Synopsis

From the author of the critically acclaimed Second Chance series comes the first book in the Stone Shed saga.

When Noah Maclean, 22, races home from Europe, he finds a dying grandfather, a hidden letter, and a family secret that dates to the 1740s. He learns he is the keeper of a stone shed that can send people through time.

Within weeks, Noah and his brother, Jake, 15, test their inheritance. They travel to 1776 to see Philadelphia in the age of Benjamin Franklin, the Declaration of Independence, and the American Revolution.

Expecting to return within weeks, the orphaned brothers make the most of their field trip through history. Then, they meet the lovely daughters of a furniture maker, and a pleasant adventure becomes a transformative journey.

Filled with humor, romance, and heartbreak, THE PATRIOTS follows two lost souls through a critical moment in time as they adjust to new surroundings and wrestle with knowledge of things to come.

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Review

Another winner from time-travel author John Heldt. I have read many books by this author, and all of them reflect detailed research while comingling the past with the present.

This story focuses on two younger brothers – Noah and Jake. These two have had a rough life. They lost their parents, and now they have lost their grandfather. But their grandfather leaves a legacy for these two to either take advantage of or ignore. The Mclean family has always hidden a stone shed that transports people in time. I can only imagine how that knowledge can intimidate a person. There is so much they could see and do in the past, but to do it without changing the present? That could be a more challenging task. No matter how hard someone tries to not change the past, there will always be tiny footprints left behind.

This story is more than just traveling through time. It is about two young men finding their way in the past. It is fraught with challenges, but there are also rewards. I thought it was interesting that they chose to go back to 1776. Perhaps that was Noah’s influence since he studied this period in college. He was very familiar with what happened and the challenges it could present. It wasn’t like he could pick up the phone and call his uncle for help in 2024. This is where the author’s research comes in handy. The book mentions many founding fathers that one would recognize. Imagine being present while the United States fought for its independence from England. There is a war going on, too. Will these young men be able to stay silent observers? Will they remain in the past or return to their time?

This book was engaging, and I enjoyed the historical aspects. There is enough action and tension to keep a reader on their toes. The ending has me waiting with bated breath for the next book in this series. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

We give this book 5 paws up.

About the Author

John A. Heldt is a reference librarian and the author of the critically acclaimed Northwest Passage time-travel series. The former award-winning sportswriter and newspaper editor has loved getting subjects and verbs to agree since writing book reports on baseball heroes in grade school. A graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of Iowa, he is an avid fisherman, sports fan, home brewer, and reader of thrillers and historical fiction. When not sending contemporary characters to the not-so-distant past, he weighs in on literature and life on his blog.

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