A classic St Marys book by Jodi Taylor. I loved the chaos in this book and just really love spending my days with Maxwell. One thing I will say is how Jodi manages to weave in History, and different historical events, will never stop surprising me. She is a genius and since reading this one I have binged the rest of the series. Very good reads if you need to follow someone who happens to have worse luck than yourself. 10/10 would recommend.

Max went to war with the Time Police in the last book, and Dr Bairstow had to restrain her when they left, all to find that Matthew was with Leon, after the Time Police tried to keep him!

The Time Police are very much people who aren't allowed at St Mary's anymore!

Dr Bairstow sends Max, Leon and Matthew off to do what should be a light, easy, uncomplicated job, but because they're St Mary's, you know it's going to be more than that!

The Markham and Hunter hilarity has been going on for a while - are they married or was that a slip of the tongue for Matthew?  Also, Hunter is very pregnant!

I do wish these people would talk to each other, some times, and that's not just Max and Leon!

Plan for the Worst was published on 16th April 2020 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can read my reviews of the other books in the series below:

Just One Damned Thing After Another - book 1

A Symphony of Echoes - book 2

A Second Chance - book 3

A Trail Through Time - book 4

No Time Like the Past - book 5

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? - book 6

Lies, Damned Lies and History - book 7

And The Rest Is History - book 8

The Long and The Short of It - short stories 

An Argumentation of Historians - book 9

Hope for the Best - book 10

You can follow Jodi Taylor on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and her website.

I enjoy this series and I thought this latest book was up there with the rest of them. I'd not read the previous story but didn't feel I was missing anything, these books can be read on their own as the stories are self contained.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley.

A friend introduced me to the world of St Mary′s earlier this year, and I haven′t read every book in the series so far, so this was a bit of a skip ahead.
But it had everything you would expect from this series. There are bits – usually about the historians – that make me laugh out loud, and other bits which are quite poignant if not heartbreaking, and also things blow up a lot, or there is humungous property damage through other causes.. The beginning of the book takes a diversion into a detective story which I found interesting, and there are various plot points about the characters that tie back to previous books. Markham gets a starring and somewhat surprising role in this episode.
But what I most enjoy in this series are the journeys back in time where the author manages to come up with plausible interpretations of history. In this book the interlude with the Vikings was quietly sad, and the visit to ancient Crete was tragedy on a grand scale. So many of these trips are about seeing people die, and even knowing these are fictional representations of people who are already dead, the author manages to make you feel their loss.
I think fans of this series will find it a worthwhile read.

Another enjoyable instalment of the historical comedy/drama/sci-fi wonder that is St Mary's! I felt the series had got a little dark and a bit repetitive, but this felt like a return to form and more light hearted. If you have read any of the series so far and enjoyed them, this is worth your time. Don't start here though, there are far too many characters introduced in previous books!

If you’re new to Jodi Taylor’s bumper ‘The Chronicles of St Mary’s’ series (like I am) I assume (like me) you’ll be totally confused when you first start to read the eleventh in the series, “Plan for the Worst”. With an abundance of unusual but very likeable characters and a unique and utterly mesmerising storyline, it took a while for me to work out exactly who was who and what was what but with a clever ‘dramatis thingummy’ of the cast at the start, you soon pick up where the story is going and where’s it’s been.
The series is based on a bunch of disaster-prone individuals who investigate major historical events in contemporary time. But do NOT call it time travel! Think DC Legends of Tomorrow, Doctor Who and you’ll be on the right track.
I loved how the author used real events in history in her story, I was entranced with the Princes in the Tower, London 1483 and the Minoan Eruption, Crete 1628BC. Loving history as much as I do, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to travel back in time and a job as a historian at St Mary’s would be my ideal vocation.
Every character is unique and original, displaying all four distinct humour styles and I thought Dr Maxwell (Max) with her general persona was just the perfect protagonist for a pretty much male dominated storyline. The dialogue was funny and tongue in cheek yet serious and intelligent and I was literally addicted to the pages as I raced through this book.
Teenagers and adults alike can enjoy this series (only very occasion swearing) but I do believe readers would benefit from reading at least one or two previous books before this one. I definitely want to read more on the calamitous St. Mary’s and I will certainly be seeking out the previous 10 in this fascinating series.

A solid 4 stars for my first foray into the Jodi’s wonderful world of (not) time travel!

