Status
Available
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Series
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Publication
Gollancz (2013), Hardcover, 320 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Mystery. HTML:Ben Aaronovitch's bestselling Rivers of London urban fantasy series �?� �??The perfect blend of CSI and Harry Potter.�?� �??io9 A mutilated body in Crawley. A killer on the loose. The prime suspect is one Robert Weil, possibly an associate of the twisted wizard known as the Faceless Man. Or maybe just a garden-variety serial killer. Before apprentice wizard and Police Constable Peter Grant can even get his head 'round the case, two more are dropped in his lap: a town planner has gone under a tube train, and there's a stolen grimoire for Grant to track down. So far, so London. But then Peter gets word of something very odd happening on a housing estate designed by a nutter, built by charlatans, and inhabited by the truly desperate. Is there a connection? And if there is, why oh why did it have to be South of the River�??in the jurisdiction of some pretty prickly local… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Stewartry
So let's see. I need to post a review about something I liked. *scans list of recent reads* Nope... nope... no, not that either... Ah.
There are some writers who feel they need to inject a little geekery into their books, trying to claim geek cred they haven’t really earned; I’ve seen more sadly
But Ben Aaronovitch is the legitimate and true owner of a TARDIS-load of honest-to-Eru geek cred, so when Peter Grant remarks to Toby the dog that “We’re living in Isengard”, or remarks on something’s similarity to modern Gallifreyan ("They looked disturbingly like the payload zones of a demon trap and even more disturbingly like modern Gallifreyan"), it’s just a happy happy thing of beauty.
Broken Homes is another excellent installment in an excellent series. The hunt continues for the so-wonderfully-named Little Alligators; another “Falcon-related” death comes the way of the little strange-crimes unit housed in The Folly; life goes on much as usual. Until Peter and Leslie are called upon to go undercover in an apartment complex called Skygarden, long known to be a locus of probable criminal activity, and now revealed as a possible locus of magical activity.
There is, perhaps, a bit more than is actually fun of Aaronovitch/Peter’s favorite hobby horse, architecture – but it is relevant. And it is acknowledged that other characters’ eyes pretty much glaze over when Peter rabbits on about it, so that’s okay then.
I confessed in a Goodreads update that Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s voice reduces me to a state of squeeing fangirl; it’s an understatement, I admit.
Though what Peter/Aaronovitch has against Dire Straits – and Queen – I don’t know. I will overlook it because Peter is otherwise kind of awesome and he is very young. And a music snob. I blame his father.
As seems to be usual, the plotline is the weak area of the book. Characterization, setting, world-building, all of that stuff is terrific, but in Broken Homes the plot has the same flaw as one or two of the other books in the series: it meanders a little. It just feels like the plot could use a bit of tightening.
But, as usual, I had enough fun with the rest (especially KH-S, of course) that I don’t care.
What I do care about is the meaning of the title. I wondered about it now and then. I mean, “The Rivers of London” is pretty obvious, and the rest make good sense as well … so, I wondered briefly here and there, what homes are broken here? Well, I found out, I did. And it made me say “No, oh no no no…” out loud. It’s bad. Not to spoil anything, but it’s really bad.
*ahem*sniffle* Anyway.
This installment moves the story forward substantially – things are happening in the hunt for the Faceless Man and the Little Crocodiles, and I think Peter might say “shit’s getting serious”. (Sorry.) It’s going to be a long, long wait until the next book.
There are some writers who feel they need to inject a little geekery into their books, trying to claim geek cred they haven’t really earned; I’ve seen more sadly
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misused references to LotR and Star Trek and so on than I care to think about, the sorts of things that would make someone as unfamiliar with the referent as the writer nod knowingly, but which make a geek like me long to send the writer brownies dusted with iocaine powder.But Ben Aaronovitch is the legitimate and true owner of a TARDIS-load of honest-to-Eru geek cred, so when Peter Grant remarks to Toby the dog that “We’re living in Isengard”, or remarks on something’s similarity to modern Gallifreyan ("They looked disturbingly like the payload zones of a demon trap and even more disturbingly like modern Gallifreyan"), it’s just a happy happy thing of beauty.
Broken Homes is another excellent installment in an excellent series. The hunt continues for the so-wonderfully-named Little Alligators; another “Falcon-related” death comes the way of the little strange-crimes unit housed in The Folly; life goes on much as usual. Until Peter and Leslie are called upon to go undercover in an apartment complex called Skygarden, long known to be a locus of probable criminal activity, and now revealed as a possible locus of magical activity.
