Cover Image: Doing Time

Doing Time

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Member Reviews

Is it any surprise that I loved this book? Those that know me know I am a huge fan of Jodi Taylor's Chronicles of St Mary's and this series is setting up to be just as jam packed with fun filled chaos as that series. It definitely hectic manor but the chaos does seen a little more controlled. The plot is exciting and has a really great mix of time travel, crime fighting and danger.

I really enjoyed getting to see the other side of the coin to St Mary's and finally get a glimpse into how the Time Police operate. It didn't throw us quiet in the deep end as there were plenty of old friends and favourites popping in, including the disaster trio Max, Peterson and Markham. I also loved that we got to learn so much more about Matthew and that we get to see him all grown up and striding out for himself.

I loved the new characters too, especially Jane. I thought Matthew would be my favourite of the trio due to his past but Jane really won me over. Her story was so much fun and she was such an interesting character. I do wish we had gotten to know Luke a little more but hopefully the next in the instalment.

Taylor still puts her characters through the ringer, poor Major Ellis gets it this one, he just can't seem to find a break.

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I haven't had a chance to read Jodi Taylor's previous books, but I really enjoyed this one! It's about time police, and if that doesn't sound fantastic, then I don't know what does! The three new 'recruits' are Jane, Luke and Matthew who were each very distinct from each other. This plot gave them a chance to develop and by the end I really loved them and can't wait to see what happens next! I loved this timeline spanning ride and recommend this to anyone looking for a comforting yet unusual read!

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This is an amazing new series starter from Jodi Taylor - every one of her books so far has been a gem, and this is no exception! It showcases the same masterful command of humour and tragedy as in the St Mary's books, and somehow manages to make even a die hard St Mary's fan end up rooting for a set of characters who should, by everything we know about the Time Police, be the Bad Guys. Be warned that you don't want to go into this mid-way through the St Mary's series - while I think you could start this series without having read any of the St Mary's books, you want to either have all the knowledge or absolutely none, as it refers to a lot of events and characters from later on in the series. I'm being deliberately vague, but this is not something you want to spoil for yourself!

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I loved this beginning of a new series by Jodi Taylor! If possible it is actually funnier and more enjoyable than the St Mary Chronicles which I thought would never be beaten.

The set of three main characters we are following can’t be more different but they are made to form team weird. I loved that you felt part of the team and saw them forming bonds with eachother on exercise.

The contrast between unruly St Marys and the organised Time Police is hilarious, I loved anytime the St Mary's crew met the time police as it always ended in hilarity and chaos.

I need the next one now please!

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Doing Time, by Jodi Taylor is a hilarious, fast paced Sci fi novel.

Jane, Matthew and Luke are new recruits thrown together to form Team Weird, they’re not exactly what Time Police officers are made off.

I loved the characters and the various POVs that the story was told from, Luke the playboy was one of my faves, totally entitled but a loveable rogue. There was action throughout, some parts seemed a little disjointed but overall enjoyable. The writing style reminded me of Douglas Adams in Hitchikers, with a sarky AI and various quotes from other sources, my personal favourite: “you have the life expectancy of a Defensive against the Dark Arts teacher in a Harry Potter novel.” The plot was disjointed at times, but that could have been because its an ARC.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and am interested in reading more!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I love the Chronicles of St Mary's, so while this was a must read, I was also wary. A new series. A new cast of characters. And a new perspective - that of the Time Police, who have always butted heads with St Mary's. I shouldn't have worried. Taylor is a safe pair of hands and easily spun me away in a time travel adventure that was very different to St Mary's but also kept many of the things I loved. There is a little crossover - Max, Leon and various other St Mary's notables make cameos. Matthew Farrell is one of the POV characters here and I just love him. Forming the rest of Team Weird, there is Jane Lockland, a woman who joined the Time Police because she was escaping the wrath of her Grandmother and turned out to quite like it. Also callow, playboy Luke Parrish, who turns out to be a lot more useful than he first appears, despite being basically indentured to the TP by his father. This is a great adventure, lots of fun with plenty of action. I predict I'm going to love this series as much as St Mary's.

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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!

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This was the first Jodi Taylor book I’ve read an I’ll certainly be reading more.

