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The Time Police #1
Doing Time
At some time in the future, the secret of time-travel became available to all. Chaos ensued as people sought to take advantage. Because there will always be nutters who want to change history...
And so the Time Police were formed. Internationally sanctioned thugs whose task it was to keep the timeline straight by any and all means possible. And they succeeded. The Time Wars are over. The Time Police won. But who will win the peace?
Doing Time follows three hapless new Time Police recruits - Jane, Luke and Matthew - as they try to navigate their first year on the beat. It's all going to be fine. Obviously.
480 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2019
1183 people are currently reading
9715 people want to read
About the author
Jodi Taylor
84 books5,380 followersJodi Taylor is the internationally bestselling author of the Chronicles of St Mary's series, the story of a bunch of disaster prone individuals who investigate major historical events in contemporary time. Do NOT call it time travel! She is also the author of the Time Police series - a St Mary's spinoff and gateway into the world of an all-powerful, international organisation who are NOTHING like St Mary's. Except, when they are.
Alongside these, Jodi is known for her gripping supernatural thrillers featuring Elizabeth Cage together with the enchanting Frogmorton Farm series - a fairy story for adults.
Born in Bristol and now living in Gloucester (facts both cities vigorously deny), she spent many years with her head somewhere else, much to the dismay of family, teachers and employers, before finally deciding to put all that daydreaming to good use and write a novel. Over twenty books later, she still has no idea what she wants to do when she grows up.
Alongside these, Jodi is known for her gripping supernatural thrillers featuring Elizabeth Cage together with the enchanting Frogmorton Farm series - a fairy story for adults.
Born in Bristol and now living in Gloucester (facts both cities vigorously deny), she spent many years with her head somewhere else, much to the dismay of family, teachers and employers, before finally deciding to put all that daydreaming to good use and write a novel. Over twenty books later, she still has no idea what she wants to do when she grows up.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 984 reviews
November 16, 2020
I started this feeling a little anxious. I mean, after all, I'm a fan of St. Mary's. It kinda feels ... icky... going over to the other side that always shoots first and ... well... shoots first.
I thought I would be missing my favorite time-traveling historians who most definitely do not have a clue.
Fortunately, Jodi Taylor hits all the right notes in this spin-off series. I immediately thought I was reading a Police Academy mixed with time travel. And then I realized I was reading a mix of time travel with NCIS.
And then I realized that the bunnies would destroy Australia.
Between a mousy harangued woman who joined the Time Cops just to get away from her domineering grandmother to the billionaire playboy son who was sold into slavery to the Time Cops, or Matthew, the son of Max from St. Mary's, this is a team-building exercise of fine, fine humor.
It's pretty much everything I didn't know I was wanting in my life. Think Hot Fuzz with time travel.
I'm SOOOOO glad I gave it a shot. :)
I thought I would be missing my favorite time-traveling historians who most definitely do not have a clue.
Fortunately, Jodi Taylor hits all the right notes in this spin-off series. I immediately thought I was reading a Police Academy mixed with time travel. And then I realized I was reading a mix of time travel with NCIS.
And then I realized that the bunnies would destroy Australia.
Between a mousy harangued woman who joined the Time Cops just to get away from her domineering grandmother to the billionaire playboy son who was sold into slavery to the Time Cops, or Matthew, the son of Max from St. Mary's, this is a team-building exercise of fine, fine humor.
It's pretty much everything I didn't know I was wanting in my life. Think Hot Fuzz with time travel.
I'm SOOOOO glad I gave it a shot. :)
September 12, 2019
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
Doing Time is a new 'spin off' series from the popular historical science fiction St Mary's novels from Jodi Taylor, and follows new Time Police recruits Jane, Luke and a certain Matthew Farrell.
In the not too distant future, the world has discovered time travel. Countries, people and historical events blink in and out of existence as vigilantes seek to remake history to their own advantage. To combat this, the Time Police were born. Charged with setting these 'anomalies' right, they blast their way up and down the timeline, seeking to preserve time. They're not subtle. Think blasters, black cloaks and a menacing authoritative voice. Even if you haven't read any of Jodi's previous novels, this stands well on it's own with a suitable amount of background information and a whole host of new characters (and some very familiar ones!) to satisfy science fiction and history fans. If you have read all of the St. Mary's books to date, this is set a few years on from the conclusion of Hope for the Best, with Matthew deciding to leave St. Mary's to join the Time Police. Past events that are relevant, such as Matthew's back story are fleshed out here, but other things are left deliberately vague so as not to spoil any future St. Mary's novels.
In Doing Time, we're introduced to our very own 'Team Weird' in mousy Jane, arrogant Luke and the enigmatic Matthew Farrell. They're the outcasts of Time Police HQ (TPHQ), thrown together because no-one else wants them on their team, and forced to band together and cooperate in order to pass their six months 'grunt work' before they can qualify as fully fledged Time Police officers. Through various assignments through time, ranging from the early 20th century Britain to 19th century South Australia and beyond, we see the team come together despite all their superiors beliefs that none of them are cut out to be Time Police. Amidst these assignments, we also have a wider arc involving the development and changing methods the Time Police are trying to employ - moving away from brute force to provide a more intelligent, creative and 'softer' side to policing the timeline. This comes with it's own difficulties, as we see Commander Hay start to loose her grip on some of the more 'old school' officers. Could a mutiny be on the horizon?
I needn't have worried about warming to these characters, or comparing them less favorably to their St. Mary's counterparts. One of Jodi's immense skills as a writer is her ability to make lovable, believably flawed characters. Jane is the ultimate wet weekend. She's one of the sole female officers in the Time Police, who has spent the majority of her life being repeatedly put down by her grandmother. After an incident with a stuffed seagull leads her to the Time Police doors, we see her really grow and come out of her shell as the book progresses. I particularly loved the chapters which document her feelings of loneliness and isolation following the introduction of Sarah Smith, and how she deals with this.
Luke immediately comes across as the polar opposite of Jane. He's cocky, confident and has had everything handed to him on a platter until his father sends him to TPHQ as punishment for his many misdeeds. He's constantly on report, and doesn't care about anyone or anything. To see his character progression was also really nice, with some particular scenes away from TPHQ which helped to make his character more likable and relatable. By dedicating various chapters to the main characters like this, the protagonists are able to flourish and be more than one dimensional. They jump from the page, and manage to get under your skin in just the right way.
The plot, as always with Jodi, is fast paced and chaotic- but this has a structure to it that I sometimes feel is lacking in the St. Mary's novels. There's a definitive overall arc, with a conclusion that is satisfactory yet also open to further novels. It's also highly atmospheric at times, with a real creepy and suspenseful feel that I wasn't expecting. I did think that some of the finer plot details had some loose threads that could have been expanded on and resolved , but on the whole I thought this was brilliantly done, a welcome and fresh approach to the expansion of the St. Mary's novels, and I can't wait for more adventures with Team Weird.
4.5 stars
Doing Time is a new 'spin off' series from the popular historical science fiction St Mary's novels from Jodi Taylor, and follows new Time Police recruits Jane, Luke and a certain Matthew Farrell.
In the not too distant future, the world has discovered time travel. Countries, people and historical events blink in and out of existence as vigilantes seek to remake history to their own advantage. To combat this, the Time Police were born. Charged with setting these 'anomalies' right, they blast their way up and down the timeline, seeking to preserve time. They're not subtle. Think blasters, black cloaks and a menacing authoritative voice. Even if you haven't read any of Jodi's previous novels, this stands well on it's own with a suitable amount of background information and a whole host of new characters (and some very familiar ones!) to satisfy science fiction and history fans. If you have read all of the St. Mary's books to date, this is set a few years on from the conclusion of Hope for the Best, with Matthew deciding to leave St. Mary's to join the Time Police. Past events that are relevant, such as Matthew's back story are fleshed out here, but other things are left deliberately vague so as not to spoil any future St. Mary's novels.
In Doing Time, we're introduced to our very own 'Team Weird' in mousy Jane, arrogant Luke and the enigmatic Matthew Farrell. They're the outcasts of Time Police HQ (TPHQ), thrown together because no-one else wants them on their team, and forced to band together and cooperate in order to pass their six months 'grunt work' before they can qualify as fully fledged Time Police officers. Through various assignments through time, ranging from the early 20th century Britain to 19th century South Australia and beyond, we see the team come together despite all their superiors beliefs that none of them are cut out to be Time Police. Amidst these assignments, we also have a wider arc involving the development and changing methods the Time Police are trying to employ - moving away from brute force to provide a more intelligent, creative and 'softer' side to policing the timeline. This comes with it's own difficulties, as we see Commander Hay start to loose her grip on some of the more 'old school' officers. Could a mutiny be on the horizon?
I needn't have worried about warming to these characters, or comparing them less favorably to their St. Mary's counterparts. One of Jodi's immense skills as a writer is her ability to make lovable, believably flawed characters. Jane is the ultimate wet weekend. She's one of the sole female officers in the Time Police, who has spent the majority of her life being repeatedly put down by her grandmother. After an incident with a stuffed seagull leads her to the Time Police doors, we see her really grow and come out of her shell as the book progresses. I particularly loved the chapters which document her feelings of loneliness and isolation following the introduction of Sarah Smith, and how she deals with this.
