Reticence cover art

Reticence

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Reticence

By: Gail Carriger
Narrated by: Moira Quirk
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen
Bookish and proper Percival Tunstell finds himself out of his depth when floating cities, spirited plumbing, and soggy biscuits collide in this delightful conclusion to NYT bestselling author Gail Carriger's Custard Protocol series.
Percival Tunstell loves that his sister and her best friend are building themselves a family of misfits aboard their airship, the Spotted Custard. Of course, he'd never admit that he belongs among them. He's always been on the outside - dispassionate, aloof, and hatless. But accidental spies, a trip to Japan, and one smart and beautiful doctor may have him renegotiating his whole philosophy on life.
Except hats. He's done with hats. Thank you very much.
Custard ProtocolPrudenceImprudenceCompetenceReticence
For more from Gail Carriger, check out:
Parasol ProtectorateSoullessChangelessBlamelessHeartlessTimeless Fantasy Fiction Historical Romance Classics Paranormal Heartfelt

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Poison or Protect cover art
A Carriger Quartet cover art
Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon: A Pride and Prejudice Variation cover art
How to Marry a Werewolf cover art
Romancing the Inventor cover art
Marine Biology cover art
Manners and Monsters Collection cover art
The Librarian of Crooked Lane cover art
The Very First Damned Thing cover art
Doing Time cover art
The Stranger Times cover art
A Duchess a Day cover art
What Ales the Earl cover art
Never Doubt a Duke cover art
Magic and the Shinigami Detective cover art
Heir to the Duke cover art

Critic reviews

"Charming... Carriger's prose is playful and droll, with frequent laugh-worthy moments, tongue-in-cheek humor, and sparkling repartee."—Publishers Weekly
"Carriger excels at wry humor and clever phrasing, and her ensemble cast is thoroughly charming and satisfyingly diverse. There's a genuine sense of whimsy and fun running throughout this story."—Publishers Weekly on Competence
"Carriger's trademark wit and whimsy are in evidence from the very first sentence, and the result is an inventive madcap adventure."—RT Book Reviews on Imprudence
"Blending steampunk and urban fantasy in a colorful alternate Victorian England, Carriger presents a grand cast of characters on a harrowing adventure that stretches from England to India... Filled with lavish fashions, supernatural high society, and witty dialogue, this story is a fine introduction to a fabulous new series."—Booklist on Prudence
"Carriger maintains a droll, tongue-in-cheek tone, and her protagonists are as concerned with witty banter and fashionable hats as they are with fighting for their lives. Series fans will enjoy this mischievous romp, which revisits old favorites while raising a new crop of charming characters."—Publishers Weekly on Prudence
"Readers who delighted in Carriger's Parasol Protectorate will be entranced by the familiar cast and trademark wit of the new Custard Protocol series...Behind the delightful whimsy and snarky observations, there is a great deal of heart and soul."—RT Book Reviews on Prudence
"The author's humor and affection for her outlandish characters is always appealing. A fun launch."—Library Journal on Prudence
All stars
Most relevant
Absolutely loved this book! I already had the Kindle edition but was looking forward to the audiobook too as that's easier for me accessibility wise and I enjoy the performances from this narrator. Loved the new characters - particularly Dr Ruthven - and revisiting the old favourites too. The scene with Baroness Tunstall had me laughing til I cried. A great story and a much needed tonic in difficult times.

Thank you Miss Gail!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It was so good to get the audio version of this book at last, I had read it in ebook format but as I have the rest of the series in audio and the previous two series also this was a gap that needed filling. I'm happy its now available around the world.

This is the last book in the 4 part Custard Protocol series, a steam punk extravaganza where a group of characters travel the world. It will make more sense if you read the others first as there are character developments and storyline that flow through them all.

This series follows on from the Finishing School series, and Soulless series both of which are brilliant but can be read separately and characters from each appear in this series and a lot show up in this book. You don't have to read those first but it feels so good to meet up with these wonderful friends.

Extraordinary Adventures and marvelous characters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
having read all the parasol protectorate and finishing school books as well as all the custard protocol books, as well as some of the stand alones in the same universe I found this a very satisfying and to all 3 series, at least assume karma I don't think anymore custard protocol books are planned.

we get to see multiple characters from previous books even some smaller ones including Bumbersnoot.

the writing as usual is to a very high standard as to be expected with Gail Carriger no I would say this would be an immensely difficult book to get into for a newbie in the series. the ending is quite wonderful, leaving still a lot of space for more well at the same time rounding out the story in a way that it feels like we are leaving all the characters in a great place to carry on with the adventurous even without us.

A great end to multiple Series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
absoloutly loved it, I have veen following this authors works for a while now, constantly thinking "oohh this book is my new favorite" then she writes another and it's even better. This book is part of the third generation so to speak and it has characters from all the previous books show up and unlike some other stories ive read they aren't just in there as token nods to the the authors previous works, they are integral parts of the story. Could you read this book without reading the authors previous works, ofcourse, its all written in a way that would make sense even if you didnt know the characters (yet it doesnt bore those who have read the other books with long descriptions of characters they have already met, a nice balance).
I can however guarantee if you read this series you will want to read the others so be warned, this will cause an obsessive need for more insight into this world.

It just gets better and better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.