I loved Doing Time. It was the perfect mix of humour, serious plot, character development and setting.

I laughed out loud, got caught up in the history, willed Luke, Matthew and Jane to become a team and loved being along for the ride.

The characterisation in this novel was one of its strengths, I instantly wanted to cheer Jane on, for Matthew to find his place and for Luke to become his own person. Watching these 3 misfits start to gel as a team was one of the highlights of the book.

There were some lovely pop culture references dotted through out Doing Time. I almost certainly didn’t catch them all but highlights included Star Wars (I’d love to know if Luke was named purely for reference or if that came after), Harry Potter, and Star Trek.

Perfect for fans of Jasper Fforde but treading its own path I recommend if you like some fun in your sci-fi.

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For those who don't know, Jodi Taylor is the author of a series of books called The Chronicles of St Mary's which I have not personally read but I have heard that they are very good. If this is the first you are hearing about them then my suggestion is that you go and (at the very least) find out what they are about (ideally read them) before picking this book up. 

I had a handle on the idea that the books were time travel in an alternate Oxford College but beyond that, I didn't know anything specific about characters or plots and I figured I'd probably be fine jumping into this spinoff series without that knowledge.

Much like A Little Hatred I still think this book is great, even if you haven't read the other books. Also like A Little Hatred, I suspect you'd get more out of this book if you did have that additional context - maybe this would feel more like an expansion of the universe? Obviously, I don't know that for sure - but that's my best guess. 

But with all that in mind - how did I find Doing Time?

I think this book is oodles of fun. It kind of reminds me of that very specific kind of YA science fiction book in which an unlikely band of miscreants work together against all odds to [insert task here]. While this story takes place in the Time Police as opposed to in space a lot of the tropes and character dynamics remain similar. 

There is always a privileged boy of some kind in books like this and his character development is almost always something along the lines of 'recognising the aforementioned privilege and realising that the peasants he's been working with are alright really.' Now I won't spoil it for you by saying whether this book aligns with that plot or not, but Luke wasn't the worst offender in this category that I've read recently. While he's an arse, he kind of owns it and while he does have a tragic element to his backstory that isn't used to forgive all his poor behaviour. It was cool. 

Matthew and Jane, I almost feel could have had more time dedicated to them. Jane's backstory was probably the one that most interested me and I'm not sure it was developed as much as I would have liked within the story. If a conscious choice was made to focus on Jane's present as opposed to her past then I just hope we get more in later books (I'm guessing there will be more books in this series but Goodreads does not enlighten me). 

The plot is, at least for the first half of this book, probably exactly how you would imagine it, it's the training montage moment. but I didn't find that predictability bothersome and I thought that the way the book got into the real meat of the plot after that was really good, you started to see how certain events were foreshadowed from the start. It was a real romp - even though these characters were in real danger of death quite often. 

This book would make a fabulous holiday read, it's just long enough and detailed enough for you to feel you've achieved something but it's also fast-paced at the same time! As I say, I think you might appreciate this book more if you've read Jodi Taylor's previous work but you will still enjoy this book if you go in as 'blind' as I did. 

Right, off to buy all the Chronicles of St Mary's books now!

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own. 

Doing Time is available now!

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My thanks to Headline for an eARC via NetGalley of Jodi Taylor’s ‘Doing Time’ in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in a new series, The Time Police, which is a spin-off of her highly popular Chronicles of St. Mary’s.

“A long time ago in the future, the secret of time travel became known to all. Everyone seized the opportunity - and the world nearly ended. There will always be idiots who want to change history.
And so, the Time Police were formed. An all-powerful, international organisation tasked with keeping the timeline straight. At all costs.”

The focus here is upon three new recruits to the Time Police: Jane, Luke, and Matthew. They are considered a team of oddballs, who likely don’t have the right stuff. Adventures ensue.

While I have only read the first in the Chronicles of St. Mary’s (though have a number of them waiting on my Kindle) enough background is given for this to work fine as a standalone.

This was great fun with memorable characters, sharp humour, and an intriguing story with some interesting twists.

While waiting for the next in this fab SF time travelling series I am going to make sure that I read more Jodi Taylor books.

