The Chronos Protocol
The Fractured Reality Casefiles
by Woodrow Bell
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Dec 16 2025 | Archive Date Dec 10 2025
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Description
In a city where memories can be rewritten, the only witness to murder is the detective who shouldn't remember.
Marla Espinoza was Nova Prosper's best cop. Until a burned man appeared on her computer screen, a man the department swears was never there.
Now, scorched bodies are randomly turning up across the city. Each crime scene triggers memories Marla never lived: a sister erased from existence, children she saved from cartels that never touched this city, case files bearing her signature on investigations she doesn't remember. The victims form a pattern only she can see. Someone is sending her a message written in corpses.
When her own department turns against her, Marla goes rogue. But in Nova Prosper's surveillance blind spots, witnesses swear they've seen her at crime scenes before the bodies drop. The city's pristine façade is cracking, revealing a conspiracy that reaches from street level to the highest towers.
The murders aren't random. They're breadcrumbs.
And they're leading Marla to a truth about herself that someone spent years burying.
Some detectives solve cases. Others become them.
THE CHRONOS PROTOCOL is a mind-bending sci-fi noir where Philip K. Dick meets True Detective. Perfect for readers who loved Altered Carbon, Westworld, and Dark Matter, stories where memory is a weapon, reality is negotiable, and the biggest mystery is who you really are.
Discover what Marla forgot. Before it kills her.
This is book 2 in the series, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel.
This book begins after the end of book 1. It also has one chapter that occurs 5 years before the beginning of book 1.
Marketing Plan
The Chronos Protocol will be promoted through a multi-channel marketing strategy leading up to its release on December 16, 2025. Key efforts include:
Email Marketing: Announcements and updates will go out to my subscriber list, built through my previous release, Worship the Image, and ongoing reader magnet campaigns on Story Origin.
Social Media Promotion: Scheduled posts and video content across TikTok, Instagram, and Bluesky, highlighting teaser excerpts, cover art, and character reveals.
Paid Advertising: Campaigns planned for BookBub, Facebook, Amazon Ads, and multiple promotion websites targeting sci-fi noir and cyberpunk readers.
ARC Outreach: Early access offered to reviewers via NetGalley, Booksirens, Booksprout, and StoryOrigin to build buzz and gather early reviews.
Cross-promotion: Newsletter swaps and reader group outreach with comparable indie authors in the genre.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9210560515569 |
| PRICE | $2.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 250 |
Available on NetGalley
Average rating from 5 members
Featured Reviews
Cathy N, Reviewer
Disclosure time: I read this entire book, but initially I fully intended to DNF this book. I agreed to review an ARC of this book solely based on interesting premise before I had read book 1 of the series, and then I ended up strongly disliking book 1 (Worship the Image) for bad writing, awkward dialogue, and a plot that devolved from cool mystery to resistance fighting.
But turns out I liked this book MUCH better! The prose is dramatically better. The dialogue is still awkward sometimes, but overall this felt like a much more polished novel that was enjoyable to read. Plus, I thought this story was a lot more interesting. This time the story maintained the central focus of a mystery centered around the use of technology in the noir-style cyberpunk world Bell has built. The plot twists that started about halfway in really blew my mind and kept me on the edge of my seat. Lots of "WTF just happened" moments.
The one thing I didn't like: it wasn't clear to me until about 70% of the way in when this book takes place relative to book 1. It turns out I'd had it all wrong the whole time, and that sort of changed how I was thinking about the events as I read this book. I'm not sure if that was intentionally left vague or if it was an oversight when writing the book blurb, but I feel like I would've appreciated knowing at the outset.
The blurb states that you can read this book as a standalone, but I strongly suggest reading Worship the Image first because I feel that a lot of critical world-building happens that is necessary for fully appreciating the events of this book.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the digital ARC.
Hayley G, Reviewer
Wow, this was really good! A Cyberpunk future with mind control and corporate takeover of EVERYTHING that makes you human.
Marla was an engaging MC and was extremely easy to root for. It's clear she is a talented Detective and excels at analysing the world around her as well as the virtual. We are learning about the world (and what is wrong with it) as she is.
It starts slowly until about the 50% mark, where it speeds up and information is being thrown at us left and right. Did sometimes feel like I was being overloaded a little bit, and I did have to reread some parts a second time to fully grasp what was happening. Overall the pacing was good though.
That ending though. Genuinely very excited for the next book.
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