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Available
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Publication
New York, NY : DAW Books, Inc., 2015.
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Peter Grant�??cop, magical apprentice, and Londoner to the core�??is being forced out of his comfort zone and into the English countryside. His latest case involves the disappearance of children in the small village of Herefordshire, and the local police are unwilling to admit there might be a supernatural element involved. Now Peter must deal with them, local river spirits, and the fact that all the shops close by
User reviews
LibraryThing member jsburbidge
Although this develops one ongoing plot arc -- the connection between Peter Grant and Beverley Brook -- it is in many ways an excursion. Literally so, for Peter, as it involves a trip to the country with only a minimal presence from his usual associates (other than Beverley), and an intermission in
There are no murders.
Like a missing persons search -- and it's missing/abducted children who form the core of the novel -- the book starts out vague and with misdirection. (Nightengale's ex-colleague, concern regarding whom sends Grant out to the country to begin with, turns out to be a very peripheral figure.) As it proceeds the nature of the issues Peter confronts becomes clearer, and the work circles around a location (actually, a line between two locations, town and iron-age fort) more and more narrowly.
What we find out raises more questions than it solves, and in many ways this is a novel about unanswered and possibly unanswerable questions. Peter "solves the crime" and retrieves the children, but gets no real understanding regarding why he wins, or why anything that happened happened. Even the one thing he's central to -- jump-starting a new god for a river with "nobody home" -- he walks into without knowing what he's doing and never really gets told much about what else was going on beyond what he did. The otherkin / fae / elves he meets are an homage to Pratchett's Lords and Ladies, but what motivates (at least this particular group of) them is obscure. We may get (some) answers in later books.
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the developing plotline regarding a major opponent to the Folly (interrupted by the occasional text message). It fills in a bit of background -- more about Ettersburg, and we finally figure out what Molly is.There are no murders.
Like a missing persons search -- and it's missing/abducted children who form the core of the novel -- the book starts out vague and with misdirection. (Nightengale's ex-colleague, concern regarding whom sends Grant out to the country to begin with, turns out to be a very peripheral figure.) As it proceeds the nature of the issues Peter confronts becomes clearer, and the work circles around a location (actually, a line between two locations, town and iron-age fort) more and more narrowly.
What we find out raises more questions than it solves, and in many ways this is a novel about unanswered and possibly unanswerable questions. Peter "solves the crime" and retrieves the children, but gets no real understanding regarding why he wins, or why anything that happened happened. Even the one thing he's central to -- jump-starting a new god for a river with "nobody home" -- he walks into without knowing what he's doing and never really gets told much about what else was going on beyond what he did. The otherkin / fae / elves he meets are an homage to Pratchett's Lords and Ladies, but what motivates (at least this particular group of) them is obscure. We may get (some) answers in later books.
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LibraryThing member AHS-Wolfy
City boy Peter Grant leaves home comforts behind and heads off to deepest, darkest Herefordshire on behalf of some due diligence for the Folly. Two girls have gone missing and as there is a registered practitioner in the area, an old retired wizard, it's routine for them to be checked and ruled out
This is the fifth entry into the series and continues shortly after the shocking conclusion to #4. It's good to see Peter running his own investigation and employing more of his tech gadgets along the way. We also get to learn some back-story with snippets of what happened at Ettersberg and Beverly is fleshed out as a more fully formed character and some more hints about Molly. The overall Faceless Man storyline isn't progressed too much but there is some foreshadowing of what's to come in the phone dialogue between Peter and Lesley. This book is strongly reminiscent of the first in the series as there's much more of a police procedural feel about it than a few of those in-between. While this is a self-contained story be warned that not all the whys and wherefores are tied up completely. It is, however, another very good entry into an excellent series.