I have read the first St Mary's book and was offered this during Corona lock down where I thought it would provide some light relief. It certainly did.

If I had not read the first in the series I would have been completely at sea. It is singularly lacking in detail up front, or in the proof copy I had, there was no synopsis to date.

I was very confused as there were obviously a whole slew of loose ends and story lines I needed.

Any way I kept going and was rewarded with glorious mayhem, wit, scatological humour and a take on history that the 'Horrible Histories' would admire. I particularly enjoyed the Minoan section. Positively explosive.

Max, the heroine of the books is an admirable lead in a book. In real life she is very likely a nightmare. Stubborn, wilful, careless but incredibly brave and loyal.

Always wonderful, this latest in Max's adventures in past, present and future doesn't disappoint. If you are new to this, now lengthy, series I suggest you start at the beginning as it will help enormously, but as with all the books, there is enough here to enjoy on its own. Recommended.

Disaster is the middle name for the St. Mary’s historians, good-intended historians keen to accurately capture history over the victor’s exaggerated boasting. Its so expected, they plan for it. However, a seemingly innocent jump back to the Tower of London 1483, the last day the Plantagenet princes were seen, throws everything Dr Maxwell, Max, believes into doubt. Stranded in time, Max questions her superiors’ motivations, and when she is returned to her own time, rescued by the Time Police over her own colleagues, she is forced to explore who, if anyone, she can trust.
Plan for the Worst is the eleventh book in the St. Mary Chronicles, and can be a little off-putting if you’re not used to the style. On the surface, it appears to be a collection of events in Max’s life that don’t really have any bearing on one another right up until the last thirty pages or so where everything is brought together. This doesn’t work for me, especially when I go back over the events in the book to see if the clues were there all along, but I missed them, and they aren’t.
On the plus side, it is very funny with excellent banter from characters who have known each other. There are lots of references to previous events, such as Max’s son, Matthew, living with the Time Police for a certain amount of time. However, there are no explanations about why this happened, which can leave a new reader out in the cold. This is not a book to be read without some prior knowledge of the world and its characters.
This felt very much like an end of series book. There are lots of tying up of loose ends, victories over long standing enemies, both foreign and domestic, including Max’s so-called PA who won’t even wash up a cup. Broken relationships are mended, identities revealed and many an old-fashioned disease caught. If I’m right, and this is an end of St Mary’s to focus on the Time Police, with it’s second story Hard Time coming out later this year, something I can’t wait for, then this is a satisfactory ending. Fans of the series will not be disappointed.

The disaster magnets of St. Mary’s are back!
Vikings where they shouldn’t be, Leon (a hero) in peril, frozen chicken missiles, unscheduled immersion in the medieval river Thames, Dr. Bairstow! (How could be?!), bull leaping the ancient Crete, that damned Ronan...again! But most shockingly Markham (I would never have guessed but am somehow not surprised). It’s all kicking off but frankly I would read about St. Mary’s watching paint dry and bickering about it. History, it’s a wild ride.

So Jodi, I mentioned the yellow puddles to my husband- he wanted to know Why I was giggling_and the answer came back: Liquid dynamics;
pressure flow; pipe diameters and drips. So there you have it.

I have read every book in this series so the beginning confused me.
I had last read of Matthew being grown, so to have him back as a child was wrong. However, I soon got back into the swing of reading, giggling, and sheer amazement at the characters' behaviour and pickles they find themselves in.

I should point out though, that the flu pandemic mentioned about Paris, was no doubt COVIDI9.

Just not recognized in this version of history.

This is not the book to start the series though, and it really isn't standalone. There are too many characters who appear tangentially and too many past adventures.

I love this series and the madcap weary disasters and the strange romances between unusual characters.
History is explained in a very readable form and thus the books are educational too! And very very funny, but with bathos and pathos, and sadness too.

I love this series and I liked this one even if it's not the best one.
It's as entertaining and funny as usual and I laughed out loud more than once.
There were some moments in the plot that required a higher level of suspension of belief but I read this book as fast as I could and liked what I read.
A great world building, fleshed out characters, the humour and the plot that flows are the elements that make me love this series.
I can't wait to read the next instalment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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

It's always exciting to be approved to review a book by an author you love, and Jodi Taylor has become one of my favourite authors. This is vintage St Mary's, with all the usual favourite characters, in-jokes and catch phrases, complete with fascinating and varied jumps, and adventure and action galore.