Luke immediately comes across as the polar opposite of Jane. He's cocky, confident and has had everything handed to him on a platter until his father sends him to TPHQ as punishment for his many misdeeds. He's constantly on report, and doesn't care about anyone or anything. To see his character progression was also really nice, with some particular scenes away from TPHQ which helped to make his character more likable and relatable. By dedicating various chapters to the main characters like this, the protagonists are able to flourish and be more than one dimensional. They jump from the page, and manage to get under your skin in just the right way.
The plot, as always with Jodi, is fast paced and chaotic- but this has a structure to it that I sometimes feel is lacking in the St. Mary's novels. There's a definitive overall arc, with a conclusion that is satisfactory yet also open to further novels. It's also highly atmospheric at times, with a real creepy and suspenseful feel that I wasn't expecting. I did think that some of the finer plot details had some loose threads that could have been expanded on and resolved , but on the whole I thought this was brilliantly done, a welcome and fresh approach to the expansion of the St. Mary's novels, and I can't wait for more adventures with Team Weird.
July 20, 2020
Audible Daily Deal 20Jul20: $3.99
The Historian’s relationship with the Time Police has always been precarious and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like a book specifically about them. I mean they are not St. Mary’s and I love all the shenanigans those historians get into.
Still I saw that Matthew was one of the recruits so I was completely in.
It is sometime later from the Chronicles of Saint Mary’s books and Matthew is of an indeterminant age but has just signed up to be part of the Time Police. As a recruit he doesn’t really fit in but that is okay since there are a few other kids in the same boat, the don’t fit in boat, not the I was kidnapped as a baby and sold into servitude by a mad man who hated my mom and so now we aren’t really sure how old I am boat. The new squad of three is a little short and so Ellis is going to help them out through their six months of grunt work, what could possibly go wrong.
I do always like the beginnings of a new group, especially one of misfits, as they figure out how to be a team. It is a fun story in that way. There are ups and downs, run ins on the time line with St Mary’s, an escape, a cover up, a mutinous plot and so much more in this story. It might not have been the crazy of St Mary’s but it was still a lot of fun.
I have a really great time with Matthew and crew. Seeing Ellis and North from The Chronicles of St Mary’s series was nice and they held their own well in this book as mentors to the misfits. I look forward to seeing how team weird does with the rest of their training in future books.
The Historian’s relationship with the Time Police has always been precarious and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like a book specifically about them. I mean they are not St. Mary’s and I love all the shenanigans those historians get into.
The Time Police dealt with Time; St Mary’s with History – and each of them regarded themselves as of prime importance and the other as being a menace to society in general.
Still I saw that Matthew was one of the recruits so I was completely in.
‘You didn’t meet his mother?’
‘No, why?’
‘Oh – no reason. It always amuses me to think that one day some unfortunate woman is going to find herself with the mother-in-law from hell.’
It is sometime later from the Chronicles of Saint Mary’s books and Matthew is of an indeterminant age but has just signed up to be part of the Time Police. As a recruit he doesn’t really fit in but that is okay since there are a few other kids in the same boat, the don’t fit in boat, not the I was kidnapped as a baby and sold into servitude by a mad man who hated my mom and so now we aren’t really sure how old I am boat. The new squad of three is a little short and so Ellis is going to help them out through their six months of grunt work, what could possibly go wrong.
Matthew pointed. ‘See that bit over there?’
Luke squinted. ‘The 16th century and its immediate surroundings? Yeah.’
‘It kind of . . . fell off.’
‘Did it bounce?’ enquired Jane, before she could stop herself.
‘Of course not,’ said Luke. ‘It’s the blood-soaked 16th century, Jane. Trust me, I did history at Uni. It would have been more of a squelch.’
I do always like the beginnings of a new group, especially one of misfits, as they figure out how to be a team. It is a fun story in that way. There are ups and downs, run ins on the time line with St Mary’s, an escape, a cover up, a mutinous plot and so much more in this story. It might not have been the crazy of St Mary’s but it was still a lot of fun.
I have a really great time with Matthew and crew. Seeing Ellis and North from The Chronicles of St Mary’s series was nice and they held their own well in this book as mentors to the misfits. I look forward to seeing how team weird does with the rest of their training in future books.
January 7, 2023
*** 4.35 ***
I absolutely adore the world Jodi Taylor has created and cherish every opportunity we have to return to it! This is a new series in the same world as St. Mary's Chronicles, and we even get some cameos, but it is about three very young people who under different circumstances end up joining The Time Police, an organization created to regulate and enforce responsible Time Travel and punish all who violate the rules. All three main characters are misfits and the book goes through their struggles to build a real team and find their places in life. All on the background of the Time Police itself going through some power struggles and the challenges of redefining their mission, having been formed to function during the Time Wars and now having to redirect their mission for peace time... Still, craziness ensues 😃👍
If you are a fan of The Chronicles of St. Mary's, this is a must read! If you have never had the chance to read about our St. Mary's historians in contemporary time, you can still read this book and find it perfect for a first time Jodi Taylor read. There is plenty of information for a newbie to feel perfectly in control of the narrative. Check it out 👍😃✌️!
I absolutely adore the world Jodi Taylor has created and cherish every opportunity we have to return to it! This is a new series in the same world as St. Mary's Chronicles, and we even get some cameos, but it is about three very young people who under different circumstances end up joining The Time Police, an organization created to regulate and enforce responsible Time Travel and punish all who violate the rules. All three main characters are misfits and the book goes through their struggles to build a real team and find their places in life. All on the background of the Time Police itself going through some power struggles and the challenges of redefining their mission, having been formed to function during the Time Wars and now having to redirect their mission for peace time... Still, craziness ensues 😃👍
If you are a fan of The Chronicles of St. Mary's, this is a must read! If you have never had the chance to read about our St. Mary's historians in contemporary time, you can still read this book and find it perfect for a first time Jodi Taylor read. There is plenty of information for a newbie to feel perfectly in control of the narrative. Check it out 👍😃✌️!
May 5, 2025
Doing Time
By Jodi Taylor
A mostly lighthearted ride with three recruits to the Time Police. They don't start out very in sync with each other, but circumstances help build trust and teamwork. Great characters.
By Jodi Taylor
A mostly lighthearted ride with three recruits to the Time Police. They don't start out very in sync with each other, but circumstances help build trust and teamwork. Great characters.
January 9, 2025
More rollicking good times from a slightly different perspective. We got to see quite a few of the St. Mary’s team too as this book follows the perspective of Matthew Farrell, Leon and Max’s son. Other familiar faces are Ellis and North. I was a bit resistant to a new series as I love the St. Mary’s series so much, but this was just as good!
March 19, 2020
This is the comfort read I have been needing recently, and it worked wonders. I have been finding it a real struggle to want to read or to focus on reading at the moment, and this book was flipping fantastic as a distraction and a story, I highly recommend any Jodi Taylor in this time :)
This is the first in a new series about the Time Police. If you've read Jodi's other work you will know that this is a follow-on series to the Chronicles of St. Mary's series and that she's now writing about a different group who patrol time. These people are feared across time, and yet the three new recruits we focus on are the misfits: Jane, Matthew and Luke.
Jane is a lonely and timid young woman who has always been under the thrall of her grandmother. One day she decides to run away and she joins up with the Time Police, the best decision she ever made.
Matthew is a character you'll know if you've read the St. Mary's books as he's the child and I loved getting to see a bit more of his life now he's getting older. I think he's always been fascinating because of how he was brought up, but now even more so as he's embroiled in the Time madness.
Luke is a privileged idiot who is loved and adored by everyone. He's always been able to do whatever he wants and get away with it, until his dad tells him that he's been bought a place in the Time Police and he will do two years there or else. He's a fop and not best pleased at first, but as the story develops so does he.
These three characters had a lot of room to grow when we started the story, and I think they do that very well and believably. I really enjoyed following their plots and I can't wait for the next one to come out in this series and the St Mary's. I highly recommend this to everyone, and even if you've not read St Mary's you can read this, it has only pretty minor spoilers for most of the actual events in St. Mary's. 5*s
This is the first in a new series about the Time Police. If you've read Jodi's other work you will know that this is a follow-on series to the Chronicles of St. Mary's series and that she's now writing about a different group who patrol time. These people are feared across time, and yet the three new recruits we focus on are the misfits: Jane, Matthew and Luke.
Jane is a lonely and timid young woman who has always been under the thrall of her grandmother. One day she decides to run away and she joins up with the Time Police, the best decision she ever made.
Matthew is a character you'll know if you've read the St. Mary's books as he's the child and I loved getting to see a bit more of his life now he's getting older. I think he's always been fascinating because of how he was brought up, but now even more so as he's embroiled in the Time madness.
Luke is a privileged idiot who is loved and adored by everyone. He's always been able to do whatever he wants and get away with it, until his dad tells him that he's been bought a place in the Time Police and he will do two years there or else. He's a fop and not best pleased at first, but as the story develops so does he.