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of any possible involvement. Hugh Oswald, the elderly wizard in question, is quickly dismissed from any connection but there may be something odd about his granddaughter who is looking after him. So Peter decides to stick around for a bit and help with the search while he's there. He also gets to renew acquaintances with Beverly Brook whom Nightingale has deputised and sent to assist with his enquiries.This is the fifth entry into the series and continues shortly after the shocking conclusion to #4. It's good to see Peter running his own investigation and employing more of his tech gadgets along the way. We also get to learn some back-story with snippets of what happened at Ettersberg and Beverly is fleshed out as a more fully formed character and some more hints about Molly. The overall Faceless Man storyline isn't progressed too much but there is some foreshadowing of what's to come in the phone dialogue between Peter and Lesley. This book is strongly reminiscent of the first in the series as there's much more of a police procedural feel about it than a few of those in-between. While this is a self-contained story be warned that not all the whys and wherefores are tied up completely. It is, however, another very good entry into an excellent series.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
This series is so much fun, PC Peter Grant is caught perfectly between the world of the supernatural and being a cop. It comes across as believable and so much fun.
Peter gets drawn into a missing children case that will have him a fish out his regular waters in Herefordshire rather than his home
I laughed my way through and read chunks out to my husband and encouraged a fantasy fan at work to try the series, what can be said that's better than that?
Peter deals with a lot of issues, discovering more about himself and about the things that make his life as a cop strange, you can also see him clinging onto the familiar police procedures to keep his sanity intact and to have some sort of control over things that he's just trying to understand if he has any hope of controlling. His relationships with Beverly and Lesley continue to have complications and be interesting sidelines to his investigations.
I like this series and I enjoy the characters.
Peter gets drawn into a missing children case that will have him a fish out his regular waters in Herefordshire rather than his home
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patch of London. He gains a variety of allies and has plans for the future by the end.I laughed my way through and read chunks out to my husband and encouraged a fantasy fan at work to try the series, what can be said that's better than that?
Peter deals with a lot of issues, discovering more about himself and about the things that make his life as a cop strange, you can also see him clinging onto the familiar police procedures to keep his sanity intact and to have some sort of control over things that he's just trying to understand if he has any hope of controlling. His relationships with Beverly and Lesley continue to have complications and be interesting sidelines to his investigations.
I like this series and I enjoy the characters.
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LibraryThing member yarmando
Peter leaves London to help in the investigation of two missing girls.
Why I picked it up: I like the series, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's voice makes me tingly. Also, "Broken Homes" ended on a cliffhanger, and I wanted to see what was next for Leslie.
Why I finished it: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith does a
It's perfect for: Me, because "detectives with supernatural powers and chivalry issues."
Why I picked it up: I like the series, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's voice makes me tingly. Also, "Broken Homes" ended on a cliffhanger, and I wanted to see what was next for Leslie.
Why I finished it: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith does a
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fantastic job with Peter's voice, and it's great to spend time with him. I want to know what Beverly's up to. And how will he fight the invisible unicorns?It's perfect for: Me, because "detectives with supernatural powers and chivalry issues."
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LibraryThing member majkia
Peter Grant, city boy down to his tiny toes, has to trek off to the wilds of the British countryside, when two little girls vanish. Just due diligence, just to make sure there wasn't any supernatural critter involved in the abduction.
'The Starling' as he finds himself called, learns a whole lot on
Excellent addition to the series.
'The Starling' as he finds himself called, learns a whole lot on
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this jaunt: about bees, about himself, about his boss, and about the aspects of magic in the countryside. Not to mention the unicorn and castle.Excellent addition to the series.
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LibraryThing member gregandlarry
Looking forward to the next in the series.
LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Good - very rich. Lesley's story continues, though it's barely a side-plot here. Peter gets out of London and gets to experience what magic is like in the countryside and small towns; he also gets to be lead in an investigation, without Nightingale looking over his shoulder. And he continues to use
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his tech vs magic tricks for information. Interesting about the Queen and Molly...though for all he thinks now he knows what Molly is, he doesn't know much about what the Queen is. Beverley...is another side-plot; she's useful sometimes, and a distraction sometimes. Even if she is - oh good lord. Allowing that the river spirits are gods...she's literally deus ex machina at the end. Funny! For most of the story, though, I don't really know what's going on, any more than Peter does - and the end, while reasonably solid, doesn't answer many questions. Why, and why the swap back, and how is she like that, and and and... I quite like both Oswald and Dominic; Mellissa is creepy, even if she is well-intentioned (which I'm not at all sure about). Interesting book, looking forward to the next one. Show Less
LibraryThing member SChant
It started off well but then fizzles out about a quarter of the way from the end - too much wandering around in the countryside and not enough plot/action.
