Future Tense

Ellis McFadden Mysteries

De: Kristen Painter

Narrado por: Robyn Maryke

Step into the enigmatic world of the Athos—a vessel that blends the luxury of a cruise ship, the intrigue of a scientific research station, and the might of a military starship. Here, amidst the stars, you'll find Ellis McFadden, the ship’s head librarian, embarking on adventures she never anticipated this late in her career.

The plot thickens when the Athos comes to the aid of a stranded craft, taking aboard three mysterious sisters and their father. They offer a tantalizing trade: visions of the future for those eager to know their fate. The crew and guests are soon captivated by the predictions.

But Ellis senses something amiss. The price for these glimpses into tomorrow seems too steep. So she, boyfriend Frank, and her android cat investigate, uncovering dubious secrets, but her friends are already entranced by the charlatans' charms. Can Ellis break the spell and save the ship's crew from an ominous future?

©2025 Kristen Painter (P)2025 Kristen Painter

The Best in the Series — Absolutely Unputdownable!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Best in the Series — Absolutely Unputdownable!

Future Tense is, without question, the crown jewel of the Ellis McFadden Mysteries. Kristen Painter — a powerhouse New York Times bestselling author with more brilliant books than I can count — has outdone herself with this one. The Anthos, a dazzling blend of cruise ship elegance, scientific curiosity, and military might, sets the perfect stage for this unforgettable cosmic mystery.

Ellis McFadden, the ship’s head librarian, proves once again that age doesn’t dim adventure — it sharpens it. When a stranded vessel brings aboard a mysterious family offering glimpses of the future, things go from intriguing to unsettling fast. The visions are addictive, the price is steep, and only Ellis, her steady boyfriend Frank, and her ever-loyal android cat seem to sense the danger.

Robyn Maryke’s narration is a perfect match — rich, expressive, and filled with nuance. She brings Ellis to life in a way that feels like sitting down with an old friend who just so happens to unravel conspiracies between cataloging rare books.

What blew me away was how this story never let me get ahead. I was locked in, step-for-step with Ellis and Frank, as they unraveled the mystery. No spoilers, but the ending? Clean. Satisfying. And full of Kristen Painter’s signature twists and emotional beats.

This is my favorite book in the entire series — smart, suspenseful, and brimming with heart. If you’ve followed Ellis this far, don’t walk — run — to read Future Tense. You won’t regret it.

Fascinating!!!

This is by far my favorite Ellis McFadden book. The storyline was so fascinating and so intriguing. I never knew what would happen next. I was consumed with figuring it out. I couldn’t get enough of it. I’m kind of a space geek anyway so this was just truly right up my alley. I thoroughly enjoyed it , as a matter of fact I listened to it twice before I ever reviewed it and it will be one that I listen to multiple times. I highly recommend this entire series.

Good reading

I love the stories and hope to find more by this author in same story line

Future Tense

Future Tense by Kristen Painter
Ellis McFadden mystery series #3. Science fiction mystery, space opera, romance. Best read in series order.
The luxury space cruise ship is in its Fallow stage. A six week period where there are no planets or other points of interest for travels. Most of the vacationers have offloaded and the ship staff is running on a reduced service schedule. Ellis McFadden is happy to have a little more down time and she’s been spending more time with Frank and knitting a sweater for her compdroid cat Harry.
When an emergency beacon is received from a ship, the Athos rescues the family on board who say their planet has been destroyed and they are the only survivors. They are welcomed on board but Frank is suspicious. His gut says something is wrong. Frank and Ellis tour their ship and it’s like nothing they’ve seen before but photos show a genetic setup. Cruisers start to act strange and a couple disappears. Frank and Ellis won’t stand aside while friends go missing.

🎧 I started this via ecopy and finished by audiobook. The performance was done by Robyn Maryke who does the full series from Ellis’s POV. It’s a fantastic recording with lots of emotion and drama. I listened to this a bit slower than my usual as the narrator keeps a good pace.

So entertaining. I’m having so much fun following Ellis, Harry, Frank and Gracie in their interstellar adventures. A bit of drama, a bit of science, a smidge of closed door romance, and mysterious aliens that come and go in each episode. Favorites Harry and Gracie are pets that are pretty much perfect.
Love this series.

I received a copy of this from the author and purchased a copy to keep and reread.

Wonderful next installment of this series

This is the third book in this series and is just as good as the first. Great characters and plot make this another hit from Kristen Painter.

If Star Trek was a cozy mystery!!

4.5 stars
I am loving these mysteries so much!
They make an absolutely terrific and fun, easy read. I love the whole crew of characters, and they are giving me a bit of a cozy Star Trek vibe, which I love!!
The audio narration is spectacular, and I definitely recommend!!

Definitely worth listening to.

This is the 3rd book in the Ellis McFadden Mysteries series, which is definitely Painter’s best written series. I hope for more stories about Ellis the space librarian and her chubby android cat Harry.

love the whole series.

I love this series. it has great characters and is good humor and great experience of adventure.

SO SO GOOD!

I love this new series, and I'm not very much into sci-fi! But it's so much more than that - like your favorite cozy mystery on the the USS Enterprise. Like Nocturne Falls in Space, but it's not supernatural. I truly hope there will be more to the series, and I can't wait for the next one! (While I'm also waiting for the next Nocturne Falls, Shadowvale, and Frost & Crowe, of course!) :)

Outstanding

I love this author. This book doesn't disappoint. The story takes off and is never boring. It keeps your attention. It could probably be read as a stand alone but definitely better starting with the first in series. Harry is my favorite. I love seeing Hazel and would like a book with more of her. The mystery is wonderful. It was sort of creepy and could have made for some great horror lol. It's a fun, light read that is perfect for the whole family, young and old.

The narration was perfect. I was really taken into the world. The story is really brought to life.