A Symphony of Echoes is the second book in the brilliant Chronicles of St. Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor. It begins with Max (Madeleine Maxwell) and Kalinda Black making a jump back to London on the trail of Jack the Ripper. It’s Kalinda’s last trip before retiring as a historian and it’s her last request. Unfortunately, things go spectacularly wrong this time!
One of the best things about our job is that if you live long enough, you get to choose your last jump.
Welcome back to St. Mary’s, that secretive research institute where historians travel back in time to observe major events as they happen. Once again we are treated to an incident-packed adventure with episodes such as:
This time around, Max also gets to travel to the future as she attempts to rescue Leon Farrell. She arrives at a future version of St. Mary’s under attack by Clive Ronan with Isabella Barclay in tow (yes she’s back). St. Mary’s have lost their director and a large number of their team have been killed. Will Max be able to save Leon and help the Future St. Mary’s fight back? You’ll need to read the book to find out…
After listening to Just One Damned Thing After Another, I couldn’t wait to purchase A Symphony of Echoes, the second book in the series. So does it match the brilliance of the first novel? Of course, it does!
In this episode, many of the characters from the first novel are back again, including Max who has been promoted from historian to Chief Operating Officer. Although she still acts as impetuously as she did in the previous book. Once again the story is told from Max’s perspective, which is good as it allows other events to happen in the background. This helps to build up the tension as for much of the plot, we are as much in the dark as Max.
The story, as with the previous novel is very… ‘British’. For the most part, it’s quirky and fun with some very dry humour, reminding me sometimes of an Ealing comedy. But it does have its dark side, with beatings, death and cold-blooded murder.
The pace once again is brisk, and from Max’s point of view, we are treated to another rollercoaster ride of excitement and emotions. The journeys into the past all have an element of danger for our historians, whether it’s from the indigenous population or the villains of the future there’s plenty of variety keeping us captivated. The trip to rescue the dodoes, however, is just pure fun.
There is also a major shift in the storyline where the team travel to a future St. Mary’s. This opens up all sorts of possibilities for upcoming stories as we’re not now limited to the past. Plus we’re introduced to some new characters, the most interesting of all is Pinkie the Chief Technical Officer. There’s also a future version of Mrs Partridge (yes that’s right). I’m hoping we see more of these in some of the later episodes in the series.
From a romantic perspective, Max and Leon get it on, and then they don’t, and then they do again. Will they ever settle down?
A Symphony of Echoes is another corker of a story from Jodi Taylor and I loved it! I’m looking forward to reading/listening to the next book in the series.
Note: Although we’re onto the second book in the series, you don’t need to have read the first to enjoy it.
Once again Zara Ramm read A Symphony of Echoes. To me, her voice is now synonymous with Max and I can’t imagine anyone else reading any of the novels in this series. A marvellous performance yet again.
Highly Recommended…