LibraryThing member rivkat
It’s out to the country as Peter investigates the disappearance of two young girls, mixing police procedure and magic. Also, his relationship with river spirit Beverly Brook intensifies, and the partner who betrayed him keeps texting him. This seemed a slighter entry than previous volumes, though
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he does learn more about the varieties of magic, and maybe I’m just reacting to the momentous events of the previous book. Show Less
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Fifth in the series. Much better, a lot closer to the original and probably the highpoint so far. Regains some flair and novelty, with a good balance between the gritty police procedural aspects and the policeman's humour at life, and even better works in some more of the backstory explaining the
As a distraction from Leslie's betrayal Peter goes to the countryside to check that one of the few remaining (if senile) practitioners on the Folly's books is not involved with a local child kidnap case. He doesn't seem to be even if his daughter is somewhat odd. However when Beverly comes to visit, he realises that there is something weird that's happened with the missing children, and so he's forced to cope on his own, Nightingale being required to protect the secret Folly Vaults from any attempt at infiltration by Leslie. It's a contrived device, but does successfully manage to integrate this book into a series rather than as it has previously felt, being a succession of episodes that have -very unlikely- all happened to Peter.
Ben has rather over-egged the inner-city lad exposed to the countryside for the first time meme, but it does have some very funny moments. The interactions with Beverly are great, and the whole fae world seems to just work far more intuitively than the other interventions Ben has created, sticking to the basic lore, but twisting it as per the current universe seems to work better, and be more understandable and believable.
This remains a more light-hearted series than either Harry Dresden or Peter Cornell's work, but none-the-less enjoyable for all that.
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history and motivations behind a few of the characters who have been enigmatic blank slates before. As a distraction from Leslie's betrayal Peter goes to the countryside to check that one of the few remaining (if senile) practitioners on the Folly's books is not involved with a local child kidnap case. He doesn't seem to be even if his daughter is somewhat odd. However when Beverly comes to visit, he realises that there is something weird that's happened with the missing children, and so he's forced to cope on his own, Nightingale being required to protect the secret Folly Vaults from any attempt at infiltration by Leslie. It's a contrived device, but does successfully manage to integrate this book into a series rather than as it has previously felt, being a succession of episodes that have -very unlikely- all happened to Peter.
Ben has rather over-egged the inner-city lad exposed to the countryside for the first time meme, but it does have some very funny moments. The interactions with Beverly are great, and the whole fae world seems to just work far more intuitively than the other interventions Ben has created, sticking to the basic lore, but twisting it as per the current universe seems to work better, and be more understandable and believable.
This remains a more light-hearted series than either Harry Dresden or Peter Cornell's work, but none-the-less enjoyable for all that.
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LibraryThing member adamwolf
I think this is the weakest Peter Grant book so far, but if you've gotten this far...
LibraryThing member StigE
A bit slow at the beginning and then it never quit picks up the proper speed. Will probably stand as one of the more forgettable books of the series.
LibraryThing member SESchend
An in-between episode that stalls the subplots building from the previous books yet tells its own story with a lot of fun & great characterization.
LibraryThing member TadAD
If we didn’t have the (still completely unexplained) twist of the last episode still hanging over us, Foxglove Summer would have been my favorite. We get out of London for a bit of rural faerie; backstory gets filled in; most of the plot lines continue to move forward. I guess we wait until June
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to see if that critical element gets any attention. Show Less
LibraryThing member SandDune
This is the fifth book in the Rivers of London, and one which takes PC Peter Grant right out of his comfort zone into deepest, darkest Herefordshire. Despatched to ensure that a retired practitioner of magic, Hugh Oswald, does not have anything to do with the disappearance of two 11 year old girls
The plot of Foxglove Summer rather sidesteps the main storylines that run through the series as a whole, and Peter and Beverley Brook are the only main characters to appear in person: Nightingale, Lesley and Molly remain firmly offstage. There is no progress on the pursuit of the Faceless Man that dominated the last book. And there were several apparent loose ends, although it may be that some of these are picked up in later books. But still a really enjoyable read.
