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Doctor Who: Past Doctors, New Novels #5
Doctor Who: Death in the Stars
A band of killers. Survivors with a secret. A death-defying murder mystery in space.
When young Mel’s business partner, Sabalom Glitz embarks on yet another “get rich quick” scheme, it marks the start of an epic, death-defying murder-mystery in space.
After barely escaping the snares of a murderous galactic cult, Mel searches for fellow survivors in a nearby spaceship graveyard – while Glitz looks to fill his pockets. But the discovery of a spaceship with its crew in suspended animation and incredible secrets on board leaves the duo stranded with no way off.
Mel revives the crew – and then the murders start. Murders that cannot possibly have been committed by any of the crewmembers. In fact, there are only two realistic suspects – Glitz and Mel themselves…
When young Mel’s business partner, Sabalom Glitz embarks on yet another “get rich quick” scheme, it marks the start of an epic, death-defying murder-mystery in space.
After barely escaping the snares of a murderous galactic cult, Mel searches for fellow survivors in a nearby spaceship graveyard – while Glitz looks to fill his pockets. But the discovery of a spaceship with its crew in suspended animation and incredible secrets on board leaves the duo stranded with no way off.
Mel revives the crew – and then the murders start. Murders that cannot possibly have been committed by any of the crewmembers. In fact, there are only two realistic suspects – Glitz and Mel themselves…
249 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 22, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 1, 2025
This story is set right after Dragonfire. So Mel has left the seventh doctor and joined up with Glitz, hoping to become his moral compass and use his skills for something good.
Unfortunately, Glitz’s latest get rich quick scheme ends with disaster. They find themselves trapped on a space station that’s normally used as a market where people can trade, but where there’s now a cult looking for sacrifices.
This was written by Bonnie Langford and Jacqueline Rayner. Bonnie is of course the actress who plays Mel in the TV series, and Jacqueline has written many Doctor Who books. So I was expecting the characters to be done justice in a solid standalone spin off story. And that’s pretty much what we get here.
Mel notoriously wasn’t fleshed out as well as other companions in the TV series. She has since been fleshed out a bit more in other media, particularly in the Big Finish audio stories. Still, it feels like there’s so much untapped potential to be found in her character. So it’s a bit of a shame we don’t learn a bit more about her character in this spin off story. Though I do like her inner thoughts about having to say goodbye to the seventh doctor. I also like that her being an 80s computer programmer is actually shown here, instead of just told like in the TV series. Her putting a floppy disk in a highly futuristic spaceship is quite funny. Though it doesn’t really boost our confidence in her computer skills.
As for the plot, after the silly and campy fun in the beginning, there is a mystery to unearth. Though the murder mystery described in the blurb doesn’t really start until we get to the second half of the story. So I think I went into this one with the wrong expectations, which is a bit of a shame. I also quite like the cult in the beginning of the story. It’s a story that could have stood on its own. It’s all about how knowledge is power, because the magic here is simply science they don’t understand yet. It’s such a shame the cult aspect wasn’t given a bit more time to shine.
What to say about this one? Well, I like that Mel’s character is explored a little bit more. I also like the little references to her earlier adventures with the doctor and her redefining herself as a person now that she’s no longer with the doctor. The dance scene to ABBA’s Super Trouper is super fun. And the cult in the beginning is the highlight of this story for me personally. Still, such a shame that the blurb set my expectations a bit wrong going into it. As the core of the story might be the murder mystery, and it really is a solid mystery, but it takes a long time for the story to get there.
Unfortunately, Glitz’s latest get rich quick scheme ends with disaster. They find themselves trapped on a space station that’s normally used as a market where people can trade, but where there’s now a cult looking for sacrifices.
This was written by Bonnie Langford and Jacqueline Rayner. Bonnie is of course the actress who plays Mel in the TV series, and Jacqueline has written many Doctor Who books. So I was expecting the characters to be done justice in a solid standalone spin off story. And that’s pretty much what we get here.