These three characters had a lot of room to grow when we started the story, and I think they do that very well and believably. I really enjoyed following their plots and I can't wait for the next one to come out in this series and the St Mary's. I highly recommend this to everyone, and even if you've not read St Mary's you can read this, it has only pretty minor spoilers for most of the actual events in St. Mary's. 5*s
Read
October 16, 2020I got a bit lost in the Chronicles of St Mary's, in the way of long running soap type series, but this author is usually highly enjoyable so a new series starter seemed like a good idea. It's massive fun, with an obnoxious rich jerk, bullied mouse and traumatized genius weirdo forming a team in the Time Police to much sarcasm. Suffers a little bit at points with referring back to St Mary's characters and plotlines but nothing impossible to grasp.
I will say, Luke's intro is really grating and makes him seem an intolerable misogynist twat, which may put some readers off though he does improve. And there's a lengthy early sequence which really rubbed me the wrong way ("laugh at the fat poor people!") and jarred enormously with the overall feel of the book. It's a punching down sequence in a book that's otherwise got a lot to say about kindness and difference and not fitting, and it left a nasty taste tbh in what was otherwise a hugely enjoyable romp.
I will say, Luke's intro is really grating and makes him seem an intolerable misogynist twat, which may put some readers off though he does improve. And there's a lengthy early sequence which really rubbed me the wrong way ("laugh at the fat poor people!") and jarred enormously with the overall feel of the book. It's a punching down sequence in a book that's otherwise got a lot to say about kindness and difference and not fitting, and it left a nasty taste tbh in what was otherwise a hugely enjoyable romp.
September 10, 2024
I listened to the audio version of this book read, as other Jodi Taylor's, by Zara Ramm who has a great voice and understanding of Ms Taylor's fictional world.
Doing Time is the first of the Time Police novels and introduces us to a cast of characters - some of whom we've met before in the Chronicles of St Mary's.
The story follows three raw recruits - Luke, a spoiled rich kid whose father has bought his way into the job; Jane - a mouse of a girl escaping her grandmother's tyranny; and Matthew - the son of Max and Leon Farrell two of the tea-swilling, disaster magnets from St Mary's.
Sadly nobody seems to want them in the Time Police. They get the worst assignments, they're tested to breaking point at every turn. It's enough to make you wonder if someone is out to get you? Is it their imagination or is something else at work in the corridors of TPHQ? And will St Mary's or even Julius Caesar himself be able to help them out?
A good start to a series and since I'm only on Book 4 of St Mary's I've not come across any of the Time Police in the other books where, I know, they make several appearances that link with this debut.
I liked the characters of the three youngsters who are given plenty of rope to hang themselves but you root for them to improve. I liked the occasional appearance by the St Mary's crew (especially Markham, who is my favourite character).
Typical Jodi Taylor, if a little less laugh out loud than St Mary's it was still amusing. Well written, tightly plotted, enough history to be interesting and a few laughs thrown in for good measure. It made me want to read the next in the series and catch up with the St Mary's books I've missed.
Doing Time is the first of the Time Police novels and introduces us to a cast of characters - some of whom we've met before in the Chronicles of St Mary's.
The story follows three raw recruits - Luke, a spoiled rich kid whose father has bought his way into the job; Jane - a mouse of a girl escaping her grandmother's tyranny; and Matthew - the son of Max and Leon Farrell two of the tea-swilling, disaster magnets from St Mary's.
Sadly nobody seems to want them in the Time Police. They get the worst assignments, they're tested to breaking point at every turn. It's enough to make you wonder if someone is out to get you? Is it their imagination or is something else at work in the corridors of TPHQ? And will St Mary's or even Julius Caesar himself be able to help them out?
A good start to a series and since I'm only on Book 4 of St Mary's I've not come across any of the Time Police in the other books where, I know, they make several appearances that link with this debut.
I liked the characters of the three youngsters who are given plenty of rope to hang themselves but you root for them to improve. I liked the occasional appearance by the St Mary's crew (especially Markham, who is my favourite character).
Typical Jodi Taylor, if a little less laugh out loud than St Mary's it was still amusing. Well written, tightly plotted, enough history to be interesting and a few laughs thrown in for good measure. It made me want to read the next in the series and catch up with the St Mary's books I've missed.
October 4, 2019
In the beginning, in the future, the discovery of time travel became known to all. As a result, chaos reigned, history was written and re-written and the world nearly ended in the Time Wars.
In order to stop this, the Time Police were created. An international organisation with near-unlimited powers to perform their duty, to keep the timelines straight. Time travel is now punishable by death, the sentencing of which by the Time Police is now accepted without question.
The work’s not easy and many Police have died in the process, which means that the need for new employees is always there. The ‘new blood’ doesn’t even have to be good, as they are seen as expendable.
Enter Jane, Luke, and Matthew – three of the most useless recruits ever, who have ended up as newbies, not always of their own choosing. Jane is “the wet one”, scared of her own shadow as a consequence of an overbearing upbringing from a dictatorial granny. Matthew is the enthusiastic geek – too young and inexperienced in life to be an obvious talent, and Luke is the indolent playboy put in the Time Police by his father 'for his own good'.
Just in case you haven’t realised, this is the first in a ‘spin-off’ series from Jodi’s very very successful The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. Set in the same world, Doing Time has that same tone, a combination of wry humour and action that the original series (ten novels, nine novellas and counting) had.
Whereas the early books of St. Mary’s are written around the focus of Professor ‘Max’ Maxwell, Doing Time is mainly written in the third person, but with individual chapters as from Jane, Luke, and Matthew. The recruits are not nasty or cruel. Matthew is enthusiastic yet very young and naïve, Jane is a self-conscious dreamer searching for a meaning to her own life whilst Luke is determined to get through training with as little effort as possible - to start with. This broader scope has clearly given the author a bit more room to flex her writing skills and broaden this book out a little, which is refreshing.
Of course, St. Mary’s makes an appearance too. There are references to things that have happened at St. Mary’s before and characters who readers may know from St Mary’s, but on the whole it is not essential to know details. Perhaps the most overt link is that Matthew is the son of two very famous St. Mary’s historians that many readers will recognise and love their reappearance. Fans of the St. Mary’s books will gladly welcome a brief return to that world as well time spent at the headquarters of the Time Police (which looks remarkably like Battersea Power Station).
It’s probably never a good thing to give an organisation unlimited power, for whatever reason, and so it proves here. Reading this from a different perspective, it would be easy to see the Time Police as temporal fascists, maintaining world order through manipulating events in time. It is true that those given the power are often doomed to use it in unusual and unwarranted ways, something not unnoticed here with typical humour. Matthew’s parents are horrified by his decision to join up and do good, for example:
I imagine that it is rather like happily admitting you’ve agreed to enrol as one of Darth Vader’s henchmen. And yet the skill of the writer is such that the reader gains a degree of sympathy for those doing a tough job, like our hapless heroes. Things are changing for the Time Police, and our characters are at the front of such change.
The general plot is nothing particularly new to regular genre readers, but it is great fun. With such broad and varied backgrounds, and relative inexperience, our group of trainees are regarded as a joke by the older veterans - freshmen who will either crash and burn or who will scrape through their induction and then be shifted off to something innocuous and mundane. Their first mission involves tracking down and arresting someone who has managed the heinous crime of building their own time machine. The novice's methods of doing so are unorthodox but are successful, and from this it seems that this will be another story of outsiders making good against all challenges.
For much of the time it is. The murder of a Time Police officer, however, makes things go rather Agatha Christie and become more serious, especially when one of the group appears to be the culprit and another seems to be covering up for them. Rather expectedly, there’s consequently a chase through time with our runaways hiding in Ancient Rome before things are resolved at the end with a marvellous flourish and the return of some well-known characters.
Summing up, then, Doing Time is another wonderfully imaginative story, filled with warmth, humour and bureaucratic ineptitude. Think Police Academy with a sci-fi slant (although with a good deal more wit), reading Jodi's books is like the feeling you get by snuggling down in a duvet with a lovely hot cup of tea on hand. Whilst there are some worrying aspects of the practicalities of such a role – time travel usually manages a default reset option, for example – these can be safely ignored in return for some good-humoured entertainment (and some really bad puns.)
For those looking for a comparison, it should be seen as a compliment if I say that Doing Time reminds me of Jasper Fforde at his finest. It is fast, funny and literate, another thoroughly entertaining read from this talented author that I found difficult to put down. Fans of Jodi’s other books will not be disappointed. Bloody marvellous – please give me more.
In order to stop this, the Time Police were created. An international organisation with near-unlimited powers to perform their duty, to keep the timelines straight. Time travel is now punishable by death, the sentencing of which by the Time Police is now accepted without question.
The work’s not easy and many Police have died in the process, which means that the need for new employees is always there. The ‘new blood’ doesn’t even have to be good, as they are seen as expendable.
