The Good, the Bad and the History

Name: The Good, the Bad and the History
Author: Jodi Taylor
ISBN: 9781035404933

St Mary’s · Novel 14 · 2023

With St Mary’s under scrutiny, The Good, the Bad and the History balances dangerous historical work with Max’s effort to stop Insight.

Book 14 of 15 in The Chronicles of St Mary’s · 14 published; 1 announced

AI-generated illustration inspired by The Good, the Bad and the History; not a book cover.

What it’s about

With St Mary’s under scrutiny, The Good, the Bad and the History balances dangerous historical work with Max’s effort to stop Insight. The Institute must continue its research while attention on its methods changes what the team can do and how confidently it can do it.

Max’s investigation brings the series’ long-running concerns together: historical responsibility, institutional pressure and the loyalty of people who have worked side by side through repeated crises.

The story’s scope feels larger because so much of the world has been established across the earlier novels, but its central line remains personal and readable. Readers see familiar characters managing a new combination of public examination and private urgency.

This is the fourteenth numbered book in the main sequence, not a suggested starting point; its tensions make most sense with the relationships and organisations already introduced.

It offers a substantial continuation for readers who want to stay with the Institute and see how its accumulated history shapes its present.

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Can I start here?

This is book 14 in its series. Start with the first novel for its clearest introduction.

Reader questions

Do I need to read the earlier books first?

Yes. This novel is novel 14, so begin with the earlier numbered books. Follow the sequence to meet the returning cast in context. Their original introductions appear in the preceding books. Short stories are optional additions along the way. They complement the novels in this reading route.

Source: joditaylorbooks.com

Who narrates the The Good, the Bad and the History audiobook?

The listed unabridged UK recording is read by Zara Ramm. Its Audible page identifies this novel and the narrator together. Check that product before selecting an edition. Continue listening through the numbered novels. Add the companion pieces when their placement suits your route.

Source: audible.co.uk

Where this fits

This is St Mary’s book fourteen and follows A Catalogue of Catastrophe. It is the latest published numbered novel in the series; read it after the earlier thirteen to retain the full context around Insight and the Institute.

The announced fifteenth novel is next in series position, with details kept to its published announcement.

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Why readers love it

Our view

The book brings the series’ broad themes into one place without losing the pleasure of spending time with the familiar staff. Readers who like stories about organisations under pressure will find the scrutiny thread engaging, while fans invested in Max’s choices have an immediate personal line to follow.

The combination gives the adventure scale and intimacy at once. It also rewards patient reading: the title’s playfulness sits alongside developments that have been building through many books. Familiar relationships ground the wider stakes.

Listening notes

Zara Ramm narrates the unabridged UK edition, which runs for thirteen hours and forty-nine minutes. This long recording suits listeners already comfortable with the ensemble and its continuing threads. It is a single-narrator audiobook, distinct from the full-cast adaptation attached to the first novel.

The linked book page lists the listed edition runtime, so the estimate here is not based on page count or a series average.