We learn more about some of our favourite characters and see the development of some ongoing plot points and Taylor's typical narrative humour and the banter between the characters had me chuckling away on many occasions.

If you are already a St Mary's fan, Plan For The Worst will not disappoint. If you aren't, start with book one and enjoy this along with the rest! (Taylor does explain a lot of key background points briefly but you'll likely get quickly frustrated by the amount of backstory you've missed)

Full disclosure, having read and loved the first eight books in this series I gave up part-way through the ninth book as I felt the ongoing Clive Ronin story was a bit rinse-and-repeat and Max was falling into the TSTL heroine character. But I loved the first book in the new Time Police series so when I saw this ARC available on NetGalley I thought I'd request it and try to get back into a world that I had loved.

Sadly, I didn't regain the love. What I loved about the early books was the the humour and the multiple ventures into history. In this book, even though there are some interesting forays into history my overwhelming feeling was that there was a lot of time spent at St Mary's navel-gazing and that the characters had lost the 'heart' that made the first books so joyous. Instead I felt like there is a growing checklist of things that Jodi Taylor feels she needs to put in every book and as a consequence it's a bit same-same eg the fights with Rosie Lee, the disastrous R&D experiments etc. (view spoiler)

Overall, for me, the time travel (and yes I know they don't call it that), which I still enjoyed, didn't make up for the overwhelming feeling of deja-vu. I struggled to start this and that feeling never really went away. I read a review which said the last 30 pages made the book for them, sorry I can't even say that, in fact they raised more questions than anything else.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This series is always a pleasure to read. I loved this installment. Highly entertaining, fun and gripping.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

This series of books is in my top 3 series of books ever read and I read a LOT of books! I was a bit worried that the story wouldn't be as good as the series has been going for a few years now. I needn't have worried, this book was at good as the others. There were some loose ends tied up (no spoiler) and other explanations. I did begin to wonder if this will be the last book in the series, I'm not sure. I hope not though, as I love everything Jodi Taylor has written, a new series would be fine- I think. This book had enough thrills, spills and general St Mary's chaos to keep a reader happy, although I did feel a slightly more mature Max emerging. Will this continue, will there be another St Mary's book? I certainly hope so. Ps. If there is ever a real St Mary's, I'd like a job please!

Plan for the Worst is the 11th title in the Chronicles of St Mary's, and as such, anyone reading it probably knows a lot of what to expect. There can also be problems with long series - how to maintain momentum, how to successfully ramp up the excitement and stakes book after book without jumping the shark. Thankfully, this series has managed that pretty well so far, and this newest volume doesn't disappoint either.

It has all the hallmarks that fans of the series will be familiar with - constant peril, historical adventures, and the author's distinctive voice. The constant peril can be a little exhausting after so long - sometimes it seems Max can't even make a cup of tea without dodging an attempt on her life - but it certainly keeps it entertaining. Fans of Markham will be pleased to hear he plays a more prominent role here, too. Plus, this book does contain the climax of a long-running story arc, which sets it apart in terms of stakes. In fact, it's a bit difficult to see where the series goes from here, but, like many fans, I'll be waiting to find out as eagerly as ever.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for the copy.

Just read the entire series. Taylor's books about a group of time travelling historians who observe and record history in 'contemporary time' is not to be missed. Max and Co are once again hurtling towards disaster borne along on the tides of time and fate, brilliant ideas that always backfire and lashings of tea. This time a trip to Crete to watch the rise of the Minoan Empire. Of course nothing goes to plan. Truly excellent as always.

Another excellent book from the author.
Yet again the Disaster Magnets from St Marys are running into trouble, whilst trying not to disrupt the timeline and angering the Gods of History.
Would highly recommend this book

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy. I first discovered the St Mary’s series and Jodi Taylor last month. Since the first chapter, which I listened to through audible, I have been hooked. Her writing is brilliant, funny and often poignant. I have cried and laughed in equal measure. With each book, and short story, I have been desperate to read the next. To hold myself over until I was able to read this, I have read her other novels which I also enjoyed. To say I was happy to get the chance to read this book early would be an understatement! I won’t give away the plot as you need to go into this without spoilers, but I will say I was very satisfied with what was revealed. During a time of great uncertainty in the world- clearly Jodi Taylor has her own time machine as she certainly predicted coronavirus in “Just One Damned Thing After Another”- this book has been a balm to me in my exile from the world. Can’t wait to read the next in the Time Police series in October.