Enter Jane, Luke, and Matthew – three of the most useless recruits ever, who have ended up as newbies, not always of their own choosing. Jane is “the wet one”, scared of her own shadow as a consequence of an overbearing upbringing from a dictatorial granny. Matthew is the enthusiastic geek – too young and inexperienced in life to be an obvious talent, and Luke is the indolent playboy put in the Time Police by his father 'for his own good'.
Just in case you haven’t realised, this is the first in a ‘spin-off’ series from Jodi’s very very successful The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. Set in the same world, Doing Time has that same tone, a combination of wry humour and action that the original series (ten novels, nine novellas and counting) had.
Whereas the early books of St. Mary’s are written around the focus of Professor ‘Max’ Maxwell, Doing Time is mainly written in the third person, but with individual chapters as from Jane, Luke, and Matthew. The recruits are not nasty or cruel. Matthew is enthusiastic yet very young and naïve, Jane is a self-conscious dreamer searching for a meaning to her own life whilst Luke is determined to get through training with as little effort as possible - to start with. This broader scope has clearly given the author a bit more room to flex her writing skills and broaden this book out a little, which is refreshing.
Of course, St. Mary’s makes an appearance too. There are references to things that have happened at St. Mary’s before and characters who readers may know from St Mary’s, but on the whole it is not essential to know details. Perhaps the most overt link is that Matthew is the son of two very famous St. Mary’s historians that many readers will recognise and love their reappearance. Fans of the St. Mary’s books will gladly welcome a brief return to that world as well time spent at the headquarters of the Time Police (which looks remarkably like Battersea Power Station).
It’s probably never a good thing to give an organisation unlimited power, for whatever reason, and so it proves here. Reading this from a different perspective, it would be easy to see the Time Police as temporal fascists, maintaining world order through manipulating events in time. It is true that those given the power are often doomed to use it in unusual and unwarranted ways, something not unnoticed here with typical humour. Matthew’s parents are horrified by his decision to join up and do good, for example:
“… if you want to join a bunch of mindless thugs who can’t get anything right and ruin people’s lives, why don’t you become a politician?”
I imagine that it is rather like happily admitting you’ve agreed to enrol as one of Darth Vader’s henchmen. And yet the skill of the writer is such that the reader gains a degree of sympathy for those doing a tough job, like our hapless heroes. Things are changing for the Time Police, and our characters are at the front of such change.
The general plot is nothing particularly new to regular genre readers, but it is great fun. With such broad and varied backgrounds, and relative inexperience, our group of trainees are regarded as a joke by the older veterans - freshmen who will either crash and burn or who will scrape through their induction and then be shifted off to something innocuous and mundane. Their first mission involves tracking down and arresting someone who has managed the heinous crime of building their own time machine. The novice's methods of doing so are unorthodox but are successful, and from this it seems that this will be another story of outsiders making good against all challenges.
For much of the time it is. The murder of a Time Police officer, however, makes things go rather Agatha Christie and become more serious, especially when one of the group appears to be the culprit and another seems to be covering up for them. Rather expectedly, there’s consequently a chase through time with our runaways hiding in Ancient Rome before things are resolved at the end with a marvellous flourish and the return of some well-known characters.
Summing up, then, Doing Time is another wonderfully imaginative story, filled with warmth, humour and bureaucratic ineptitude. Think Police Academy with a sci-fi slant (although with a good deal more wit), reading Jodi's books is like the feeling you get by snuggling down in a duvet with a lovely hot cup of tea on hand. Whilst there are some worrying aspects of the practicalities of such a role – time travel usually manages a default reset option, for example – these can be safely ignored in return for some good-humoured entertainment (and some really bad puns.)
For those looking for a comparison, it should be seen as a compliment if I say that Doing Time reminds me of Jasper Fforde at his finest. It is fast, funny and literate, another thoroughly entertaining read from this talented author that I found difficult to put down. Fans of Jodi’s other books will not be disappointed. Bloody marvellous – please give me more.
July 23, 2021
Obviously a five-star. It's Jodi Taylor. *duh*
August 14, 2025
"‘One member of your team is, at the moment, guilty of tampering with the scene of a crime, destroying evidence and possibly murdering a fellow officer. A second member of your team has stolen a pod to facilitate the escape of the first member of your team. A third member of your team, presumably feeling left out of the exciting events occurring around him, has initiated a radiation alert, leading to a major evacuation of the entire area and mass panic among our unfortunate neighbours. This team member would now, at this very moment, be answering a series of questions designed to establish how he rigged the computer and how he gained unauthorised access to a pod to facilitate the escape of the first two members of your team, only he can’t because he has – as a member of your team – been shot. By the first two members of your team.’ She paused, possibly for breath but more probably to let her last words sink home, and Major Ellis took full advantage."
Those who have followed the Chronicles of St. Mary’s will have no problem tacking on this new and related series dubbed, The Time Police. (In fact, if you haven't read any of the St. Mary's series, you will miss a lot of the humor and the conflict in this book.)
Here we get a “through the looking-glass view of the whole time travel thing” from the perspective of the “dreaded” Time Police as we follow some recent inductees in their first assignment.
"There could not, she reflected, be a greater contrast between St Mary’s and the Time Police. TPHQ was in the centre of London; St Mary’s was out in the countryside – where it could do the least damage was the perceived wisdom of the Time Police. The Time Police dealt with Time; St Mary’s with History – and each of them regarded themselves as of prime importance and the other as being a menace to society in general. She knew there had been a big battle fought here once and the Time Police – to use an expression – had had their arses handed to them on a plate."
The focus is on a group of newbies dubbed "Team Weird’
Trainee Matthew Farrell; Trainee Jane Lockland; Trainee Luke Parrish. None of whom fit the mold of the typical Time Police person.
"Jane sighed. More friends made. ‘What does it matter?’ said Luke, taking his pint. ‘Everyone hates us anyway. We can waste our time trying to persuade people to like us and failing miserably, or we can enjoy ourselves by living down to people’s expectations and confirming their worst fears. Think how happy that will make them. In fact, I firmly believe it’s our duty to make our senior officers’ lives as happy as we possibly can. Cheers.’"
Interesting perspective on the whole time machine world that Taylor has created. Bonus: She gives us bits of ancient Egypt and Rome ruled by Julius Caesar. I will, at least, give book two a go.
Those who have followed the Chronicles of St. Mary’s will have no problem tacking on this new and related series dubbed, The Time Police. (In fact, if you haven't read any of the St. Mary's series, you will miss a lot of the humor and the conflict in this book.)
Here we get a “through the looking-glass view of the whole time travel thing” from the perspective of the “dreaded” Time Police as we follow some recent inductees in their first assignment.
"There could not, she reflected, be a greater contrast between St Mary’s and the Time Police. TPHQ was in the centre of London; St Mary’s was out in the countryside – where it could do the least damage was the perceived wisdom of the Time Police. The Time Police dealt with Time; St Mary’s with History – and each of them regarded themselves as of prime importance and the other as being a menace to society in general. She knew there had been a big battle fought here once and the Time Police – to use an expression – had had their arses handed to them on a plate."
The focus is on a group of newbies dubbed "Team Weird’
Trainee Matthew Farrell; Trainee Jane Lockland; Trainee Luke Parrish. None of whom fit the mold of the typical Time Police person.
"Jane sighed. More friends made. ‘What does it matter?’ said Luke, taking his pint. ‘Everyone hates us anyway. We can waste our time trying to persuade people to like us and failing miserably, or we can enjoy ourselves by living down to people’s expectations and confirming their worst fears. Think how happy that will make them. In fact, I firmly believe it’s our duty to make our senior officers’ lives as happy as we possibly can. Cheers.’"
Interesting perspective on the whole time machine world that Taylor has created. Bonus: She gives us bits of ancient Egypt and Rome ruled by Julius Caesar. I will, at least, give book two a go.
October 21, 2019
A bit of a mishmash. When it's good it's very good but it rambles, can't decide on the tone, picks up and drops threads and only really gets going when St Mary's appear. The author almost has a sigh of relief writing about Max again. I'm sure there is a vicious murder than doesn't really get solved properly, and the glimmerings of a really good mystery in here.
The other thing that got my goat was the needless lack of decent female characters - once again we have a plucky team member who is one of the few women in the time police who has to face a shameless hussy whose wiles the hapless men are oblivious to. Ironically the book she wrote as Isabelle Barclay (the hussy character in the St Mary's chronicles) is actually one of my favourite by Jodie.
The other thing that got my goat was the needless lack of decent female characters - once again we have a plucky team member who is one of the few women in the time police who has to face a shameless hussy whose wiles the hapless men are oblivious to. Ironically the book she wrote as Isabelle Barclay (the hussy character in the St Mary's chronicles) is actually one of my favourite by Jodie.
January 28, 2021
New Jodi Taylor series, or I should slightly different one than the St. Mary’s. This deals with the dreaded Time Police that have caused huge issues with their totalitarian approach to resolving time issues by basically dealing with rule breakers the old-fashioned way: shoot first and ask questions later…or not as the case may be. I'm rating a little higher than usual as I feel a three stars doesn't reflect the entertainment value the series promises.
