BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR! I know I’ve said that before,but this time, I mean it! If you haven’t read any of the books in this series-well, I just have to throw my hands up in dismay. Go and get book one and start reading immediately, we’ll wait. When you catch up to the rest of us here at book fourteen you will know what I’m talking about.
This is one of the best series out there. Historians, time travel-oops, I meant to say historians investigating major historical events in contemporary time (yeah, that means time travel). Jodi Taylor gives the reader an entire journey of a story. Newcomers to the series will flail around for a few chapters until they get the rhythm of the plot straight and figure out who is who. I suggest plenty of tea and something sweet to munch on as you strap in for this ride.
Dear reader, I got this book for my birthday present to myself and I actually (hold onto your hat), paid for it with real money! and it was so good, I almost asked Amazon if I could send them another payment. I spent my entire birthday curled up reading it and had the best time. I laughed, I cried, I read parts aloud to the cat and then to myself when he hied himself off because I wouldn’t shut up. His loss-Jodi Taylor and I are a winning combination.
Max and the gang from St. Mary’s are under investigation as the Director has been shot and Max is the usual suspect. The first part gets us up to speed on what happened in book thirteen and then we are off on an adventure through time. It never lets up. Seriously, we are treated to many plot threads being tied up, and catching up with old friends who just drop plot clues all over the place, and, just when you think we’re done-boom, plot twist and we are off again.
Max and Markham are infiltrating the Insight organization while at the same time (in another time) working with Pros & Cons (ha ha) Lady Amelia Smallhope and the redoubtable Pennyroyal to also bring down Insight. Markham is always awesome and I caught a couple fun nods to his past. (Seriously, we need to have a meeting discuss Markham and the likelihood that he is the most perfect character ever written-swoon worthy? oh, my yes!). Ahem, moving on…danger abounds as Max deals with her ‘time sickness’ as she rockets back and forth, up and down the timeline, causing chaos in several major historic places, finding clues and piecing together the dire secret of Insight. You, dear reader, will be left breathless on many pages wondering if this is finally the time our heroine meets her end.
I absolutely loved this book. It was hilarious in all the right places and the ending was a perfect wrap up of this overarching “Insight” story line. I know Jodi Taylor is moving us to the Time Police series but there were some clue crumbs dropped along the way that leave me hopeful for another St.Mary’s book sometime. 5 big fat stars. You ‘OTTER’ be reading this.