There is, perhaps, a bit more than is actually fun of Aaronovitch/Peter’s favorite hobby horse, architecture – but it is relevant. And it is acknowledged that other characters’ eyes pretty much glaze over when Peter rabbits on about it, so that’s okay then.
I confessed in a Goodreads update that Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s voice reduces me to a state of squeeing fangirl; it’s an understatement, I admit.
Though what Peter/Aaronovitch has against Dire Straits – and Queen – I don’t know. I will overlook it because Peter is otherwise kind of awesome and he is very young. And a music snob. I blame his father.
As seems to be usual, the plotline is the weak area of the book. Characterization, setting, world-building, all of that stuff is terrific, but in Broken Homes the plot has the same flaw as one or two of the other books in the series: it meanders a little. It just feels like the plot could use a bit of tightening.
But, as usual, I had enough fun with the rest (especially KH-S, of course) that I don’t care.
What I do care about is the meaning of the title. I wondered about it now and then. I mean, “The Rivers of London” is pretty obvious, and the rest make good sense as well … so, I wondered briefly here and there, what homes are broken here? Well, I found out, I did. And it made me say “No, oh no no no…” out loud. It’s bad. Not to spoil anything, but it’s really bad.
*ahem*sniffle* Anyway.
This installment moves the story forward substantially – things are happening in the hunt for the Faceless Man and the Little Crocodiles, and I think Peter might say “shit’s getting serious”. (Sorry.) It’s going to be a long, long wait until the next book.
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LibraryThing member lydia1879
i've been betrayed. i'm sad about it.
i enjoyed the narrative as always. aaronovitch's eye for detail and gentle education about the follies and strength of modern policing are amusing as always.
but ben, man. that twist. i do not agree with. i fundamentally do not agree with. i also don't like how
there's some kind of like masculine undertone in these books i sometimes really can't stand.
it's tough! i like many of the other characters. i found this story harder to follow in parts. the flaws that i felt in his second and third novel are still there, fairly prominent.
and yet i want to read more! just, not right now. aaronovitch's writing style can be a lot.
i enjoyed the narrative as always. aaronovitch's eye for detail and gentle education about the follies and strength of modern policing are amusing as always.
but ben, man. that twist. i do not agree with. i fundamentally do not agree with. i also don't like how
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disability is dealt with in the series a lot. it's brought up and the same points are almost like, tripped over? like, okay. one of the characters is disabled in a terrible accident. i get it. but we never really learnt about their trauma or like ... just... yah. there's some kind of like masculine undertone in these books i sometimes really can't stand.
it's tough! i like many of the other characters. i found this story harder to follow in parts. the flaws that i felt in his second and third novel are still there, fairly prominent.
and yet i want to read more! just, not right now. aaronovitch's writing style can be a lot.
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LibraryThing member isabelx
'I think Stromberg built this place as a magical experiment,' I said.
The lift door opened and we stepped out.'Why do you think that?'
'How many estates do you know that have wood nymphs living in the middle?' I asked.
'I don't know, Peter,' said Lesley with a sigh. 'Maybe all of them do. Certainly
Still on the hunt for the Faceless Man, Peter and Lesley go undercover in the Skygarden estate in Elephant and Castle, taking take Toby with them because walking him gives them a good excuse for lurking around.
I was caught by surprise by an entirely unexpected ending and can't wait to find out what happens next!
The lift door opened and we stepped out.'Why do you think that?'
'How many estates do you know that have wood nymphs living in the middle?' I asked.
'I don't know, Peter,' said Lesley with a sigh. 'Maybe all of them do. Certainly
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everywhere we go we seem to be tripping over these supernatural buggers.'Still on the hunt for the Faceless Man, Peter and Lesley go undercover in the Skygarden estate in Elephant and Castle, taking take Toby with them because walking him gives them a good excuse for lurking around.
I was caught by surprise by an entirely unexpected ending and can't wait to find out what happens next!
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LibraryThing member jmkemp
Really enjoyed this one, the fourth in the series. The universe is expanding and being explained in a satsifying way that fits the story. Peter Grant's scientific approach to the magic and where it comes from is interesting, especially as you can almost hear a GCSE science teacher in the
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background. Show Less
LibraryThing member cissa
∫Other reviewers have said that this is more a middle novel in a series, and a set-up for what comes next. While this is true as far as it goes, I think it's one of the tightest of this series. It reminds me of the second book in most trilogies; the arc of the book itself is somewhat subsumed to
Don't start here. Too much won't make any sense without the background, and there's very little fill-in; it just starts to GO and doesn't stop.