Mel notoriously wasn’t fleshed out as well as other companions in the TV series. She has since been fleshed out a bit more in other media, particularly in the Big Finish audio stories. Still, it feels like there’s so much untapped potential to be found in her character. So it’s a bit of a shame we don’t learn a bit more about her character in this spin off story. Though I do like her inner thoughts about having to say goodbye to the seventh doctor. I also like that her being an 80s computer programmer is actually shown here, instead of just told like in the TV series. Her putting a floppy disk in a highly futuristic spaceship is quite funny. Though it doesn’t really boost our confidence in her computer skills.
As for the plot, after the silly and campy fun in the beginning, there is a mystery to unearth. Though the murder mystery described in the blurb doesn’t really start until we get to the second half of the story. So I think I went into this one with the wrong expectations, which is a bit of a shame. I also quite like the cult in the beginning of the story. It’s a story that could have stood on its own. It’s all about how knowledge is power, because the magic here is simply science they don’t understand yet. It’s such a shame the cult aspect wasn’t given a bit more time to shine.
What to say about this one? Well, I like that Mel’s character is explored a little bit more. I also like the little references to her earlier adventures with the doctor and her redefining herself as a person now that she’s no longer with the doctor. The dance scene to ABBA’s Super Trouper is super fun. And the cult in the beginning is the highlight of this story for me personally. Still, such a shame that the blurb set my expectations a bit wrong going into it. As the core of the story might be the murder mystery, and it really is a solid mystery, but it takes a long time for the story to get there.
October 19, 2024
easy going read but nothing fancy though
October 20, 2024
A supply run turns deadly when Mel and Sabalom Glitz end up stranded on the wrong ship and the crew begin to get killed off one by one.
A fun little adventure, with a nice feel for the characters and the kitschy dynamic of 'Doctor Who' from the late 80s.
A fun little adventure, with a nice feel for the characters and the kitschy dynamic of 'Doctor Who' from the late 80s.
August 24, 2024
Another instalment in the series of Doctor Who novels "written by the stars," and there's some fun to be had here if you are a fan of Mel Bush. Unlike the Ace novel this starts with Mel in the situation in which the TV show left her, both she and Glitz are instantly recognisable (especially during a comic sequence where a translator that only understands big words makes them speak in Pip & Jane Baker-ese), and the tone is wacky 80s Paradise Towers/Dragonfire style "future humans acting like they're in a satirical Judge Dredd near future dystopia" nonsense. The plot is a bit lacking, with the story in three distinct chunks. The final whodunnit is fun, and the first section with the cult provides some useful exposition, but the bit in the middle spoofing Bonnie's stint on Saturday morning TV complete with cookery section and puppet animal sidekick is shameless padding and pitched at an audience probably younger than the one seeking out Trial of a Time Lord nostalgia!
September 20, 2024
The characterisation is terrific, there’s plenty of wit and fun to be had with the spot on capturing of kid’s culture in the 70s and 80s, but alas the supporting characters and the story itself are a touch on the generic side (although redeemed somewhat by a smart and very modern Who solution to the mystery).
December 27, 2024
Overall a fairly average Doctor Who-adjacent volume of science-fiction, somewhat marred by a plot structure that's more akin to a three-part serial than one cohesive full-length adventure. (The mystery teased on the cover, in which the heroine winds up as both investigator and suspect in an outer-space whodunnit, doesn't even spring until the final third of the book.)
This is also a work that I judge for not living up to its potential in two key areas. First, it's the latest release in this franchise which has been entrusted to the actor-turned-writer behind the central character, which generally feels like a significant occasion. Theoretically, nobody should know the Doctor's companion Melanie Bush better than author Bonnie Langford, who played the role on television from 1986 to 1987 and then again starting in 2022, in addition to many Big Finish audio productions over the intervening years. And yet she demonstrates no particular insights into that figure in the way that, for instance, Sophie Aldred did for her own such project about Ace. Beyond a few sly references to other Langford performances outside of the Whoniverse, this could have easily been a title tackled by the actress's uncredited co-writer Jacqueline Rayner alone.
