Twenty-Four

One story, two books: two ways of reading it

On Friday the 19th of May, at 11:56 in a secondary school in Bologna, a bomb goes off. It’s the worst terrorist attack in Italy’s history, it inflicts an incurable wound on the heart of the city. The consequences are tragic. But… the attack never happened and this story actually began on Thursday the 18th of May at 11:56, when there were still 24 hours to stop the tragedy from happening. The Time Shifters are about to face their most difficult challenge yet.

The book can be read in two ways: either in chronological order (Timeline – green cover), which reads like a crime novel. Or, you can skip backward and forward between the different dates and times, reading it out of its natural time sequence (Time Loop – red cover), so it reads like a thriller.

• Ron, Enrico, Michela: the fates of three young people combine and clash, to the relentless tick, tick, tick of time passing.
• The pace of a thriller, with secret bases, mobsters, time machines… But also stories of troubled families, mental health, friendship – a hand held out to help save the world.