas the previous two felt primarily like romance novels. The characters that Simon and Elizabeth meet are interesting, and she really did well to paint the picture of a spy network, mystery and intrigue with a bit of folklore. Simon's expertise in the occult came in handy as well, which I felt was lacking in the previous books.

My only wish is that the Council threads from the previous books weren't left essentially untouched in this book. It just seems like something that would be such an interesting framework, and even if Simon and Elizabeth decide to do their own things ad hoc and never join, I do find it disapointing that the Council is cloaked in so much mystery, even after being sent on a mission by them in the previous book (to which that conclusion of returning home and reporting back was not discussed in this book as I expected, given the abrupt ending).

Fragments is the best in the series yet, and I look forward to seeing where Simon and Elizabeth go next.