In Doing Time, the Time Police been reformed just the teensiest bit which is how they get the three misfits this book is about.
Jane whose “Ummm,” precedes every sentence she gets the nerve to say is fleeing from indentured servitude under her tartar of a grandmother.
Luke, the handsome, skirt-chasing arrogant son of an arrogant billionaire, who’s been shipped off to the Time Police to learn his lesson.
Mathew, son of Max and Leon, a Time Map whiz who is hair challenged.
Team Weird as they call themselves bungle through Time Police experiences with an incomplete team and budding working chemistry. Things change as they accomplish their missions in unapproved fashion and a femme fatale is thrown in their midst. There is time travel, a murder and a cover up.
All in entertaining if not impactful shenanigans that are helped by Zara Ramm’s amazing narration.
In Doing Time, the Time Police been reformed just the teensiest bit which is how they get the three misfits this book is about.
Jane whose “Ummm,” precedes every sentence she gets the nerve to say is fleeing from indentured servitude under her tartar of a grandmother.
Luke, the handsome, skirt-chasing arrogant son of an arrogant billionaire, who’s been shipped off to the Time Police to learn his lesson.
Mathew, son of Max and Leon, a Time Map whiz who is hair challenged.
Team Weird as they call themselves bungle through Time Police experiences with an incomplete team and budding working chemistry. Things change as they accomplish their missions in unapproved fashion and a femme fatale is thrown in their midst. There is time travel, a murder and a cover up.
All in entertaining if not impactful shenanigans that are helped by Zara Ramm’s amazing narration.
April 23, 2022
Rating: 2 stars
Eh.
I was reading this book to take break from rereading Wheel of Time (because I read them too fast) but it didn't impress me. I guess because it was marketed as a perfect book for fans of Doctor Who (which I most certainly am) I had my expectations set too high.
The only interesting thing (apart from the cover which is dope) was the concept: humanity has developed time travel, and humans being humans, we messed everything up, even after time travel is made illegal. Unfortunately, we don't have a trusty Timelord to fix things up for us, so instead we have the Time Police (could've thought of a better name there, honestly). The Time Police go all throughout history fixing individual's mistakes and righting the time stream so that we don't, I don't know, end up in a giant world ending paradox or something. Cool, right? Now throw in some bland characters with equally bland names (the author just ruffled through the Bible for her guy names), some YA tropes rehashed for an adult audience, some questionable dialogue and voilà! you have this book. Suddenly it's not so great after all.
I know I'm in the minority here, but Doing Time was not, well, worth my time (I had to chuck a time travel pun in there somewhere). I am more than happy to dive straight back into my Wheel of Time reread.
Eh.
I was reading this book to take break from rereading Wheel of Time (because I read them too fast) but it didn't impress me. I guess because it was marketed as a perfect book for fans of Doctor Who (which I most certainly am) I had my expectations set too high.
The only interesting thing (apart from the cover which is dope) was the concept: humanity has developed time travel, and humans being humans, we messed everything up, even after time travel is made illegal. Unfortunately, we don't have a trusty Timelord to fix things up for us, so instead we have the Time Police (could've thought of a better name there, honestly). The Time Police go all throughout history fixing individual's mistakes and righting the time stream so that we don't, I don't know, end up in a giant world ending paradox or something. Cool, right? Now throw in some bland characters with equally bland names (the author just ruffled through the Bible for her guy names), some YA tropes rehashed for an adult audience, some questionable dialogue and voilà! you have this book. Suddenly it's not so great after all.
I know I'm in the minority here, but Doing Time was not, well, worth my time (I had to chuck a time travel pun in there somewhere). I am more than happy to dive straight back into my Wheel of Time reread.
August 20, 2020
As if we don't have enough to occupy us keeping track of the lunatic historians at St. Mary's Academy, now we have to deal with the exploits of their sworn enemies The Time Police, who would prefer NOBODY traveled back in time. For any reason whatsoever. And the Time Police have a team so inept, so disaster prone you would swear they were actually a St. Mary's team in disguise.
More fun from best selling author Jodi Taylor.
More fun from best selling author Jodi Taylor.
November 12, 2024
I have never rated a book by Jodi Taylor less than five stars. I have never not loved a book by Jodi Taylor. Until now.
I was enjoying this one pretty well, despite the alien setting of TPHQ ... I was happy about the Zara Ramm narration ... until Matthew Farrell's team's first assignment, which was to deal with one Mr. Plimpton, who had broken the time laws. Mr. Plimpton, you see, was fat. His wife, son, and daughter were all also fat. The family was also grotesque and repulsive. This, Ms. Taylor made clear to the reader, was largely because they were fat. THEY WERE SO FAT .
Now, if this had been from a character's point of view - if the book had been in the first person as the St Mary's books are - I could have pinned my annoyance to that character and disliked them a bit for their fat-phobia. But this was in the narration of a third person novel. If the language had been a bit more restrained, a bit less ... well, frankly childish, I could have overlooked it. But at every point it was hammered home that these characters were grotesque and fat, and those two adjectives were entirely related.
I made a comment about the chapter in a Facebook group for the author, and was a little astonished when 95% of the responses were along the lines of "I'm fat, and it didn't bother ME" (along with "they're awful characters, how else should she have described them?" and "why are you butthurt about how fictional characters are described?"). The fact that I'm fat is ... honestly, it's beside the point. I could weigh in at seventy-three pounds, and I would have still found the descriptions of these characters over the top.
Anyway. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Which was a shame, because I really wanted to love this book as much as I always love a Taylor book. But then we went to Egypt, and ... Anubis? Seriously? I ... seriously???? I've also never rolled my eyes at a Jodi Taylor book before, and they definitely rolled here, what with Tut's curse (sigh) and all. It was all genuinely, enjoyably creepy - till it wasn't, and became just ... dumb.
And then, just to cement my opinion of the book, a new character came on the scene, the brand new fourth member of the newly christened Team Weird. And I chuckled for a second, surprised, when she was introduced as Sarah Smith. In case you're new to time travel in popular culture, Sarah Jane Smith was one of the most beloved Companions ever to accompany the Doctor in the TARDIS. (That would be Doctor Who, if you need the full and complete explanation.) She traveled with the Third and Fourth Doctors, and later had her own spinoff, and then came back a few years ago (shortly before the actress Elisabeth Sladen's death) to have an adventure with Number Ten. She was marvelous. And how is her name used in this time travel series? It's given to a hideous, back-stabbing, lying, treacherous bitch. It actually makes me feel a little sick. It's possible that Jodi Taylor - and every editor and beta reader and early reader who saw this book - was completely ignorant of those dozens of episodes of Doctor Who; sure it is. But even if it's just pure coincidence, it made me queasy.
What a bloody disappointment. (And see, if I'd liked it I'd have said "fire-trucking". But I didn't.)
Damn.
I was enjoying this one pretty well, despite the alien setting of TPHQ ... I was happy about the Zara Ramm narration ... until Matthew Farrell's team's first assignment, which was to deal with one Mr. Plimpton, who had broken the time laws. Mr. Plimpton, you see, was fat. His wife, son, and daughter were all also fat. The family was also grotesque and repulsive. This, Ms. Taylor made clear to the reader, was largely because they were fat. THEY WERE SO FAT .
Now, if this had been from a character's point of view - if the book had been in the first person as the St Mary's books are - I could have pinned my annoyance to that character and disliked them a bit for their fat-phobia. But this was in the narration of a third person novel. If the language had been a bit more restrained, a bit less ... well, frankly childish, I could have overlooked it. But at every point it was hammered home that these characters were grotesque and fat, and those two adjectives were entirely related.
I made a comment about the chapter in a Facebook group for the author, and was a little astonished when 95% of the responses were along the lines of "I'm fat, and it didn't bother ME" (along with "they're awful characters, how else should she have described them?" and "why are you butthurt about how fictional characters are described?"). The fact that I'm fat is ... honestly, it's beside the point. I could weigh in at seventy-three pounds, and I would have still found the descriptions of these characters over the top.
Anyway. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Which was a shame, because I really wanted to love this book as much as I always love a Taylor book. But then we went to Egypt, and ... Anubis? Seriously? I ... seriously???? I've also never rolled my eyes at a Jodi Taylor book before, and they definitely rolled here, what with Tut's curse (sigh) and all. It was all genuinely, enjoyably creepy - till it wasn't, and became just ... dumb.
And then, just to cement my opinion of the book, a new character came on the scene, the brand new fourth member of the newly christened Team Weird. And I chuckled for a second, surprised, when she was introduced as Sarah Smith. In case you're new to time travel in popular culture, Sarah Jane Smith was one of the most beloved Companions ever to accompany the Doctor in the TARDIS. (That would be Doctor Who, if you need the full and complete explanation.) She traveled with the Third and Fourth Doctors, and later had her own spinoff, and then came back a few years ago (shortly before the actress Elisabeth Sladen's death) to have an adventure with Number Ten. She was marvelous. And how is her name used in this time travel series? It's given to a hideous, back-stabbing, lying, treacherous bitch. It actually makes me feel a little sick. It's possible that Jodi Taylor - and every editor and beta reader and early reader who saw this book - was completely ignorant of those dozens of episodes of Doctor Who; sure it is. But even if it's just pure coincidence, it made me queasy.