I love this series. It's a unique blend of urban fantasy, horror, humor, and police procedural. Peter is growing as a character, as are the people around him, all of whom are interesting. Things happen that cannot be ignored or undone and that drive events in future books. It's all written in Peter's voice, so we see things only through his eyes- and while he's not an unreliable narrator, he's not everywhere and knowing everything so nor are we. I like that. Everyone has his/her own motivations and struggles, from the minor to the gigantic. We're learning more about the way magic works, and also about the "demi-monde"- the more magical creatures in the world.
Highly recommended, both as a series and as a novel... but if you're not up-to-date in the series, catch up before this one! The first is "Midnight Riot" or "Rivers of London".
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the arc of the series as a whole.Don't start here. Too much won't make any sense without the background, and there's very little fill-in; it just starts to GO and doesn't stop.
I love this series. It's a unique blend of urban fantasy, horror, humor, and police procedural. Peter is growing as a character, as are the people around him, all of whom are interesting. Things happen that cannot be ignored or undone and that drive events in future books. It's all written in Peter's voice, so we see things only through his eyes- and while he's not an unreliable narrator, he's not everywhere and knowing everything so nor are we. I like that. Everyone has his/her own motivations and struggles, from the minor to the gigantic. We're learning more about the way magic works, and also about the "demi-monde"- the more magical creatures in the world.
Highly recommended, both as a series and as a novel... but if you're not up-to-date in the series, catch up before this one! The first is "Midnight Riot" or "Rivers of London".
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LibraryThing member AprilAnn0814
I wasn't expecting the twist at the end, but of course we weren't supposed to. Normally, I'm a great "predictor of endings", but this one threw me off. Now I have to wait for book number five, unfortunately the wait will be longer for me as I'm in the US. :( Can't wait to read the next one!
LibraryThing member rosalita
Peter Grant — Scotland Yard constable and apprentice wizard — is back in the fourth book in Aaronovitch’s [Rivers of London] series. Grant is once again preoccupied with studying for his detective’s badge on the one hand and increasing his knowledge of magical formae on the other under the
That would seem to be enough to keep even a curious wizardling busy but Grant also has to contend with working a series of murder cases that may or may not be connected, both to each other and to the Faceless Man. The investigation takes Peter and Leslie — and canine magic detector Toby — undercover at a bizarre tower housing estate built by a German architect who may have known a thing or two about magic himself.
I enjoyed the story line of Broken Homes, which as typical for Aaronovitch is almost impossibly convoluted and involves river spirits, a perpetually stoned friend of goblins, a Russian nightwitch and a pair of woodland nymphs, but what happened in the final quarter of the book pretty much blew my mind with a plot twist I did not see coming in the slightest. After taking a few days to mull it over, I’ve decided the plot twist is legit and not just stapled on to create a cliffhanger for the next installment, which leaves me anxiously waiting for Book Five.
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tutelage of his police wizard boss, Nightingale, and alongside his fellow constable/apprentice Lesley, who is still recovering from her close encounter with the Faceless Man, an evil “practitioner” of magic. That would seem to be enough to keep even a curious wizardling busy but Grant also has to contend with working a series of murder cases that may or may not be connected, both to each other and to the Faceless Man. The investigation takes Peter and Leslie — and canine magic detector Toby — undercover at a bizarre tower housing estate built by a German architect who may have known a thing or two about magic himself.
I enjoyed the story line of Broken Homes, which as typical for Aaronovitch is almost impossibly convoluted and involves river spirits, a perpetually stoned friend of goblins, a Russian nightwitch and a pair of woodland nymphs, but what happened in the final quarter of the book pretty much blew my mind with a plot twist I did not see coming in the slightest. After taking a few days to mull it over, I’ve decided the plot twist is legit and not just stapled on to create a cliffhanger for the next installment, which leaves me anxiously waiting for Book Five.
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LibraryThing member riverwillow
Once again London is a major character in this book, this time mainly SE London and, as always Aaronovitch captures the essence of the city.
A series of seemingly random events, a car crash in Crawley and the discovery of a mutilated body apparently dumped by one of the drivers, the suicide of a
And there's a sting to this tale.
A series of seemingly random events, a car crash in Crawley and the discovery of a mutilated body apparently dumped by one of the drivers, the suicide of a
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Southwark council worker and discovery of a stolen grimoire start to lead back to Peter's, Nightingale's and Lesley's arch nemesis the Faceless Man. From there its a wild ride as they try to discover just what the Faceless Man is up to.And there's a sting to this tale.