Highly recommended

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I'm a huge fan of Chronicles of St Mary and was more than happy when I got this ARC.
It's a great and funny read, full of the usual humour that marks Jody Taylor's book.
It can be read as a stand alone but I think it can be fully appreciated if you read the Chronicles as it gives you a better idea of the world building and Matthew's background.
This novel is a page turner that will make you laugh out load and turn pages as fast as you can.
There's a lot of satire in this book and it's a high level satire.
The plot is well crafted and engrossing, the cast of characters well written and I loved every moment.
I look forward to reading the next instalment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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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

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This book was so good! I love Chronicles of St. Mary's, but I can easily say you don't have to read them to read this book. It works as a stand alone. But, if you read them, I'm sure your experience will be much better.
This book was hilarious, very well written, such a charmer to take you to another world. It's the definition of what I expect from a book to immerse myself.
I love Taylor's writing. It's perfection.

Thanks a lot NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I am so glad that I decided to give the sci-fi genre a whirl having resisted for so long, for pretty much no reason other than I didn't think I'd enjoy it! This is a new author to me so I have never read the Chronicles of St Mary's series of book which, I believe, this book is a spinoff from. That said, I don't feel I have missed anything as the part played by St Mary's is adequately explained herein.
So, the secret of time travel isn't anymore; a secret that is. It's available to all, and pretty much abused by the majority. From just popping forward a couple days to get the lottery numbers, to going back in time to change history. And this way, chaos ensues as more and more people tear the fabric of time. And thus were the Time Police brought into being. Their only task is to keep time on the straight and narrow. By any means necessary. And by any means, I do mean ANY! They're a bit shoot first, ask questions, gung-ho at times. But they do their jobs and peace has been restored to the time continuum. This book, and indeed this series (hopefully) follow three new Time Police recruits as they first go through basic training and then out in the field as they pit there wits (hmmm) against those who would disrupt time. But... have they bitten off more than they can separately or collectively chew as it soon becomes evident that all is not as it should be with the upper echelons of the Force...
I blooming well loved this book. Read start to finish in only a couple of sittings as it compelled me to keep reading. It was bonkers and intriguing and funny and occasionally silly - the rabbit - but also quite serious at times - murder and mayhem - so much so that I found it impossible to put down for anything that really couldn't wait.
Jane, Luke and Matthew - our three recruits - are chalk, and cheese, and something that also doesn't go with either. But they rub along, well, they don't but they do. You'll see when you read the book! Each have their own (or other's) reasons for joining up but I'll let you discover these as the author intends rather than spoil thing here. Suffice to say they are all pretty dreadful at the tasks in hand! Some of their early missions had me tittering, giggling and occasionally guffawing at the way they "get the job done"! Everyone loves an underdog and we have three such characters here, all of whom I took to from the off which really helped the book go along at a pretty fast pace. But soon it becomes a little darker as there are nefarious things afoot. Things that threaten the whole ethos of both the Time Police and time itself and it becomes a race against time (see what I did there!) to sort things out before it's too late (again, sorry!).
All in all, a cracking read that I thoroughly enjoyed and which left me both satisfied at its conclusion and gagging for the next in series. I'm also going to endeavour to sneak the St Mary's series into my tbr at some point. Oh for a time machine to get me some more reading time - oh, wait!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

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I received this book for free from NetGalley to provide an unbiased review.

Preamble:

I'm guessing most people who are interested in reading 'Doing Time' are up to date with the Chronicles of St Mary's ' series - I've only read the first 3. I am enjoying them immensely and thought I'd try this spin off... Yes, I'm an idiot! To any in the same position as myself, I would catch up with CoSM and then start this. There are a few 'spoilers ' so bear that in mind.

Review:

Matthew, Luke and Jane are grouped together as Time Police trainees, jumping through time (eventually) to ensure the timeline is secure... But not like those St Mary's imbeciles - the Time Police do things properly.

We follow the three newbies, pre-TP, through their first few months of training. They are odd, friendless, and don't even socialise with each other. But they have each other's backs. Mostly.

Overall, a decent introduction to the internal workings of the Time Police, albeit a little formulaic - three outcasts striving to get through new situations, and it all turning out... well... not 'ok' but it leaves it open for book 2!

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, and will definitely read... once I'm up to date with St Mary's!