What a bloody disappointment. (And see, if I'd liked it I'd have said "fire-trucking". But I didn't.)
Damn.
November 25, 2020
Well, my blunder with where I am in the book (see my status updates) is a perfect representation of the blundering done by three of the new recruits at the Time Police. The Time Police being the (in-)famous organisation rivaling St. Mary's, of course.
Matthew (Max's son) as well as two young people we haven't seen before has entered the training camp at the Time Police. The other two are misfits just like him, with Jane having "destroyed her grandmother's seagull" (yes, it is explained but I don't want to spoiler) and Luke having been sold into service by his own father.
Let's just say that it's going to be one hell of a long assignment for Captain Ellis (now a Major) and Officer North. *lol*
As part of their training, they also go on time jumps, naturally, so we readers are treated to 20th century England, Ancient Egypt, Australia, Ancient Rome (THAT day) and, there as well as at some other time, even a run-in with our favorite disaster magnets.
From arresting people illegally time-travelling to cash in, chasing grave robbers, trying to catch a seriously oversized rabbit, to surviving Julius Caesar's death, we have a little bit of everything here. Oh, not to mention the murder plot that has to be uncovered and solved.
All in all, I must admit to having thoroughly loved this spin-off. I was sceptical at first but it seems that this was the reboot the author needed. Yes, I think St. Mary's is losing a bit of steam what with Max's drama repeating endlessly. Not so here.
Thanks to this being a new generation of Time Police officers, we are getting a very nicely balanced out story (not too chaotic like St. Mary's and not too stormtrooper-ish either). And the characters are just as quirky, charismatic and hilarious with just as much chemistry as in the St. Mary's series.
Moreover, the author once again plays to her strength, taking us on wonderful trips through history to certain important points in time and bringing to life iconic civilisations along the way. I always love those excursions! Though the history of the Time Police itself was very interesting as well (the author reveals just enough to keep us readers hooked but never all, it's almost frustrating).
A very entertaining new series is born, people, and I'm thoroughly recommending it as it is very satisfying! On to the next volume!
Matthew (Max's son) as well as two young people we haven't seen before has entered the training camp at the Time Police. The other two are misfits just like him, with Jane having "destroyed her grandmother's seagull" (yes, it is explained but I don't want to spoiler) and Luke having been sold into service by his own father.
Let's just say that it's going to be one hell of a long assignment for Captain Ellis (now a Major) and Officer North. *lol*
As part of their training, they also go on time jumps, naturally, so we readers are treated to 20th century England, Ancient Egypt, Australia, Ancient Rome (THAT day) and, there as well as at some other time, even a run-in with our favorite disaster magnets.
From arresting people illegally time-travelling to cash in, chasing grave robbers, trying to catch a seriously oversized rabbit, to surviving Julius Caesar's death, we have a little bit of everything here. Oh, not to mention the murder plot that has to be uncovered and solved.
All in all, I must admit to having thoroughly loved this spin-off. I was sceptical at first but it seems that this was the reboot the author needed. Yes, I think St. Mary's is losing a bit of steam what with Max's drama repeating endlessly. Not so here.
Thanks to this being a new generation of Time Police officers, we are getting a very nicely balanced out story (not too chaotic like St. Mary's and not too stormtrooper-ish either). And the characters are just as quirky, charismatic and hilarious with just as much chemistry as in the St. Mary's series.
Moreover, the author once again plays to her strength, taking us on wonderful trips through history to certain important points in time and bringing to life iconic civilisations along the way. I always love those excursions! Though the history of the Time Police itself was very interesting as well (the author reveals just enough to keep us readers hooked but never all, it's almost frustrating).
A very entertaining new series is born, people, and I'm thoroughly recommending it as it is very satisfying! On to the next volume!
October 31, 2024
Loved it so much I am it reading again.
Even better the second read through.
Even better the second read through.
October 27, 2020
Re-read before getting the second book.
August 7, 2022
Recensione originale: https://sonnenbarke.wordpress.com/202...
Jodi Taylor è una prolifica scrittrice inglese di cui ho sentito parlare per la prima volta tempo fa grazie a qualche newsletter che ora non ricordo di preciso. Era appena uscito in Italia La confraternita degli storici curiosi, primo libro della serie delle Cronache del St Mary’s, che nel mondo anglosassone è uscito nel 2013. Quel libro mi ha molto incuriosita ma non l’ho ancora letto, poi mi sono imbattuta in quest’altra serie, The Time Police, che è uno spin-off della precedente. Non so per quale motivo ho deciso di leggere prima questa, dato che si svolge in anni successivi, ma devo dire che non l’ho sentito come un problema durante la lettura. Probabilmente conoscendo già i personaggi e il mondo in cui si svolgono queste vicende avrei apprezzato di più questo libro, ma l’ho trovato ottimo anche da leggere da solo, senza il supporto preliminare degli altri libri.
Doing Time, uscito in Inghilterra nel 2019, non è stato tradotto in italiano, il che non sorprende se pensiamo che dei 13 libri delle Cronache del St Mary’s ne sono stati tradotti solo tre (per ora).
In questo libro ci troviamo al cospetto della Polizia del Tempo: i viaggi nel tempo sono ormai illegali in tutto il mondo, da quando i viaggiatori hanno preso a interferire con la Storia cambiandone il corso. Gli unici che ancora hanno il permesso di viaggiare nel tempo sono, oltre ovviamente alla Polizia del Tempo, gli storici del St Mary’s, per motivi accademici.
All’inizio del romanzo ci vengono presentati tre giovani personaggi che saranno poi i protagonisti di questo e degli altri libri della serie: Jane Lockland, una ragazza un po’ “sfigata” che vive con la nonna-arpia; Luke Parrish, classico figlio di papà ricchissimo e fatuo; Matthew Farrell, figlio di due storici del St Mary’s. Per una serie di motivi tutti e tre si troveranno a lavorare per la Polizia del Tempo e li troviamo qui dopo la formazione teorica, all’inizio del loro apprendistato sul campo. Sono un team sfigato già in partenza: i team di solito sono composti di quattro persone ma loro sono solo in tre, per giunta odiati e tenuti a distanza da tutti per le loro stranezze.
Il libro è un po’ fantascienza, un po’ avventura, un po’ umoristico e un po’ giallo. Devo dire che quando è arrivata la parte gialla ho pensato che l’autrice stesse mettendo un po’ troppa carne al fuoco, ma anche quella parte si armonizza perfettamente con il resto ed è necessaria per lo svolgersi dell’azione.
Se vi piacciono i viaggi nel tempo fa per voi, ma anche se vi piace la fantascienza umoristica, un po’ à la Douglas Adams per intenderci. Si ride molto, ci si appassiona, si impara ad amare questi tre personaggi così particolari pur con tutte le loro idiosincrasie. Personalmente, non vedo l’ora di leggere il secondo della serie e, certo, anche le Cronache del St Mary’s.
Jodi Taylor è una prolifica scrittrice inglese di cui ho sentito parlare per la prima volta tempo fa grazie a qualche newsletter che ora non ricordo di preciso. Era appena uscito in Italia La confraternita degli storici curiosi, primo libro della serie delle Cronache del St Mary’s, che nel mondo anglosassone è uscito nel 2013. Quel libro mi ha molto incuriosita ma non l’ho ancora letto, poi mi sono imbattuta in quest’altra serie, The Time Police, che è uno spin-off della precedente. Non so per quale motivo ho deciso di leggere prima questa, dato che si svolge in anni successivi, ma devo dire che non l’ho sentito come un problema durante la lettura. Probabilmente conoscendo già i personaggi e il mondo in cui si svolgono queste vicende avrei apprezzato di più questo libro, ma l’ho trovato ottimo anche da leggere da solo, senza il supporto preliminare degli altri libri.
Doing Time, uscito in Inghilterra nel 2019, non è stato tradotto in italiano, il che non sorprende se pensiamo che dei 13 libri delle Cronache del St Mary’s ne sono stati tradotti solo tre (per ora).
In questo libro ci troviamo al cospetto della Polizia del Tempo: i viaggi nel tempo sono ormai illegali in tutto il mondo, da quando i viaggiatori hanno preso a interferire con la Storia cambiandone il corso. Gli unici che ancora hanno il permesso di viaggiare nel tempo sono, oltre ovviamente alla Polizia del Tempo, gli storici del St Mary’s, per motivi accademici.
All’inizio del romanzo ci vengono presentati tre giovani personaggi che saranno poi i protagonisti di questo e degli altri libri della serie: Jane Lockland, una ragazza un po’ “sfigata” che vive con la nonna-arpia; Luke Parrish, classico figlio di papà ricchissimo e fatuo; Matthew Farrell, figlio di due storici del St Mary’s. Per una serie di motivi tutti e tre si troveranno a lavorare per la Polizia del Tempo e li troviamo qui dopo la formazione teorica, all’inizio del loro apprendistato sul campo. Sono un team sfigato già in partenza: i team di solito sono composti di quattro persone ma loro sono solo in tre, per giunta odiati e tenuti a distanza da tutti per le loro stranezze.