The second (and related) missed opportunity here is that it shines no light on elements of the protagonist's life that remain unknown to us. Mel originally left the TV show in the company of the roguish interstellar voyager Sabalom Glitz, and this tale picks up soon afterward with the two new business partners still traveling together. It does nothing to connect the dots to explain how she ends up back on contemporary Earth later on, which was kept pretty vague in the episode The Giggle. Nor do we learn anything more about her past, which has always been a bit of an enigma after the character was infamously introduced to the series already midway through her tenure with the Sixth Doctor. This novel sure seems like it could have been the perfect chance to finally fill in some of those gaps in the canon, but for whatever reason, it turns out to be not so nearly so momentous or informative.
Take it or leave it as a generic Whovian spinoff, I suppose, but it doesn't live up to the hype of a Mel story written by the woman herself.
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This is also a work that I judge for not living up to its potential in two key areas. First, it's the latest release in this franchise which has been entrusted to the actor-turned-writer behind the central character, which generally feels like a significant occasion. Theoretically, nobody should know the Doctor's companion Melanie Bush better than author Bonnie Langford, who played the role on television from 1986 to 1987 and then again starting in 2022, in addition to many Big Finish audio productions over the intervening years. And yet she demonstrates no particular insights into that figure in the way that, for instance, Sophie Aldred did for her own such project about Ace. Beyond a few sly references to other Langford performances outside of the Whoniverse, this could have easily been a title tackled by the actress's uncredited co-writer Jacqueline Rayner alone.
The second (and related) missed opportunity here is that it shines no light on elements of the protagonist's life that remain unknown to us. Mel originally left the TV show in the company of the roguish interstellar voyager Sabalom Glitz, and this tale picks up soon afterward with the two new business partners still traveling together. It does nothing to connect the dots to explain how she ends up back on contemporary Earth later on, which was kept pretty vague in the episode The Giggle. Nor do we learn anything more about her past, which has always been a bit of an enigma after the character was infamously introduced to the series already midway through her tenure with the Sixth Doctor. This novel sure seems like it could have been the perfect chance to finally fill in some of those gaps in the canon, but for whatever reason, it turns out to be not so nearly so momentous or informative.
Take it or leave it as a generic Whovian spinoff, I suppose, but it doesn't live up to the hype of a Mel story written by the woman herself.
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6...
--Or click here to browse through all my reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
October 19, 2025
I'm a big fan of the Doctor Who books where the actors who played the characters write the stories themselves. I believe it adds real authenticity to the narratives, as outside of the writers themselves, the actors are the ones who know their characters the best. Of course, it is true that the books are not written entirely by the actor, but usually they have an experienced author helping them. In this case, Death In The Stars is co-written by Bonnie Langford and Jaqueline Rayner.
The result is a fun and gripping tale, about a series of murders which occur onboard the Kazemi spaceship. Bonnie Langford and Jaqueline Rayner really dig deep into the unlikely friendship between Mel and Sabalom Glitz, who Mel joined to travel the stars with at the end of Dragonfire. Mel and Glitz are a highly entertaining duo, with Mel's ultra-positive need to always see the good in people contrasting brilliantly with Glitz's opportunistic conman.
The story gets very dark, seeing Mel and Glitz first land on a spaceship called the Seraphine, where its crew sacrifice the people onboard to fuel its engines. After the Seraphine's sacrificial rituals, it dovetails quickly into a murder mystery, which leaves the reader guessing throughout with a long list of potential subjects. Death In The Stars brings to mind other media like Among Us and Agatha Christie stories, due to its mystery and suspense.
