With three ‘seasons’ and quite a few spin-off books, the Touchstone universe can be a little confusing. Readers are now asking for guidance on which order to read the books, so here is a suggested reading order.
The Sins of the Fathers. The first Touchstone book and this kicks off the whole Rachel story across six books, which introduce many of the characters who later take centre-stage. Start here.
Family at War. And once you’ve started there, you won’t be able to do anything but pursue Rachel’s story to the 1940 Blitz.
All the Time in the World. Rachel and Danny in 1966 with the World Cup and some nasty gangsters. Kath Bright takes a key role in this one. Watch out for her later.
Station at the End of Time. The spookiest, mind-bending book of all, and introduces Kings Heath station to the Touchstone universe.
The Reluctant Time Traveller. Here you can take a break from Season 1, if you like, and read this short story, which is a free gift to people who sign up to my Touchstone Readers Cabal/Mailing List/Newsletter (call it what you like). A spooky little story about a journalist, Veronica Wethers (granddaughter of Pete Wethers) trying to uncover the mystery behind the Touchstone books.
The Very Thought of You. If you can bear to leave Season 1 for so long, here’s another spin-off story: a novella which deals with a timeslip ghost story that features in the next Season 1 book.
Let’s Fall in Love for the Last Time. Rachel and Charlie in 1934, and deepening story arcs for Kath Bright and Mitch, who are investigating the timeslip incident from ‘The Very Thought of You’, so you see that story from a whole other angle.
Fade to Grey. And this is the grand finale of ‘Season 1’ and wraps up the whole Rachel story.
Touchstone Season 1 Box Set. Of course those first six books are all gathered together in this no 1 bestseller eBook box set.
Buried in Time. Find out what happened to Danny in the aftermath of Season 1 in this dark Jack the Ripper thriller.
Touchstone Origins is the most recent set of Touchstone stories to be written, but you might find you want to read them before some of the books in Season 2. So…
The Ghosts of Paradise Place. Here is Kath Bright’s origin story and how she first found her touchstone. It was published after the Kath Bright books that follow, but you can read it before.
Ghosts on the Moor. A complete spin-off short story which follows Liz and her friends on their ill-fated Christmas trip to Dartmoor, as prefigured in The Ghosts of Paradise Place.
Bright Star Falling. And now we follow what happened to Kath Bright following the Season 1 climax. An epic tale of the Wild West.
Buffalo Bill and the Peaky Blinders. This short story is best to read right here because it’s a little prequel story to the book that follows. It is available in the anthology New Street Stories and also in the Second Collection eBook box set, which compiles this story with Buried in Time, Bright Star Falling and Bright Star Rising.
Bright Star Rising. Kath finds her way back to Birmingham with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, and is responsible for the Peaky Blinders origin story.
Haunted Town. Another Touchstone Origins tale which reveals how a teenage Mitch first discovered his time travelling and empath abilities, and first met his lifelong love, Eleanor Gale.
Unfinished Sympathy. The fourth book in Season 2 sees Mitch at the end of his time travelling life, trying to get back to Eleanor, but caught up in the affairs of a famous composer in 1908 New York.
The Ghosts of Christmas Past is the fifth book of Season 2 and is a stand-alone tale of Mrs Hudson’s encounter with Charles Dickens on New Street on Christmas Eve 1842.
Until the End of Time brings the second season of the Touchstone time travel saga to its spine-tingling conclusion.