A review of The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve
The Memory Collectors, by American film and TV producer and author Dete Meserve, is one of Goodreads Most Anticipated Books of 2025. And it does not disappoint. The speculative mystery is told from the prospectives of four strangers who travel in time to spend one hour in the past. Through their narratives we learn the intricacies of time travel, including the most common theories that travelling to the past would either alter the future or create alternative timelines, with unpredictable consequences.
But the story cleverly draws from the work of Dr Fabio Costa at the University of Queensland – yes, a real physicist. In the author’s words; “[Costa’s] research on closed time-like curves (CTCs) proposed that time travel could occur without paradoxes… If someone tried to change the past, the timeline would adjust to prevent any lasting impact on the future.”
So what is the point of travelling to the past if the future cannot be changed? For Elizabeth, it is to spend one precious hour with her son before his senseless death. For Andy, it is to find his soulmate who vanished without a trace. For Logan, it is to reclaim his freedom after an accident rendered him paraplegic. And for Brooke, it is to have one hour’s relief from the shame and guilt of an unforgivable mistake.
Then the plot twists when one hour becomes days, and the four characters find themselves stranded in the past, their paths unexpectedly intertwined. They cannot help but wonder if this is an opportunity to make a difference – to find answers to desperate questions, to examine past and present relationships with fresh eyes, to grasp those lost and hidden parts of themselves, and to right the wrongs that forever changed their lives and those of their loved ones.
To say there is impressive character growth is to undermine the story’s complexity and
depth. All four characters are well-developed, their beliefs, desires and intentions consistent, and their decisions and actions convincing. Instead of info-dumping, the author skilfully reveals their backstories little by little, confidently and seamlessly weaving the individual threads together to present a rich tapestry of human emotions and life’s dichotomies.
Ultimately, when the mystery is solved near the story’s end, we find ourselves cheering for these characters and their fearless pursuits. The precious lessons they have learned are uplifting and inspiring, prompting us to reflect on our own attitudes towards those seemingly insignificant aspects and moments of our lives.
The Memory Collectors is a story about loss and grief, but it is also about hope, love, courage and discovery. More importantly, it is about never taking things for granted. It is about seizing the day before it becomes a memory. Highly recommended.