Il libro è un po’ fantascienza, un po’ avventura, un po’ umoristico e un po’ giallo. Devo dire che quando è arrivata la parte gialla ho pensato che l’autrice stesse mettendo un po’ troppa carne al fuoco, ma anche quella parte si armonizza perfettamente con il resto ed è necessaria per lo svolgersi dell’azione.
Se vi piacciono i viaggi nel tempo fa per voi, ma anche se vi piace la fantascienza umoristica, un po’ à la Douglas Adams per intenderci. Si ride molto, ci si appassiona, si impara ad amare questi tre personaggi così particolari pur con tutte le loro idiosincrasie. Personalmente, non vedo l’ora di leggere il secondo della serie e, certo, anche le Cronache del St Mary’s.
July 5, 2025
If Jodi Taylor decided to write a phone book I would read it. Her work without fail and on every subject makes me laugh, get way too emotionally involved in the characters lives and marvel at her genius and way with words.
Doing Time, the first of the Time Police series was no different. I really enjoyed the appearances of St. Mary’s as well as the trainees themselves develop and do Time policing their way. Possible the shortest 480 pages I’ve ever read!
Doing Time, the first of the Time Police series was no different. I really enjoyed the appearances of St. Mary’s as well as the trainees themselves develop and do Time policing their way. Possible the shortest 480 pages I’ve ever read!
March 9, 2021
This was a surprisingly fun read! I thought I had it panned out, team of misfits proves their worth. It was not. Lol. If I had to compare it, I would say it's a mix of Doctor Who, Hitchhiker's Guide and Monty Python. There was even a trope I normally hate in this and I found it hilarious. This is definitely a series I want to continue.
February 12, 2025
On a second read it’s still a rewarding read and satisfying to be in Taylor’s time traveling world with her varied and embraceable or hatable characters. The St. Mary’s series is still my favorite, but the time police don’t disappoint.
January 10, 2023
Have I mentioned Jodi Taylor is the best? 😀
January 16, 2023
The invention of time travel led to the Time Wars, which led to the Time Police, who solve problems by ruthless, thorough, application of force. Stop the illegal time travelers, bring home for prosecution any who are unaccountably still alive, and burn what's left. The Time Police have a rival, or nemesis, St. Mary's who, they will assure you don't do time travel. That would be illegal. They study major historical events in contemporary time. The earliest (in internal chronological order) of the St. Mary's Chronicles is The Very First Damned Thing (Chronicles of St. Mary's 0.5)
It's very easy to see why the rules-oriented Time Police aren't fond of the scholarly and chaotic St. Mary's crew.
In this first of the Time Police stories, there are three new recruits. One is Jane Lockland, a rather meek, quiet, young woman who has finally bailed on being her grandmother's unpaid servant. One is Luke Parrish, son of a billionaire, whose casual, self-indulgent lifestyle has finally angered his father sufficiently to bribe the Time Police to take him as a recruit. Another is Matthew Farrell, son of two of the historians at St. Mary's. In fact, his mother, Dr. Maxwell, is the one whom the Time Police find most infuriating.
The three of them have survived the classroom portion of their training, and are now ready to be assigned to field training--"gruntwork." Most recruits have over the last weeks sorted themselves into natural teams of four--with three left over. These three. Who are not at all the ordinary sort of Time Police recruits. There's been a drive to increase diversity, in part due to a recognition at the top that with the Time Wars definitely over, they need to adopt a new approach to the new problematic time travelers--time tourists, speculators, big business, and organized crime. Jane fits the desire to have more women. Matthew is a nerd who wants to work on the Time Map after his gruntwork training, and is well suited to it. Luke--Luke is proof that enough money can buy almost anything.
These three didn't even naturally attract each other. They're just the three left over, stuck together for lack of alternatives. Major Ellis takes them on as his team, and bribes an earlier St. Mary's refugee, Officer Celia North, who didn't like the chaotic atmosphere at St. Mary's and fled to the greater order of the Time Police, to be the missing fourth member of his new team.
That team, Team 236 officially, Team Weird according to others, doesn't do anything the right way. Whether going after an amateur time traveler who jumps forward a week to find out the winning lottery numbers, or a single, pregnant rabbit genetically engineered to be immune to super myxomatosis and released into Australia, or as supporting members of a large team to stop a raid on King Tut's tomb three thousand years ago, they don't do anything the Time Police Way,
And yet, they do it. They get their jobs done. Matthew even brings down three time traveling tomb raiders and prevents Major Ellis from dying of his gunshot wound during that operation to protect Tut's tomb.
They are starting to gel as a team.
Which is when they stumble into the crosshairs of a faction among the "traditional" Time Police officers, the ones who don't think people like Team Weird, or women generally, or people with any connection to St. Mary's, or with other nontraditional characteristics, should be recruited. Who don't think people like Commander Hay (head of the Time Police), or Major Ellis, should be running things.
That's when things go all to heck, and Jane finds herself the only suspect in a murder, and Luke and Matthew dig her and themselves even deeper by pulling off a rescue, and the future of the Time Police, and possibly the future of history and the future, hang in the balance.
It's a lot of fun, with good characters, action, people having to actually work with people they fundamentally disagree with. Oh, and a perfectly pulled off silly line delivered to the readers absolutely perfectly.
Enjoy
I bought this book.
It's very easy to see why the rules-oriented Time Police aren't fond of the scholarly and chaotic St. Mary's crew.
In this first of the Time Police stories, there are three new recruits. One is Jane Lockland, a rather meek, quiet, young woman who has finally bailed on being her grandmother's unpaid servant. One is Luke Parrish, son of a billionaire, whose casual, self-indulgent lifestyle has finally angered his father sufficiently to bribe the Time Police to take him as a recruit. Another is Matthew Farrell, son of two of the historians at St. Mary's. In fact, his mother, Dr. Maxwell, is the one whom the Time Police find most infuriating.
The three of them have survived the classroom portion of their training, and are now ready to be assigned to field training--"gruntwork." Most recruits have over the last weeks sorted themselves into natural teams of four--with three left over. These three. Who are not at all the ordinary sort of Time Police recruits. There's been a drive to increase diversity, in part due to a recognition at the top that with the Time Wars definitely over, they need to adopt a new approach to the new problematic time travelers--time tourists, speculators, big business, and organized crime. Jane fits the desire to have more women. Matthew is a nerd who wants to work on the Time Map after his gruntwork training, and is well suited to it. Luke--Luke is proof that enough money can buy almost anything.
These three didn't even naturally attract each other. They're just the three left over, stuck together for lack of alternatives. Major Ellis takes them on as his team, and bribes an earlier St. Mary's refugee, Officer Celia North, who didn't like the chaotic atmosphere at St. Mary's and fled to the greater order of the Time Police, to be the missing fourth member of his new team.
That team, Team 236 officially, Team Weird according to others, doesn't do anything the right way. Whether going after an amateur time traveler who jumps forward a week to find out the winning lottery numbers, or a single, pregnant rabbit genetically engineered to be immune to super myxomatosis and released into Australia, or as supporting members of a large team to stop a raid on King Tut's tomb three thousand years ago, they don't do anything the Time Police Way,
And yet, they do it. They get their jobs done. Matthew even brings down three time traveling tomb raiders and prevents Major Ellis from dying of his gunshot wound during that operation to protect Tut's tomb.
They are starting to gel as a team.
Which is when they stumble into the crosshairs of a faction among the "traditional" Time Police officers, the ones who don't think people like Team Weird, or women generally, or people with any connection to St. Mary's, or with other nontraditional characteristics, should be recruited. Who don't think people like Commander Hay (head of the Time Police), or Major Ellis, should be running things.
That's when things go all to heck, and Jane finds herself the only suspect in a murder, and Luke and Matthew dig her and themselves even deeper by pulling off a rescue, and the future of the Time Police, and possibly the future of history and the future, hang in the balance.
It's a lot of fun, with good characters, action, people having to actually work with people they fundamentally disagree with. Oh, and a perfectly pulled off silly line delivered to the readers absolutely perfectly.
Enjoy
I bought this book.
September 6, 2020
I'm in love with Jodi Taylor's Chronicles of St Mary's books, this is a lovely new side series about the ruthless Time Police, or are they ruthless? We'll find out by the end of the book and the journey to that discovery will be hilarious, fun and unexpected. It is a bundle of fun and I'm heading into book 2 very soon. I need to be with Team Weird, Luke, Jane and Matthew for quite a long time to come.
September 11, 2019
4.5*
This was amazing, funny and original-I cannot wait for more!
