Booklog 70/2025: Jodi Taylor: Plan for the Worst - Chronicles of St Mary's #11 – Audiobook

[jacey]

 

Audiobook narrated by Zara Ramm.

I re-read (re-listened to) this because in the recent read of ‘Out of Time’ I had a question about Markham and whether Max knows the details of his origins. I was fairly sure she did, but I needed to remind myself. And yes, she does. So now I need to re-read Out of Time.

This is my original review: Following the plan to trap arch villain Ronan, and the unexpected twist at the end of the previous book, Hope for the Best, Max, Leon and their son Matthew (recently returned from the care of the Time Police) are trying to get on with the rest of their lives at St Mary's. Max is once more in charge of the historians and trying to impress their funders at Thirsk University, so she's planning a spectacular trip to ancient Crete, just before the huge volcanic eruption which heralded the end of the Minoan civilisation. But before that, Leon is arrested for murder by the dreaded Time Police, and Max, Peterson and Markham have to become private investigators. Then Doctor Bairstow (the boss) takes Mrs Brown (a government representative) on a jaunt to see the Princes in the Tower, accompanied only by Max. Everything goes wrong (of course) and Max is almost drowned, when the person she trusts with her life fails her. The betrayal leaves her shaken. Then there's the Crete trip. It's all going well until the volcano kicks off early and Ronan reappears at just the wrong moment. There's a satisfactory ending, and I did wonder whether this might be the final book, but then I checked and #12 is available for advance order. After a lot of hints in previous books we finally find out more about Markham, who is my second favourite character (after Max) and when the revelation comes, it's a doozy.