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LibraryThing member Unreachableshelf
This series remains my #1 go-to recommendation for fans of The Dresden Files needing something to occupy themselves until the next book. This particular book would not be a good place to start; the series is at a point now where you need the backstory in order to have the slightest idea what is
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going on. But as a fan of the series, I found it satisfactorily twisty and surprising, and the big twist at the end completely blew me away. I can't wait for the next one. Show Less
LibraryThing member AHS-Wolfy
This 4th instalment in the Rivers of London series sees Peter and Lesley continuing to track potential Little Crocodiles so when a name on their list pops up after a road traffic incident who is subsequently found to have dumped a dead body they are more than a little intrigued. There's also
Setting up each strand of the plot takes a while so this book takes its time before kicking in to top gear especially when everything comes to a halt while the team have to provide policing for the Spring Court, an event held by the Lord and Lady of the River so their subjects could pay their respects. While the pacing may be a little off there is still plenty here to retain the interest. Many familiar faces make an appearance throughout the story and Nightingale features quite heavily feeling the need to almost chaperone Peter and Lesley with the threat of the Faceless Man hanging over their heads. The fact that those ensconced at the Folly still have to adhere to proper police procedures while dealing with the extraordinary is still a novel feature of this series. Readers looking to add a little magic to their mysteries could do worse than pick this series to try though best start with book #1 as there is an overriding arc that underlies all of the stories. For those that are continuing the series but haven't read this one yet I might suggest to wait until the next book is available as the ending, while not a cliffhanger per se, is shocking enough that you might want to continue to find out how that part of the story unfolds.
Another excellent addition to what's turning out to be a very good series.
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another former potential who's committed suicide by jumping in front of a train but as the footage of the incident looks a little off then that also gets passed their way. And as if that wasn't enough to be going on with, Peter spots a grimoire in the recovered goods database and manages to track down the person who was trying to flog it only to find him burned to a crisp from the inside out when he goes to pay him a visit. Upon further investigations each of these cases seems to have a link to noted architect Erik Stromberg and Skygarden Tower, his housing project in the Elephant and Castle. When an opportunity arises, Nightingale allows Peter and Lesley to go undercover as new residents to see what they can dig up. Will it all lead to another appearance from the Faceless Man?Setting up each strand of the plot takes a while so this book takes its time before kicking in to top gear especially when everything comes to a halt while the team have to provide policing for the Spring Court, an event held by the Lord and Lady of the River so their subjects could pay their respects. While the pacing may be a little off there is still plenty here to retain the interest. Many familiar faces make an appearance throughout the story and Nightingale features quite heavily feeling the need to almost chaperone Peter and Lesley with the threat of the Faceless Man hanging over their heads. The fact that those ensconced at the Folly still have to adhere to proper police procedures while dealing with the extraordinary is still a novel feature of this series. Readers looking to add a little magic to their mysteries could do worse than pick this series to try though best start with book #1 as there is an overriding arc that underlies all of the stories. For those that are continuing the series but haven't read this one yet I might suggest to wait until the next book is available as the ending, while not a cliffhanger per se, is shocking enough that you might want to continue to find out how that part of the story unfolds.
Another excellent addition to what's turning out to be a very good series.
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LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
This has been out for months in the UK but only just got released here The fourth book in the series has Peter and Leslie learning new magic and working on several cases that seem to be leading all to the Faceless Man. A building project by a unknown magic practitioner becomes the focal point of
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the investigation. The housing project has more people that usual that rise out of it as stars in various fields including criminal. Something about the building makes several of the residents better in various ways. They race to find out the secret to the building before the Faceless Man can harvest the energy out of it. Good mystery along with the magic and now I really can't wait for the next book. Show Less
LibraryThing member JJbooklvr
This is book 4 in the Rivers of London series. Another fun entry and full of great characters. I would love to see a movie version of this series. I was not expecting the ending. It will be a long wait for book 5!
LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
Constable Peter Grant, his mentor Nightingale, and fellow wizard in training and police officer Lesley May are in search of the rogue wizard the Faceless Man and kept busy with magical training and new cases of supernatural crime. When clues lead them to a run down low income apartment building
I’m a huge fan of Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series, but this one, book four, disappointed me a little. It started out with a bang, and ended with a huge bang –literally- (including a twist that I had a feeling might be coming) but the middle seemed to drag- there was a long stretch with not a whole lot happening. It’s still great fun, but just not up there with the first three. Peter Grant makes a great narrator, with a lot of dark humor, even in the stretches where there was not a lot of action. I love how characters introduced in previous books reappear rather than just go away because they aren’t part of the main plot this go around. It’s a police procedural with magic, supernatural characters, and a lot of snarkiness.
