The River of No Return

Ridgway makes her debut with an accomplished if sometimes slow-going literary mash-up. In the midst of battle, Lord Nicholas Falcott suddenly jumps 200 years into the future. Finding himself in 2003, Lord Nicholas forges a new life as “Nick Davenant” and serves in a time-traveling secret society known as the Guild. But 10 years after he jumped, Nick is told he’s being sent back to 1815 on a vital mission. While investigating the Guild’s enemies and hunting for the invaluable Talisman, he’s reunited with his sweetheart, Julia Percy, who’s just started to discover time-traveling gifts of her own. But a war over the past and the fate of the future, as well as desperate attempts to find the Talisman and use it to avert catastrophe, promises either to bring Nick and Julia together or tear them apart. Ridgway offers a well-crafted blend of science fiction, romance, mystery, and historical fiction, but stumbles with overlong explanations that, while helpful in untangling the story’s convolutions, stall the plot. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, Janklow & Nesbit Associates. (Apr.)