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Book Review By Katrina Lo
Killing Time by Linda Howard

The town Pekesville County doesn't know that when they dug a time capsule back in 1985, it will generate a series of bizaare events 20 years later. Knox Davis has been there when the time capsule is buried into the ground. Now that he's the county sheriff, he makes sure that peace is maintained in his quiet town. But suddenly the capsule has turned missing without any trace of evidence left behind. Knox is befuddled on how someone will take a useless capsule and even hide his presence from the surveillance camera. Then a man complained of having his chickens killed and tractor slashed. Knox investigates but finds no evidence of someone trespassing. His curiosity of the strange events heightens especially when the man tells him of seeing lightning flashes before the incident happened. Knox remembers that it has been the same for the capsule before it has been stolen. The town is suddenly shook when gruesome incidents happen with members of the people who donated items in the capsule are being murdered. The method of murder has been a spear thrust into the victim but confounding the investigation is the lack of any trace of the murderer.
When Nikita Stover checks into the town, Knox is instantly suspicious especially when he finds her snooping into his crime scene and when a bullet is shot aimed at her. He doesn't believe that she is FBI as she has introduced herself. But he sure is interested in her presence and why somebody wants her dead. When he gets a report back from FBI telling them they know no agent with the name of Nikita Stover, Knox immediately arrests Nikita for impersonating an FBI, which is a federal charge. Seeing no way out, Nikita tells Knox that she's from the future that she has time traveled to the past to catch a person who has wanted the time travel files which has been inside the capsule and use it for his own gain. Knox is skeptical until she lets her see her futuristic gadgets. Knox finally believes her and they pair up to catch the murderer. Suddenly another agent from the future has been sent to eliminate Nikita and she knows now that she can't go back to her time. Seeing that people from both the future and present wants Nikita dead, Knox tries to protect her and solve the big case. Nikita sooner finds out who the murderer and time traveler are and she sends Knox into finding out their location. The murderer eventually materializes and charges after Knox and Nikita.


Plot & Themes
Time/era of story
Action/suspense subplot? Yes
Action:
Time Travel Yes
Type of time travel - future to present

Main Male Character
Profession/status:
Age/status: - 20's-30's
Unusual characteristics?

Main Female Character
Age/status: - 20's-30's
Profession/status:
Unusual characteristics:

Setting
United States Yes
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
What % of story is romance related? - 80%
Focus of story - equally on him and her
How much dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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