Bonnie Langford hides several references to her real-life career throughout Death In The Stars, which is fun to spot. I found the Opportunity Knocks and Just William references, but there is also a list at the back of the book as to which shows are acknowledged. I can't for the life of me work out where the nod to Dancing On Ice is supposed to be, but the book assures me it is in there. There is even a reference to Bonnie Langford's history with kid's TV, with the Kazemi spaceship's AI taking on the form of amusingly over-the-top children's presenter, Barry Day. As Barry himself would say, this book is 'space-tacular'.
The result is a fun and gripping tale, about a series of murders which occur onboard the Kazemi spaceship. Bonnie Langford and Jaqueline Rayner really dig deep into the unlikely friendship between Mel and Sabalom Glitz, who Mel joined to travel the stars with at the end of Dragonfire. Mel and Glitz are a highly entertaining duo, with Mel's ultra-positive need to always see the good in people contrasting brilliantly with Glitz's opportunistic conman.
The story gets very dark, seeing Mel and Glitz first land on a spaceship called the Seraphine, where its crew sacrifice the people onboard to fuel its engines. After the Seraphine's sacrificial rituals, it dovetails quickly into a murder mystery, which leaves the reader guessing throughout with a long list of potential subjects. Death In The Stars brings to mind other media like Among Us and Agatha Christie stories, due to its mystery and suspense.
Bonnie Langford hides several references to her real-life career throughout Death In The Stars, which is fun to spot. I found the Opportunity Knocks and Just William references, but there is also a list at the back of the book as to which shows are acknowledged. I can't for the life of me work out where the nod to Dancing On Ice is supposed to be, but the book assures me it is in there. There is even a reference to Bonnie Langford's history with kid's TV, with the Kazemi spaceship's AI taking on the form of amusingly over-the-top children's presenter, Barry Day. As Barry himself would say, this book is 'space-tacular'.
February 6, 2025
A murder mystery where it takes over half the book for a murder to happen. The pacing on this book is what really kills it. It feels like a chore to go through chapters upon chapters of padding, and it’s not even particularly interesting padding.
A not insignificant amount of the book is dedicated to emphasising Mel’s virtues (in a story told from her POV, so modesty is definitely not one of them), including one bizarre moment where she reminds us she believes in free will. Not sure that was ever in doubt but nice to know explicitly that Mel is not a wannabe dictator I suppose. It’s a really reductive characterisation of her. If you were hoping for a story of Mel the detective; this isn’t it as it takes her 14 chapters to start looking for fingerprints.
We also spend a non insignificant amount of time with a hologram of Barry Day; a fictional 80s TV star who is a novelty for about a chapter and then thoroughly outstays his welcome.
There are some interesting ideas, such as the backstory of the cult that serves as the actual plot for the first half of the book, and the final few chapters of the book build to a nice climax. Only for that to be somewhat undermined by the reveal the real resolution happened between chapters. But honestly, this is the weakest of the books with the “written-by-the-actor” gimmick.
A not insignificant amount of the book is dedicated to emphasising Mel’s virtues (in a story told from her POV, so modesty is definitely not one of them), including one bizarre moment where she reminds us she believes in free will. Not sure that was ever in doubt but nice to know explicitly that Mel is not a wannabe dictator I suppose. It’s a really reductive characterisation of her. If you were hoping for a story of Mel the detective; this isn’t it as it takes her 14 chapters to start looking for fingerprints.
We also spend a non insignificant amount of time with a hologram of Barry Day; a fictional 80s TV star who is a novelty for about a chapter and then thoroughly outstays his welcome.
There are some interesting ideas, such as the backstory of the cult that serves as the actual plot for the first half of the book, and the final few chapters of the book build to a nice climax. Only for that to be somewhat undermined by the reveal the real resolution happened between chapters. But honestly, this is the weakest of the books with the “written-by-the-actor” gimmick.
