succeeds by accidentally figuring out a way to send objects forward in time, although he can’t fully control the process. The last test occurred in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A B-52 bomber loaded with an atomic weapon disappears, never to be seen again…

That is, until 2025, when it reappears in the skies above a long-abandoned air force base in rural Maine, the same base from which it took off over 60 years earlier. Years earlier, the government tried to explain the disappearance by claiming the plane crashed after takeoff. However, Charlie Goodwin, a precocious high school student who loves posting online conspiracy videos, has always questioned that story. When she discovers a flurry of activity around the “abandoned” air base, she and her would-be boyfriend go there looking for a story.

Scott Carson is the pen name of best-selling author Michael Koryta, who specializes in “realistic” thrillers. He has adopted the Carson pseudonym for what he classifies as occult stories. (Departure 37 is the second Carson novel.) However, Departure 37 is not a supernatural or horror novel. It’s science fiction of the variety popular in the 1950s, in which “scientists” in books and films spout pseudoscientific nonsense to explain bizarre phenomena like time travel. Here, Marty explains his methodology three different times, none of which make much sense. Instead, readers are simply willing to go along for the ride.

And it proves to be quite a ride. The author has chosen his time periods well. Cold War paranoia and secrecy were rampant in the months leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The government’s decision to go along with Marty’s experiments makes sense in this era of heightened international tensions and fears of a nuclear holocaust. Today, we’re gripped by a different sort of paranoia, as evidenced by the profound distrust of government and the widespread outlandish conspiracy theories about almost everything that has happened in recent years.

The author relates most of the storylines from the points of view of Marty and Charlie. However, he includes sections told from the points of view of the various government officials in the two timelines. These interludes add to the uneasy atmosphere, as several government officials prove rather cutthroat. The author also explains how the government tried to keep the secret of what happened in 1962 for decades. These explanations and cover-ups seemed quite plausible to me and made the book more entertaining.

Despite the science fiction and governmental secrecy trappings, Departure 37 eventually becomes a more familiar suspense story. A fully armed B-52 is flying somewhere above the Eastern Seaboard with a crew that’s trying to cope with an impossible explanation of what happened to them. The possibilities include dropping a nuke and being blown out of the sky by the Air Force jets following them. Since the author takes readers inside the plane and introduces them to the crew, readers identify with the crew and empathize with their plight.

The author’s attention to detail extends to the main characters. Marty and Charlie are fully developed characters with lives, loves, and insecurities. In particular, Charlie has a companion on her adventure, a classmate who seems to be Mr. Perfect, but is a bit too perfect for Charlie. It’s an unusual but entertaining twist on the typical teen romance. The story works in large part because the characters are so relatable.

Although I’ve mentioned the book’s central plot point, Departure 37 contains several other twists and surprises that will entertain and confound readers. They aren’t arbitrary gotchas that the author included just for shock value. Instead, they help explain the characters’ relationships and shape what eventually happens in the book. Departure 37 is one of the most carefully crafted books I’ve read in a long time without appearing contrived.

Departure 37 acknowledges the debt the book owes to The Twilight Zone by referencing Rod Serling’s show at one point. Even without that shout out, the relationship is obvious. Departure 37 is the type of book Serling might have written if he had expanded his vision to a full-length novel. However, Koryta/Carson goes beyond Serling’s barebones story framework to create a novel that fully encapsulates the mood of two separate but eerily similar eras in American history. It’s also an entertaining character study with some likable believable characters. The result is a compelling novel that feels familiar yet is highly original and unpredictable.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.