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from the village of Rushpool. When he has eliminated Hugh from his enquiries he is asked to help out with what is becoming an major police operation, and unsurprisingly supernatural aspects to the case start to appear. Before long Peter is joined by Beverley Brook, the goddess of a London river, and they are wondering whether invisible friend of one of the girls might prove to be a little less imaginary than everyone has assumed.The plot of Foxglove Summer rather sidesteps the main storylines that run through the series as a whole, and Peter and Beverley Brook are the only main characters to appear in person: Nightingale, Lesley and Molly remain firmly offstage. There is no progress on the pursuit of the Faceless Man that dominated the last book. And there were several apparent loose ends, although it may be that some of these are picked up in later books. But still a really enjoyable read.
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LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
Peter Grant, wizarding apprentice and London cop, is sent to the countryside to investigate a missing persons case. Within a few hundred pages, he's being chased by a carnivorous unicorn, thus satisfying all of my hopes and dreams.
LibraryThing member mummimamma
A filler/brigde book. Still fun though.
LibraryThing member rlsalvati
Enjoyed this 5th book in the series as much as I enjoyed the first, and that doesn't happen often.
LibraryThing member jmkemp
A change in direction for the Peter Grant series. Peter's out of London and without his mentor Nightingale. As well as this the story is one of two missing children, which adds an urgency to the pace of events. As you'd expect there is a strong supernatural element to the story, with an interesting
Out on his own Peter develops as a character. He's a lot more self-reliant and capable, he doesn't have any magical backup so deals with what he finds himself. The background is also expanded a bit, Peter meets one of the other survivors of the mysterious Ettersberg and finds out some more of what it was about, although there is still a lot of mystery surrounding it.
The main plot is well done. The parents are well observed and clues are dropped in without being too obvious. The countryside gets a good treatment too via a local police officer liaison. You get a really good sense of it being a real rural community with its own ways, which makes it different from a London based story. This isn't just a lift and shift out of the city for the sake of it, the story needs to be in the countryside and feels like it is authentically there. It also allows the background expansion because it is just the sort of place that you would expect a burnt out survivor of Ettersberg to settle for the peace and quiet.
I'm pretty sure that it would work on its own, but there is a minor plot thread through it that definitely follows on from the previous book. However this isn't central to the story (although I suspect it will be to the next one).
I'd certainly like to have seen some more of some of the elements. There is a hanging question around the grand-daughter of the Ettersberg survivor and also more could have been made of what happened at Ettersberg too.
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twist in it. Only Peter and Beverley Brook really feature through the story, Nightingale bookends it and there is minor contact with Dr Walid at one point. All the rest of the characters are locals from West Mercia. Out on his own Peter develops as a character. He's a lot more self-reliant and capable, he doesn't have any magical backup so deals with what he finds himself. The background is also expanded a bit, Peter meets one of the other survivors of the mysterious Ettersberg and finds out some more of what it was about, although there is still a lot of mystery surrounding it.
The main plot is well done. The parents are well observed and clues are dropped in without being too obvious. The countryside gets a good treatment too via a local police officer liaison. You get a really good sense of it being a real rural community with its own ways, which makes it different from a London based story. This isn't just a lift and shift out of the city for the sake of it, the story needs to be in the countryside and feels like it is authentically there. It also allows the background expansion because it is just the sort of place that you would expect a burnt out survivor of Ettersberg to settle for the peace and quiet.
I'm pretty sure that it would work on its own, but there is a minor plot thread through it that definitely follows on from the previous book. However this isn't central to the story (although I suspect it will be to the next one).