December 20, 2024
I love Mel Bush, love a who book AND I love a mystery so win win and win. Also added bonus was that it was narrated by Bonnie Langford herself so it was a truly immersive and well written story.
It made for a great companion on the train as I was making my way from Lincoln to the North (4 trains, 5 hours..!) it made the journey fly by. I wouldn’t even have minded delays or cancellations as I could have listened even longer then! But it was one of those rare occasions where the trains were all running perfectly on time. My luck.
I’m always intrigued what companions get up to when they leave the doctor, and this one we get more adventures with Mel as she navigates a life without the doctor. It was fab and I really enjoyed from start to finish.
‘Mel Bush investigates’ needs her own TV show!
It made for a great companion on the train as I was making my way from Lincoln to the North (4 trains, 5 hours..!) it made the journey fly by. I wouldn’t even have minded delays or cancellations as I could have listened even longer then! But it was one of those rare occasions where the trains were all running perfectly on time. My luck.
I’m always intrigued what companions get up to when they leave the doctor, and this one we get more adventures with Mel as she navigates a life without the doctor. It was fab and I really enjoyed from start to finish.
‘Mel Bush investigates’ needs her own TV show!
February 16, 2025
Rating 3.5
Enjoyable, entertaining, easy to read novel that I thought was basically fun.
It is split into 3 distinct parts, the first and third were the best whilst the middle was okay.
The settings and details were very much ideas that could have been seen in any Doctor Who story at point in its history I think. But nothing wrong with that.
It is also a good story that has potential for other Mel & Glitz stories I think, probably not a steady stream of them but occasional tales would be good.
Overall definite recommendation I think if you want an entertaining easy read set in the world of Doctor Who.
Enjoyable, entertaining, easy to read novel that I thought was basically fun.
It is split into 3 distinct parts, the first and third were the best whilst the middle was okay.
The settings and details were very much ideas that could have been seen in any Doctor Who story at point in its history I think. But nothing wrong with that.
It is also a good story that has potential for other Mel & Glitz stories I think, probably not a steady stream of them but occasional tales would be good.
Overall definite recommendation I think if you want an entertaining easy read set in the world of Doctor Who.
August 17, 2024
It's a great first novel from Bonnie! Lots in here for Who fans; if you're a more, even deeper rooted fan of Bonnie's, there's even more Easter eggs to find! Parts of the story and a few characters seemed a little silly but then if this is 80s Doctor Who, it's right at home! It's great that someone has given Mel more of a story as we see her so briefly in the series. Despite all this, the story would stand up on its own despite its affiliations; there's humour, sci-fi and murders.
If this becomes a serious, I'd be very interested to see where it goes!
If this becomes a serious, I'd be very interested to see where it goes!
November 28, 2024
One of my favourite Who fiction tie-ins! I love Bonnie Langford, Mel isn't my favourite companion but she's quite iconic and Glitz is a character I'd loved to have seen more of while Tony Selby were still with us so it ticked a lot of boxes for me. A murder mystery isn't original for Doctor Who but it was uniquely done in this novel. I loved all the references both to Mel's stories and Bonnie's other roles.
September 9, 2024
Bonnie Langford (with the help of experienced Who-writer Jac Rayner) leans heavily into the late 80s aesthetic for the further adventures of Melanie Bush in an adventure that crosses “Space-Minder” with the current sub-genre of Whodunnit populated by Richard Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club” and others. Enjoy the game of spot-the-reference but don’t cheat and turn to the back!
June 5, 2025
3.5 Stars
Fantastic to get a story about Mel and her time after the Doctor. Also great to include Sabalom Glitz and mentions of the Rani and other characters like the valeyard.
The story was interesting but just okay, I would love to see some more stories from Mel’s time in space, before she returned to earth.
Fantastic to get a story about Mel and her time after the Doctor. Also great to include Sabalom Glitz and mentions of the Rani and other characters like the valeyard.
The story was interesting but just okay, I would love to see some more stories from Mel’s time in space, before she returned to earth.
