A Symphony of Echoes

"History is a symphony of echoes heard and unheard. It is a poem with events as verses." - Charles Angoff.

Summary

"In the second book in The Chronicles of St Mary's series, Max and the team are back dancing on the edge of disaster as they visit Victorian London in search of Jack the Ripper, witness the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, and discover that dodos make a grockling noise when eating cucumber sandwiches.

But they must also confront an enemy intent on destroying St Mary's – an enemy willing, if necessary, to destroy History itself to do it."

Spoiler Plot Summary for A Symphony of Echoes (SOE)
 * The Jack the Ripper story is the first four and a half chapters, Kalinda Black's last jump. Ends up with Max returning home from the hospital with a knitted snake.
 * Then Leon is kidnapped and they find coordinates written in soap on a bathroom mirror
 * Max goes to the future, followed by Peterson and Guthrie. The future St. Mary's has been gutted by Clive Ronan and crew, 13 dead. Max kills Izzy and they retake St. Mary's.
 * Max is made interim director. They go on a fun outing to capture Dodos in Mauritius 1666, then a serious jump to see Thomas Becket murdered on 29 December 1170, Canterbury Cathedral. Pinkie (Dr. Pinkham we find out in later books) is made the new director. They arrange for the Shakespeare sonnets to be discovered under the fourth step, so their finances will be set


 * They get back and Max and Leon are sent to the "Red Barn," an expensive retreat center, for a holiday, or counseling depending on your perspective. The director, Alexander Knox, is horrid, able to speedily wreck Max's confidence. Max is rejected by Leon (who was directed to do this by Knox), then she totals his car as revenge. Back at St. Mary's, she refuses to make up with him.


 * Leon mentions having vivid dreams. Max figures out they're actually "bleed through" from another time
 * Max tries to look up Alexander Knox's history and finds nothing. She figures it's blocked because of the 30 year rule, so jumps back to the future St. Mary with Pinkie and the Dodos. Alexander Knox is their old director; instead of being killed, they figure out he was working with Ronan, Izzy, and Sussman. They shot him and an accomplice.
 * David Sands dies and he makes Max promise to give Leon another chance
 * Max and Peterson go to the Hanging Gardens of Ninevah 680BC. Chaos ensues. Max and Leon reunite


 * The team jumps to Edinburgh 1567 to correct the anomaly. Mary Stuart must marry James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell and ultimately be beheaded so time can roll in the correct path. They pose as merchants. Clive Ronan is there, proving to be the reason for the anomaly - he wants to change history so Anne won't die. They fix the timeline, but Max is ashamed that she had to sell Mary Stuart out.


 * Max is told her next assignment will be Troy