I'd certainly like to have seen some more of some of the elements. There is a hanging question around the grand-daughter of the Ettersberg survivor and also more could have been made of what happened at Ettersberg too.
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LibraryThing member DLMorrese
Two girls go missing and Peter Grant volunteers to help in the search. He's not really expecting anything of a mystical or magical nature, but he keeps finding strange stuff associated with the case. The invisible unicorns are the clincher. It's a fun story with likeable characters.
I've enjoyed
One note on the Daw U.S. edition paperback I read: The copy editing could have been better. I noted about half a dozen errors while reading.
I've enjoyed
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each and every one of the five Peter Grant stories. This one, I noted happily, is dedicated to Terry Pratchett. If you like Pratchett, there's a good chance you'll like Aaronovitch. I do, anyway.One note on the Daw U.S. edition paperback I read: The copy editing could have been better. I noted about half a dozen errors while reading.
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LibraryThing member Shrike58
No apologies for making reference to the previous books in the series.
With the events of "Broken Homes" hanging heavy on our protagonist Peter Grant, he finds himself sent out to check a potential lead (with magical import) in a missing child emergency and finds himself drawn into the increasingly
As for Peter himself, he finds himself increasingly involved with Beverley Brooks and is also less and less adopting the ironic pose of a dodgy fellow involved in a dodgy business; by this point in the series Grant is pretty well part of the police establishment and his rural opposite numbers are damn glad to get his assistance as the resident expert on uncanny doings.
One spoiler; no large buildings were harmed in the writing of this book.
With the events of "Broken Homes" hanging heavy on our protagonist Peter Grant, he finds himself sent out to check a potential lead (with magical import) in a missing child emergency and finds himself drawn into the increasingly
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frantic search for the two young girls. Unless you're new to this rodeo it'll be pretty damn obvious between missing children, a chunk of enchanted wood and references to the fae people a big chunk of what's going on; but only a chunk. Aaronovitch also continues to hand out scraps of just what happened in regards to the faithful events of 1945 that annihilated the cream of official British wizardry and one is given hints regarding what is really at stake in the conflict with the Faceless Man.As for Peter himself, he finds himself increasingly involved with Beverley Brooks and is also less and less adopting the ironic pose of a dodgy fellow involved in a dodgy business; by this point in the series Grant is pretty well part of the police establishment and his rural opposite numbers are damn glad to get his assistance as the resident expert on uncanny doings.
One spoiler; no large buildings were harmed in the writing of this book.
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LibraryThing member AJBraithwaite
A pleasant read - I'm always a sucker for stories with English folklore elements. The book is dedicated to Terry Pratchett and I was reading it the day he died, which was an interesting coincidence.
The editing of the ebook edition I was reading wasn't terribly good, I thought - there were a few
The editing of the ebook edition I was reading wasn't terribly good, I thought - there were a few
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missing words here and there and one mis-attributed speech tag. Show Less
LibraryThing member melydia
I think these books cause amnesia. I read the first four books all in a row and managed to completely lose the thread of the story every single time. When I started this one I had to go back and read wikipedia summaries of the previous books just to remember who these people are. And it worked,
A note on the audio: The narrator was great, but I would have appreciated some variety in the snippet of music played between chapters.