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Disclaimer * I'm a huge fan.
Doing time was so good! Reading the chronicles of st.marys first is not a must, but i highly recommend it. We all know Matthew's backstory (and if not, as aforementioned), but Luke and Jane are new to us. You could read doing time as a stand alone, but reading the chronicles of st.marys first make for such a richer experience.

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Doing Time
By Jodi Taylor
Published by Headline, 17 October 2019

I have been a huge fan of Jodi Taylor's glorious "The Chronicles Of St Mary's" almost from its inception, so what a delight to be able to read and review the very first book in the new Time Police series!

The Time Police. Feared, mistrusted, mocked, even hated. A necessary evil to maintain the timeline from the ravages of those who would make unauthorised jumps to change history for their own personal reasons or for political, cultural or religious reasons. Who in their right minds would join such an organisation?

Well, Jane, Luke and Matthew for a start, and all for very different personal reasons. They are regarded as misfits by their peers in the Time Police, but those in authority are watching them closely and with keen interest. The new recruits gradually start to gel as a team once they finish their basic training and start their "grunt work" before becoming fully fledged officers, but the arrival of a new officer to lead their team, who quickly charms Matthew, seduces Luke and sidelines the quiet and shy Jane, causes absolute mayhem and the three friends begin to drift apart.

I loved Jane from the very first line and laughed uproariously over Matthew's parents' reactions to his decision to join the Time Police. I was fully prepared to despise Luke the playboy but quickly grew to like him a great deal as the youngsters rampage up and down history, leaving mayhem in their wake. When they met up with St Mary's, I was on tenterhooks... but I won't spoil the story for anyone.

Jodi has a deft and sure touch with her historical depictions and is a keen observer of current social and political trends as we find when the trio go on their very first foray after an unauthorised time traveller who intends to get winning Lottery numbers. The methods used by Jane, Luke and Matthew are initially chaotic, often unconventional, bend rather a lot of rules, but are ultimately effective and the team are quick learners. They need to be, or their lives, let alone their careers, will reach an abrupt end as the Time Police is also being torn by factions with very different aims and agendas.

I never thought I would be sympathetic towards the Time Police as an organisation after so much of what happened in their interactions with St Mary's in previous books, but it is a tribute to Jodi's writing that this book is such fun and an utterly absorbing read with characters that I quickly grew to love. I am SO looking forward to seeing what happens next!

Thanks to the publisher for allowing me a free digital copy of the book via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion and review.

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Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

As a long time St Mary's fan, I was extremely excited to be approved for the first Time Police spin-off. Although enjoyment of this book is greatly heightened by a more in-depth acquaintance with Max et al, it's not necessary in order to appreciate the story.

Jane, Luke and Matthew are entertaining and unlikely recruits for the Time Police, and their escapades are gripping and amusing. It's excellent to see Matthew develop in his own right. The story has a good pace and Taylor's trademark humour is at its best, gaining several chuckles and giggles from me. (I can confirm she is just as witty in real life)

The well-loved historical jump is present, and going to the 90s is a great twist (St Mary's wouldn't be allowed but for the Time Police presumably it's far enough back in time!). There's plenty of suspense and further plot development to come, and I for one will look forward to Taylor's next offering.

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I have read the other reviews about this book and they have left me with feelings of inadequacy as they are very eloquent and descriptive, my review does not need to expand on their articulations.

I have never read any books by this author so came to this with no preconceptions, I thought this book was funny, very funny, sad at times and addressed issues in current society, the quintessential Britishness of it is a joy to behold and looking at the current state of my homeland probably not something we ever see again

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The Time Police: An organisation who's job it is to keep the timeline straight: Team 236 (Team Weird) 3 recruits who don't quite fit.

This is a spin-off to Jodi Taylor's Chronicles of St Mary's series. I have to say I haven't read any of them and apart from a few references, I didn't feel I was missing anything (I do now want to read that series though!)

Funny and fast-paced, this book will keep you reading and routing for all the members of Team Weird.
I loved the story line, the characters and the development of their personalities.
Although this book is filled with humour there are also darker themes of murder, bullying and abuse, both institutional and familial.

This book has it all, characters you can love and hate, history, a murder mystery, great dialogue and a bit of science fiction.

5 stars. Highly recommended read.

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