Book 3 of The Joseph Bridgeman series takes place a short while after the events of Book 2, seeing Joe adjusting to his life in an altered present reality and wondering if he’s done with time travel for good. But he quickly realizes his time travel endeavours are just beginning after he’s contacted by the Continuum, an organized group of time travellers based a century in the future. The Continuum requests Joe’s help in rescuing one of their operatives that has been spotted in 1873 Paris, a time-point of an upcoming mission for time traveller Gabrielle Green.
Teaming up with Gabrielle, Joe travels back to 1873 over several jumps, witnessing the burning of a famous opera house and attempting to both rescue the operative and alter the course of a man’s life who never returned from the opera fire. The only hope of success this time is to assemble Vinny’s knowledge, along with clues from his sister Amy’s paintings and future technologies.
The story is definitely the most complex and fascinating of the series so far. Joe and Gabrielle’s conflicting personalities provide plenty of comic relief during several highly intense scenes. Jones has clearly done his due diligence in historical research, as listeners are provided with some very interesting facts about this real-life opera house fire, and the 19th-century Parisian world that he depicts is extremely vivid. Several new, colourful, and memorable characters are introduced throughout the book, many with stories of their own, keeping listeners constantly entertained.
Narrator Ray Porter delivers a spectacular performance, seeming to have fully embodied Joe’s character by this third installment and delivering the most dramatic and introspective performance so far. The author’s note at the end is not to be missed, as it gives listeners insight into Jones’ planning of the series and how the stories have organically unfolded thus far! If you’ve listened to the first two books or are looking for an exciting standalone time-travel adventure, don’t hesitate with this one!