Spoilery thread on Out of Time by Jodi Taylor?

[EmpressaurusKitty]

The latest Time Police book - I’ve just finished it but think I need to read it again to appreciate it properly, since one plot twist distracted me from everything else until near the end.

Anyone else?

Yes. The original Madeleine Maxwell in the new timeline was dead & buried so Max had to become Lucy.

And also yes, I think Max didn’t recognise Markham because the timeline was already mixed up & had switched to the one where she & Dr Bairstow never managed to find the princes. Same reason he wasn’t her first thought when the princes came up.

It didn’t seem to have occurred to Jodi Taylor that a WTF on that level was going to interest St Mary’s fans much more than dinosaur capers. Or maybe it did, I don’t know.

Oops, I've just fallen down the rabbit hole that is the FB CSM spoilers group. I may be gone some time

I’m so confused. I love the St Mary and TT books but this one left me feeling like I was missing something. Which I most likely was.
Why do people think Max was in an alternative universe? I thought Max pretended not to know who markham was, as his true identity was top secret. But that was why she suggested the jump be pulled forward so she wouldn’t clash with when she was there before. And equally she knew the princes wouldn’t be taken by Plumpton cause she knew Markham had to be there to be rescued by Bairstow a few days later.
In the previous alternative reality which was on the time map, those going into it knew what was happening. So why would Max not know before she went back to get the princes …. I don’t get why she would suddenly forget.

I really enjoyed Out of Time. The library siege was great fun and it picked up a few dangling threads from previous books. I did think Matthew in the Time Map was over a bit abruptly (I thought he was trapped in it but was really glad she didn't go that way) and a pet theory was confirmed as true - I've been muddling two characters and a friend suggested they were the same - they are! I am really, really hoping we get a resolution to Marietta Hay's storyline in the next book. I found Killing Time frustrating because it was barely brushed upon.

I think the actions of Henry Plimpton changed the timeline and it is really subtly done so you barely notice at first. When she returned to St Marys and there was no mention of Markham I thought it was because of the changes announced in the last St Marys book before I figured it out. She mentions going to see the princes in the tower and there was no trace of them - in the 'real' timeline this was the jump where Dr Bairstow saved Richard/Markham, but in OOT that hadn't happened because Henry had got there first. I think I worked out that if Markham wasn't there she wouldn't have had the medicine so still suffered from the time travel sickness, but can't remember the evidence! The headaches were also a sign that History was messed up and fighting back.

Thanks for the explanation - it was all too subtle and totally bypassed me! .
I think I need to reread the last few books, or even all of them. I thought Max was deliberately trying to mislead everyone to sort out the timeline (which was causing the headaches).
I know I cant remember stuff about Treadwell too. He just seems to randomly pop up everywhere.