Dual Timelines to Get Lost In

When you love something, you can sometimes be even more critical of it than the average person.

Such is my relationship with dual timeline novels—a type of book that I’ve written several times over.¹ This familiarity means that I can often be quite picky about what works and doesn’t work for me in book featuring a dual timeline.

My biggest stipulation when reading one of these books is that both timelines need to grip my attention. I shouldn’t be flipping the pages hoping that I can skim through the present day sections to get to the historical fiction.²

So, without further ado, there are six no-skip dual timeline novels for your reading consideration.

This article has been pre-scheduled as I am currently on maternity leave.

Homecoming by Kate Morton

I have long been a fan of Kate Morton’s books, and I was delighted to read this dual timeline novel weaving the story of Jess, a journalist returned home to Australia after her grandmother’s health crisis, and the Turner family murder which shocked the people of a small town in the Adelaide Hills in 1959. When it becomes clear that Jess’s grandmother may know something about the Turner tragedy, Jess begins to dig and discovers more about her own past than she ever could have imagined.

The Rivera House by Natasha Lester

Weaving between World War 2 Paris and modern-day France, this novel focuses on the heroic efforts of people to hide and save priceless works of art from the Nazis during the Occupation of Paris. If you’re interested in learning more about the book, I interviewed Natasha Lester on the publication of the book for my Ask an Author series.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

When Caroline, who is visiting London after finding out about her husband’s infidelity, discovers an old vial in the mud of the Thames, it kicks off the search for where the vial came from. In the 1790s, mysterious apothecary Nella helps women in trouble through the help of poisons. Alternating between Caroline’s present day investigation and what happens to Nella after a young girl enters her life, Sarah Penner creates a compelling, suspenseful story.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

One of my favorites, The Alice Network is a master class in dual timelines. The book switches between 1915 and the story of Eve, a young woman who begins spying on the Germans during the Great War, and college student Charlie who is looking for her missing cousin in post-World War 2 France. What really makes this book for me is an older, hardened Eve in 1947, reluctantly helping Charlie on her search as she settles scores of her own. Eve is a force of nature.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

A beautiful book that really took my breath away, Kirstin Harmel’s moving The Book of Lost Names details the story of Eva, a young woman in World War 2 France who tries to help Jewish children cross into neutral Switzerland by creating forged passes and papers with new identities. In hopes of one day reunited these children with their parents and their original identities, she records the names in a coded “book of lost names.” Decades later, while working as a librarian in the United States, Eva finds a photo of what she believes could be her book of lost names, kicking off a transatlantic journey to try to finish the work she started sixty-five years earlier.

Again, Kristin Harmel was one of my Ask an Author guests with the publication for The Book of Lost Names and was generous enough to speak about the research for and writing of that novel.

The Light Over London by Julia Kelly

I mentioned above that I have written several dual timeline books, so I would be remiss if I didn’t include the book that started it all! The Light Over London was my first historical novel, which I wrote about a young woman in World War 2 named Louise who discovers herself when she joins the women’s branch of the British army, the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and becomes a Gunner Girl assigned to an anti-aircraft unit. In present day, Cara discovers a cache of photos, mementos, and a diary while clearing an estate and launches her own search into the past that will force her to confront the secrets that she suspects her own grandmother is hiding from her.

Leave a comment below sharing your own recommendations for dual timeline books!

1. In fact, the book I was editing while writing this article is a dual timeline novel.

2. This is a lesson I learned as an author while writing The Light Over London. I was so focused on the historical parts that my editor had to remind me that it was time I beefed up the present day sections. I put a lot of work into that present day storyline, and I’m very proud of the end result!