The Time Police is a very original and unique story that follows Jane, Matthew and Luke, three people who join the time police for very different reasons, all of whom are seen as weird and likely to fail. Jane joins after breaking her grandmothers seagull (sorry but you will have to read the book to hear more about this event ;D). She is quiet, nervous and anxious and seems extraordinarily unlikely to be particularly useful. However, as the story moves on she appears to bright, intelligent and witty- she was a wonderful character with whom I easily connected with and felt extremely sorry for at times! She is funny, interesting and, in her own right, rather badass.
Matthew is considered weird but genius. He is the most familiar with the time police, having grown up around it (though his backstory is considerably more heart-breaking than we initially realise - this has a cleverly written effect on his personality but is not so domineering that his character is based only upon the past). Matthew is relatively charming despite his stoic and silent approach and is also funny and incredibly clever. However, he is hated due to his connection with St Mary's, something he is not ashamed of and appears to take it in his stride.
Luke is the flirty, rich kid- people dislike him because he purposely irritates them. However, there is so much more to his personality than this and he is charming, funny and considerate at a lot of points in the story. He joins the time police through his father who is trying to teach him a lesson. However, this appears to have some unintended results by the end of the book. (Not sure if it was intentional but the possible Star Wars reference at the end between Luke and Mr Parrish was much loved-see if you can spot it ;D ).
These three are grouped together for their training and are given the bottom of the barrel missions (which are hilarious, interesting and perfectly showcase the depth of these characters)- they unconventionally complete them and appear to do better than originally predicted. However, that is not to say they do this perfectly, in fact there are many mishaps that keep you interested and intrigued from failing to catch a rabbit to trying to apprehend a man cheating the lottery. North and Ellis are their team leaders, they are amazing characters who can't help but have a soft spot for their odd team. Elis is already familiar with Matthew but also believes that each of them have potential. Ellis is more compassionate the North who is blunt and knows what she wants. however, even she feels for the team.
As the team work on their training they find themselves entangled in a much wider story of death, traitors and crime.
I loved the Time police. I thought it had the perfect balance of comedy, action and character development. The characters were lovable and easy to connect with, the story was fun and intriguing and the historical elements were interesting. Despite being based around a widely done concept of time-travel, the Time Police is entirely original and unique with and interesting world, structure and story. The story, despite being rather comical at times, is also serious with murder and violence ensuing- and you are constantly guessing who is the perpetrator.
There are many values to this story from how the change of institutions and society affects those use to tradition to embracing your own nature and personality.
This book is definitely a must-read and is so fun to follow.
*I received digital advance copy from #netgalley and Headline publishers in exchange for an honest review* (@BookreviewsKb)
This was amazing, funny and original-I cannot wait for more!
The Time Police is a very original and unique story that follows Jane, Matthew and Luke, three people who join the time police for very different reasons, all of whom are seen as weird and likely to fail. Jane joins after breaking her grandmothers seagull (sorry but you will have to read the book to hear more about this event ;D). She is quiet, nervous and anxious and seems extraordinarily unlikely to be particularly useful. However, as the story moves on she appears to bright, intelligent and witty- she was a wonderful character with whom I easily connected with and felt extremely sorry for at times! She is funny, interesting and, in her own right, rather badass.
Matthew is considered weird but genius. He is the most familiar with the time police, having grown up around it (though his backstory is considerably more heart-breaking than we initially realise - this has a cleverly written effect on his personality but is not so domineering that his character is based only upon the past). Matthew is relatively charming despite his stoic and silent approach and is also funny and incredibly clever. However, he is hated due to his connection with St Mary's, something he is not ashamed of and appears to take it in his stride.
Luke is the flirty, rich kid- people dislike him because he purposely irritates them. However, there is so much more to his personality than this and he is charming, funny and considerate at a lot of points in the story. He joins the time police through his father who is trying to teach him a lesson. However, this appears to have some unintended results by the end of the book. (Not sure if it was intentional but the possible Star Wars reference at the end between Luke and Mr Parrish was much loved-see if you can spot it ;D ).
These three are grouped together for their training and are given the bottom of the barrel missions (which are hilarious, interesting and perfectly showcase the depth of these characters)- they unconventionally complete them and appear to do better than originally predicted. However, that is not to say they do this perfectly, in fact there are many mishaps that keep you interested and intrigued from failing to catch a rabbit to trying to apprehend a man cheating the lottery. North and Ellis are their team leaders, they are amazing characters who can't help but have a soft spot for their odd team. Elis is already familiar with Matthew but also believes that each of them have potential. Ellis is more compassionate the North who is blunt and knows what she wants. however, even she feels for the team.
As the team work on their training they find themselves entangled in a much wider story of death, traitors and crime.
I loved the Time police. I thought it had the perfect balance of comedy, action and character development. The characters were lovable and easy to connect with, the story was fun and intriguing and the historical elements were interesting. Despite being based around a widely done concept of time-travel, the Time Police is entirely original and unique with and interesting world, structure and story. The story, despite being rather comical at times, is also serious with murder and violence ensuing- and you are constantly guessing who is the perpetrator.
There are many values to this story from how the change of institutions and society affects those use to tradition to embracing your own nature and personality.
This book is definitely a must-read and is so fun to follow.
*I received digital advance copy from #netgalley and Headline publishers in exchange for an honest review* (@BookreviewsKb)
October 17, 2019
There is Taylor’s trademark humour, along with moments of real lump-in-the-throat poignancy – I don’t know anyone else who can swing the mood around from tears to laughter and back again with such conviction. What has been reined in a tad in this first book of a new series, is the anarchic mayhem that regularly breaks out in a St Mary’s book as those historians get an idea they want to test. I found it significant that the only time Taylor cuts loose in the same way, is when one of the characters finds himself back at St Mary’s for a short while. I was pleased to see that the more restrained, repressive atmosphere of the time police force has filtered into the writing.
That didn’t stop the tension being tight-wound to the point that I couldn’t put the book down as one character’s life becomes badly impacted by a ruthless antagonist. The sudden resolution to the situation didn’t have me wanting to break off, either. Taylor’s pacing, as ever, is brilliantly handled and I loved the way our initial bonding or otherwise with the main characters goes on altering and developing throughout the book as we learn more about each of them.
Once more, I reached the end of the book with the story having been satisfactorily concluded, but nonetheless feeling a real sense of loss that there wasn’t more. This tends to be my default emotion when getting to the end of one of Taylor’s books – and it’s a struggle to keep from plunging straight into the next one.
Highly recommended for fans of near-future, character-driven stories where time travel features, but isn’t necessarily the engine powering the narrative. The ebook arc copy of Doing Time was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book
9/10
That didn’t stop the tension being tight-wound to the point that I couldn’t put the book down as one character’s life becomes badly impacted by a ruthless antagonist. The sudden resolution to the situation didn’t have me wanting to break off, either. Taylor’s pacing, as ever, is brilliantly handled and I loved the way our initial bonding or otherwise with the main characters goes on altering and developing throughout the book as we learn more about each of them.
Once more, I reached the end of the book with the story having been satisfactorily concluded, but nonetheless feeling a real sense of loss that there wasn’t more. This tends to be my default emotion when getting to the end of one of Taylor’s books – and it’s a struggle to keep from plunging straight into the next one.
Highly recommended for fans of near-future, character-driven stories where time travel features, but isn’t necessarily the engine powering the narrative. The ebook arc copy of Doing Time was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book
9/10
September 23, 2021
Doing Time, book 1 of The Time Police. A spin off series from The Chronicles of St Mary’s.
I’ll start this review by stating I haven’t read the original series this spun off from. Did it affect my enjoyment, no. This works fine in my opinion as a standalone. I was probably missing out knowing some characters and events but it doesn’t negatively impact the book or overall story.
I started reading this around the time Marvel was bringing out the Loki show. There are some great initial similarities, mainly an organisation that deals with crimes and deviations from the timeline.
This book is also very fun and has a comedic side. This is not a hard sci fi.
The plot revolves around three new and very different recruits to the Time Police. None of them typical recruits. Jane, Luke and Matthew are the main characters. We get to see them evolve over the course of the story and form unlikely bonds. There are also crimes in time to be dealt with, and a mystery!
Overall a really enjoyable start to the series. I would definitely recommend this if you like less serious takes on time travel with a British feel aka Doctor Who. I look forward to checking out future books in this series but I also want to check out the original Chronicles of St Mary’s series.
I’ll start this review by stating I haven’t read the original series this spun off from. Did it affect my enjoyment, no. This works fine in my opinion as a standalone. I was probably missing out knowing some characters and events but it doesn’t negatively impact the book or overall story.
I started reading this around the time Marvel was bringing out the Loki show. There are some great initial similarities, mainly an organisation that deals with crimes and deviations from the timeline.
This book is also very fun and has a comedic side. This is not a hard sci fi.
The plot revolves around three new and very different recruits to the Time Police. None of them typical recruits. Jane, Luke and Matthew are the main characters. We get to see them evolve over the course of the story and form unlikely bonds. There are also crimes in time to be dealt with, and a mystery!
Overall a really enjoyable start to the series. I would definitely recommend this if you like less serious takes on time travel with a British feel aka Doctor Who. I look forward to checking out future books in this series but I also want to check out the original Chronicles of St Mary’s series.
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