January 10, 2025
Fun romp that nicely captures the feel of its time period.
Feels like the pilot to a show we never got.
At the end of her time with the Doctor, Mel Bush, had decided to travel with galactic 'freelance businessman' Sabalom Glitz in a one time tourist space station, now turned cargo ship.
Of course, their first stop they encounter some lost colonists turned feral and escape from that only to stumble into a murder mystery.
The two leads are well written, most of the supporting cast is likable enough and the writers make nice use of Who history.
Be fun to see a sequel or more stories about companions having post-Doctor adventures.
Feels like the pilot to a show we never got.
At the end of her time with the Doctor, Mel Bush, had decided to travel with galactic 'freelance businessman' Sabalom Glitz in a one time tourist space station, now turned cargo ship.
Of course, their first stop they encounter some lost colonists turned feral and escape from that only to stumble into a murder mystery.
The two leads are well written, most of the supporting cast is likable enough and the writers make nice use of Who history.
Be fun to see a sequel or more stories about companions having post-Doctor adventures.
June 5, 2025
I listened to the audiobook version, and it's worth it to hear Bonnie Langford imitating Sabalom Glitz, Barry Day, and Squeaksy Squirrel!
September 6, 2024
I was really looking forward to this one. Mel and Sabalom Glitz really are my era of Doctor Who. Both characters are well written and certainly sound like you'd expect them too. Unfortunately the first half of the book is utter trash with Mel and Glitz now on a ship scoffing Ice Cream sundaes and the least said about the clichéd kids living in an abandoned space station, following some idiot who starts a bizarre religion chucking poor unfortunates into the ships engine the better.
We don't really get to the murder mystery until almost halfway through but it's actually pretty good apart from an AI in the form of a Saturday morning children's TV presenter which really got on my nerves. Despite the welcome return of two old characters this has the feel of modern Doctor Who, it's very twee and silly and completely lacking in the horror of people getting bumped off one by one,like in Terror of the Vervoids, but there's some tension with Mel as a murder suspect which I really liked.
I'm probably being a bit harsh but I'm missing the days when Doctor Who content, TV and novels, really excited me. It's not completely bad, I just wish it had been better.
We don't really get to the murder mystery until almost halfway through but it's actually pretty good apart from an AI in the form of a Saturday morning children's TV presenter which really got on my nerves. Despite the welcome return of two old characters this has the feel of modern Doctor Who, it's very twee and silly and completely lacking in the horror of people getting bumped off one by one,like in Terror of the Vervoids, but there's some tension with Mel as a murder suspect which I really liked.
I'm probably being a bit harsh but I'm missing the days when Doctor Who content, TV and novels, really excited me. It's not completely bad, I just wish it had been better.
June 11, 2025
As silly as you’d expect given the conceit, though why the interesting part of the story (the murder mystery) is relegated to the final third of the novel I’m not sure. At least the continuity references feel more like Easter eggs than the core of the narrative and there’s decent characterisation of the leads.
September 5, 2024
Rating: 4.5 stars
I didn’t know what to expect of this book as I don’t know Mel very well but I ended up really enjoying it — especially the second half. During the first half I feel like some things could’ve been sped up a little but I still read the whole book in only two sittings so I can’t complain too much.
I’ve been meaning to watch Classic Who for a long time but this story has made me want to meet Mel even more. I really hope we get more books with her & Glitz! (I also loved all the little hints to the rest of Bonnie’s career) ✨
I didn’t know what to expect of this book as I don’t know Mel very well but I ended up really enjoying it — especially the second half. During the first half I feel like some things could’ve been sped up a little but I still read the whole book in only two sittings so I can’t complain too much.
I’ve been meaning to watch Classic Who for a long time but this story has made me want to meet Mel even more. I really hope we get more books with her & Glitz! (I also loved all the little hints to the rest of Bonnie’s career) ✨
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews