The Paternoster Gang: Trespassers, Vol. 1: Rogues Gallery

The Paternoster Gang #5

by Barnaby Kay, Dan Starkey, Lisa McMullin

Victorian England is home to the Great Detective, Madame Vastra, her resourceful spouse, Jenny Flint, and their loyal valet, Strax. Solving conundrums, fighting injustice and capturing criminals are all in a day’s work for the Gang – but the most dangerous threat is one that takes up residence undetected. There are trespassers in London, and they are coming to Paternoster Row.

1.1 The Ghost and the Potato Man by Barnaby Kay - When a criminal gang pulls off a series of impossible heists, Inspector Cotton calls upon the talents of the Great Detective to crack the case. Tipped off by Ellie Higson, the Paternoster Gang uncover a link to a baffling music hall act.
While Jenny and Vastra chase down leads in London’s dangerous underworld, Strax finds a career on the stage is beckoning.

1.2 Symetry of Death by Dan Starkey - Cases are mounting for the Paternoster Gang. Three mysteries call for immediate attention: a murder, a locked room conundrum, and some acts of random vandalism. But is there a connection? As Jenny goes undercover and Strax stakes out the suspects, Vastra finds an echo of the distant past which could be the key to the solution.

1.3 Till Death Us Do Part by Lisa McMullin - Jenny has decided she wants a wedding – a real wedding with Vastra, before their family and friends. But the viewing of a dress leads to misunderstandings and confusions, becoming ever more serious. The owner of the dress claims to have been jilted years before by a man both familiar and unfamiliar… the Doctor! As tempers flare, alien forces are at work – and what’s more, there could be a trespasser in Paternoster Row.

Genres: Doctor Who, Audiobook

Audio CD

Published October 1, 2023

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

5.1 The Ghost and the Potato Man - A delightful romp through Victorian era Music Halls and Vaudevillian mysteries. Fun, mysterious, and silly ghoulishness. Perfect for the Paternoster Gang. (4/5)

5.2 Symmetry of Death - A series of rather classic Sherlock-Holmesean mysteries lead to unexpected (well, not all that unexpected) complications. Great stuff. (4/5)

5.3 Till Death Us Do Part - Since they’ve never had an actual ceremony, Jenny decides she wants a wedding. Vastra agrees, but then she doesn’t, but then she does or does she? And then there’s Miss Faversham who got jilted 35 years ago, by John Smith, aka The (eighth) Doctor. What the hell is going on?! Great fun, hilarious shenanigans and ending you have to hear to believe! (4/5)

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume launches of a second ‘season’ of The Paternoster Gang, starring Vastra, Jenny, and Strax in 19th-century London. It consists of three episodes that, initially, have little to connect them.

The Ghost and the Potato Man – The season opens with a story that shares some themes with the earlier ‘season’, but that feels like it was written for the earlier Big Finish series Jago and Litefoot. A gang of criminals has kidnapped some aliens and is using them for nefarious ends. It’s a while before we get any description of what the aliens look like, which, since everyone keeps calling them ‘ghosts’ to start with, may lead to some confusion. (It seemed for a while that they might be Gelth, but once we get a proper description, it’s obvious that they aren’t). Jenny is also less well-used in this one than she might be, spending some time waiting for her wife to come rescue her without doing much on her own initiative. On the other hand, there are some amusing scenes with Strax in a music hall, and Ellie Higson (from Jago and Litefoot) has a brief part to play. The humour and adventure make up for the minor shortcomings, giving an entertaining kick-off to this new round of stories. 4 stars.

Symmetry of Death – The second story is a murder mystery, playing on Vastra’s parallels with Sherlock Holmes. In fact, there are initially two mysteries here, and the murder initially takes a back seat to a missing person case. Naturally enough, the two turn out to be connected, and the story moves from a hotel to a gentleman’s club and to homes both salubrious and lower class. There are more connections to Vastra than simply the Sherlockian moments and, on this occasion, I didn’t find that the monster needed a detailed description – it’s fairly obvious what it is from the first time we hear it. While it’s also not very hard to work out who the villain is, the story still manages to be a good mix of investigation, action, and humour with a sci-fi twist. 4.5 stars.

Till Death Do Us Part – Jenny decides that she wants to have a wedding to go with her supposed ‘marriage’ in a story that ends up dealing, in part, with marital tensions (mostly not hers). This is the story that, as promised on the cover, brings the Doctor into the mix, although he’s mainly a background character, not taking time from the leads. There are references to Dickens and to Jenny’s dysfunctional background, and the recurring villain for the series becomes obvious for the first time. For all the comedy, it’s dark in places, especially in the implications of the cliffhanger ending. 4.5 stars.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was fun!
So much fun, that I actually started to re-listen right away.
This was so much better that the previous release that just kind of fizzled out for me.
Fantastic performances, great music and sound effects, nice mystery stories and I just absolutely adore all the quirky characters.
And we do get a fantastic villain who is actually VERY threatening and clever and insideous.
I really hope they do not weaken him down and have him beat in a let-down confrontation but keep him every bit as menacing and scary.
And use a clever way of beating him.
The story ends with a pretty nail-biting cliff-hanger, so I cannot wait for the next installment!
This is a really good release and the most fun I had with BF in some time.

One minor nitpick-
as someone for whom the Pterodactyl is the favorite prehistory creature, I CRINGE and feel near physical pain if I hear Pterodactyls described as huge, carrying away people and coffers and being used as ancient attack squadrons.
Please.
That animal you are referring to is a Pteranodon.
A Pterodactyl fits into your hand. A Pteranodon has a wingspan of up to 5 metres.
I wish authors would just either visit the natural history museum in London (entrance is FREE) or ask a 5 year old of their choice (they usually know about these things).

[Jamie Holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

The stories in this are largely fun if not forgettable. It ends of a great cliffhanger.

Story 1 - a really fun time, Strax is given a lot to do and he does it well.
Story 2 - Intriguing set up with three mysteries of various severity that didn't quite follow through.
Story 3 - Loved the idea of a wedding, really wanted to hear that and see that Story. Loved seeing 8 BUT this really feels like a mess. In one sense you have the wedding, in another there's a mysterious person seemingly immatiting people, then the doctor is showing up with that plot. To have them all in there's are parts that feel really important that are just dropped. With all characters seemingly seeing like they didn't happen? Loved elements of this one but it was the most disappinting

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ghost and the Potato Man ***
Symmetry of Death ****
Till Death Us Do Part ****

[KP · Rating 4 out of 5]

That cliffhanger OMG

[Brian Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking stuff! Also a hell of a cliffhanger for the next installment!

[Alena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t aware there was a new round of Paternoster Gang audio plays available, so yay for that.

I had forgotten how much I like them, and I‘m so happy there are new stories.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could’ve used a bit more Paul McGann.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains 3 Stories:
The Ghost and the Potato Man
Symmetry of Death
Till Death do us Part