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sort of. Anyway, the first part of this book is pretty straightforward: Peter Grant ends up in the country, helping to search for two missing girls. And because this is Peter Grant, Weird Stuff happens. I was able to follow most of the immediate plot, but this whole series has a long game, dealing with Peter's friend Leslie, that I simply do not understand. I don't remember why they're looking for her or why she disappeared in the first place or what she did that was so bad. That's one problem with book series: they often do inadequate recapping, forgetting that the reader is often years past the previous installment. So like the other books in this series, the immediate story was decent and I liked the characters, but its place within the larger narrative was unclear at best.A note on the audio: The narrator was great, but I would have appreciated some variety in the snippet of music played between chapters.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
This series just gets better as it goes on. I am a fan of the writing and the plotting and the characters, especially the main character, Peter Grant. The cover art is by a different illustrator, Patrick Knowles, than for the previous books but it is still worth spending some time looking at
Peter actually spends the whole book outside of London and he is only in occasional telephone contact with his mentor, Nightingale. So it seems he has really matured as an investigator. The location is part of the county of Herefordshire which actually sounds like a delightful place if it wasn't for the disappearance of two young girls. Livingstone sends Peter out to check on a retired magician in the vicinity to make sure he had nothing to do with the disappearance. Once Peter has checked him out (and decided that he could not have been involved) he decides to offer his assistance in the search for the missing girls. The Herefordshire constabulary are more than happy to have another body but they don't really know what use they can make of Peter's special talents. So they put him in as one of the Family Liason Officers but Peter doesn't stick around the family home very much. He partners up with Domenic Croft, who grew up in the village from which the girls disappeared and who knows everyone who lives there. The first indication that there may be magic afoot comes from one of Domenic's mates who calls to report her drug and poached meat stash has been raided. Beverley Brook, one of the London river goddesses who appeared in an earlier book, also comes to help out (and to get to know Peter better). Between the three they manage to find the girls and then figure out who kidnapped them. It would be giving too much away to say who that is but I will state that unicorns make an appearance. While all this is going on back in London Peter's former partner, Leslie, is being hunted by Nightingale et al. because she went over to the dark side in the last book. Leslie texts and then finally talks to Peter on the phone and hints that bad things are in store for him. She eludes capture so, no doubt, she will be turning up in the next book.
Part of what I love about these books is just how much description of the surroundings Ben Aaronovitch gives. This part of Herefordshire has ancient forests and Roman roads and Druid hill forts and Aaronovitch manages to work that all in. I was so interested that I searched Google maps of the area and I found that a pub next to the River Lugg, The Riverside Inn in Ayemestry, really exists. This location plays a major part in the blossoming relationship between Peter and Beverley. It would be a hoot to visit it.
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it.Peter actually spends the whole book outside of London and he is only in occasional telephone contact with his mentor, Nightingale. So it seems he has really matured as an investigator. The location is part of the county of Herefordshire which actually sounds like a delightful place if it wasn't for the disappearance of two young girls. Livingstone sends Peter out to check on a retired magician in the vicinity to make sure he had nothing to do with the disappearance. Once Peter has checked him out (and decided that he could not have been involved) he decides to offer his assistance in the search for the missing girls. The Herefordshire constabulary are more than happy to have another body but they don't really know what use they can make of Peter's special talents. So they put him in as one of the Family Liason Officers but Peter doesn't stick around the family home very much. He partners up with Domenic Croft, who grew up in the village from which the girls disappeared and who knows everyone who lives there. The first indication that there may be magic afoot comes from one of Domenic's mates who calls to report her drug and poached meat stash has been raided. Beverley Brook, one of the London river goddesses who appeared in an earlier book, also comes to help out (and to get to know Peter better). Between the three they manage to find the girls and then figure out who kidnapped them. It would be giving too much away to say who that is but I will state that unicorns make an appearance. While all this is going on back in London Peter's former partner, Leslie, is being hunted by Nightingale et al. because she went over to the dark side in the last book. Leslie texts and then finally talks to Peter on the phone and hints that bad things are in store for him. She eludes capture so, no doubt, she will be turning up in the next book.
Part of what I love about these books is just how much description of the surroundings Ben Aaronovitch gives. This part of Herefordshire has ancient forests and Roman roads and Druid hill forts and Aaronovitch manages to work that all in. I was so interested that I searched Google maps of the area and I found that a pub next to the River Lugg, The Riverside Inn in Ayemestry, really exists. This location plays a major part in the blossoming relationship between Peter and Beverley. It would be a hoot to visit it.
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LibraryThing member Iambookish
Another fantastic installment of one of my all time favorite series! Keep 'em coming!
Awards
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Fiction — 2015)
Language
Original publication date
2014-11-13
Physical description
384 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
9780756409661
Local notes
Rivers of London, 5
DDC/MDS
| Fic SF Aaronovitch |