The Chronicles of St Mary's

Max is no stranger to taking matters into her own hands. Especially when she's had A Brilliant Idea. Yes, it will mean breaking a few rules, but - as Max always says - they're not her rules. Seconded to the Time Police to join in the hunt for the renegade Clive Ronan, Max is a long way from St Mary's. But life in the future does have its plus points - although not for long. A problem with the Time Map reveals chaos in the 16th century and the wrong Tudor queen on the throne. History has gone rogue, there's a St Mary's team right in the firing line and Max must step up.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Max's husband met Max's father? What would Leon do? They're normally a fairly amiable bunch, but this is the story of what to expect if St Mary's doesn't like someone. As in, really doesn't like someone. Warning: contains a unit-wide criminal enterprise, a great deal of illegal activity and a sad misuse of public resources. All the things a father will do to protect his family. It is also a story of revenge. Because this is payback - St Mary's style. Includes bonus St Mary's escapades 'Desiccated Water' and 'Markham and the Anal Probing'.

It's Christmas at St Mary's and time for the traditional illicit jump. Except this one is perfectly legal. It's Major Guthrie's last jump. To the Battle of Bannockburn, no less. An important moment in history for two nations - one that warrants everyone's full attention. But Max soon finds herself grappling with a near-lethal game of pooh sticks, another avian incursion and two turbulent teenagers intent on piloting their own illegal jump. And that's all before they even get near 14th-century Scotland. For this is St Mary's, and nothing is ever simple.

I would have trusted this man with my life. Until a couple of days ago, anyway. You know what they say - hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Max is quite accustomed to everything going wrong. She's St Mary's, after all. Disaster is her default state. But with her family reunited and a jump to Bronze Age Crete in the works, life is getting back to normal. Well, normal for St Mary's. And then, following one fateful night at the Tower of London, everything Max thought she knew comes crashing down around her. Too late for plans. The worst has happened. And who can Max trust now?

On the longest night of 1895, a terrible storm rages above Harewood Hall. Max, Markham and an injured Peterson are welcomed in by the Harewood family but quickly realise that the gathering is far from celebratory. For tonight marks the Ordeal of the Haunted Room. Every Harewood heir must endure one terrifying night alone in the Haunted Room before he can inherit the family seat. Legend says that ghosts will murder anyone who isn't the true heir. Francis Harewood's ordeal will begin at midnight and end at dawn, but it isn't long before everything goes horribly wrong.

It's long been known that if a thing can go wrong, it will. With knobs on, usually. Disasters start to pile up. A new colleague with no respect for the past and a great deal to prove. Historians lost in time. And - worst of all - Rosie Lee on her very first jump. Then there's the small matter of Max's dishonourable discharge. From Tudor England to the Tower of Babel - it's all going horribly wrong. Jobless and homeless, Max receives an offer she can't refuse. Another time, another place. A refuge, perhaps. She's got that wrong, too.

Settle down with a mince pie and a small sherry and prepare for an unlikely combination of Flying Auctions, Fabergé eggs, duped Time Police officers, the Parish Council, a TWOCed Bentley (no, not that one), legendary swords and a belligerent ram. Will it be peace and goodwill to all men? Well, we all know the answer to that....

Punching well above their weight, Max and Markham set out to bring down a sinister organisation founded in the future—with a suspicious focus on the past. Max's focus is staying alive long enough to reunite with Leon and Matthew, alternately helped and hindered by St Mary's—who aren't always the blessing they like to think they are. But non-stop leaping around the timeline—from witnessing Magna Carta to disturbing a certain young man with a penchant for gunpowder—is beginning to take its toll. Is Max going mad? Or are the ghosts of the past finally catching up with her?

It had to happen. St Mary's is under investigation. Their director has been shot and Max is Number One Suspect. She needs to get away - fast - but dare she risk another jump so soon? And if she does, will it be a case of from the frying pan into the fire? We all know the answer to that one.

Follow the disaster magnets of St Mary's as they hurtle around history! The ninth book in The Chronicles of St Mary's Series collects the best-selling short stories in audio for the first time.

Meet Lady Amelia Smallhope, for whom there is no problem that can't be solved by a drink and a think. And Pennyroyal, for whom there is no problem. Ever. Everyone's favourite bounty hunters. Sorry - recovery agents. No bad guy they can't handle. No expense account too flexible. No adventure too outrageous. Join them as they settle scores, break every rule in the book and take the world by storm.

Watch and weep as this epic tale unfolds...It's drama, darling! In this festive tale, the nation's favourite film producer, Calvin Cutter, returns to darken the doors of St Mary's once again...