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designed by a famous architect, a long stake out ensues. The building is a bone of contention: developers want to take it down to build new, profitable things but it’s on the list of protected sites. Peter finds that the landscaping is a bit unusual- in the magical sense- and that, for a run down, nearly empty building, a lot of concrete work has been done very recently. I’m a huge fan of Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series, but this one, book four, disappointed me a little. It started out with a bang, and ended with a huge bang –literally- (including a twist that I had a feeling might be coming) but the middle seemed to drag- there was a long stretch with not a whole lot happening. It’s still great fun, but just not up there with the first three. Peter Grant makes a great narrator, with a lot of dark humor, even in the stretches where there was not a lot of action. I love how characters introduced in previous books reappear rather than just go away because they aren’t part of the main plot this go around. It’s a police procedural with magic, supernatural characters, and a lot of snarkiness.
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LibraryThing member Elainedav
This was a four star, not five star read for me as, although I love this series, I found the first half of this book slow, confusing and difficult to follow. This might partly be due to time lapse since the last episode - I clearly remember Nightingale, Peter, Lesley and some of the river folk but
That said, once Peter and Lesley move into Skygarden, under cover, I felt the pace really picked up. And I suppose what seemed to me as disparate plot lines, started to come together and make sense. The attention to detail describing Skygarden and what happens there is excellent. Plenty of detail and characterisation, including Sky, who I loved, but also lots of intrigue with strange goings on in and around the building.
The ending is literally explosive, with a real twist, involving Lesley, which was completely unexpected for me. Having found the beginning of the book disappointing, I now can't wait for the next book as I need to know what happens to Lesley.
If you haven't read this series, start at the beginning and work your way through. These books are unique, very detailed, written well and very entertaining. I particularly like the fact that although all of the books are based in and around London, they all feature different parts. The first is about the rivers, the last was in the underground and this one is 'south of the river', mainly in Elephant and Castle. The author clearly knows London very well and this adds to my enjoyment of the books. The artwork on the books is also brilliant, especially when you look at it really closely.
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not Zach and yet he is presented as a known character. That said, once Peter and Lesley move into Skygarden, under cover, I felt the pace really picked up. And I suppose what seemed to me as disparate plot lines, started to come together and make sense. The attention to detail describing Skygarden and what happens there is excellent. Plenty of detail and characterisation, including Sky, who I loved, but also lots of intrigue with strange goings on in and around the building.
The ending is literally explosive, with a real twist, involving Lesley, which was completely unexpected for me. Having found the beginning of the book disappointing, I now can't wait for the next book as I need to know what happens to Lesley.
If you haven't read this series, start at the beginning and work your way through. These books are unique, very detailed, written well and very entertaining. I particularly like the fact that although all of the books are based in and around London, they all feature different parts. The first is about the rivers, the last was in the underground and this one is 'south of the river', mainly in Elephant and Castle. The author clearly knows London very well and this adds to my enjoyment of the books. The artwork on the books is also brilliant, especially when you look at it really closely.
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LibraryThing member stefferoo
New rule: if you are an urban fantasy starring a London policeman-turned-wizard named Peter Grant, then I must read you. Let's just say I have waited a long time for this! After devouring the first three books last spring, I was left with a void that only more of this series' dry wit and magical
Ben Aaronovitch does not hold back for this latest adventure, which involves our favorite magician constable working out to solve another series of odd deaths happening around the city. The first red flag goes up when a chance car accident leads them to a murder victim, who may have a link to the mysterious "Faceless Man", the big baddie that Peter and his supervisor Nightingale has been hunting for the last couple books.
As such, Broken Homes probably wouldn't be the best jumping on point if you're new to the series, albeit the central plot within the bigger picture is still wildly entertaining. When it is discovered that the odd deaths are all linked to a controversial housing estate "designed by a nutter, built by charlatans, and inhabited by the truly desperate", Peter and his fellow investigators come up with an insane plan to get to the bottom of the mystery. What do they do? They move in and go under cover. Trouble ensues. And with it, tons of amusement for the readers.
Here's why I think it would be a good idea to at least tackle the previous book first before reading this one: if you're not familiar with the overall story arc with the Faceless Man, the first half of the book will probably feel pretty slow. I myself was interested in the investigations because I knew a lot of it had to do with uncovering the identity of the enemy and trying to capture him, but without that context I think a lot of the happenings will feel disjointed or only tenuously connected.
But as someone who has been following this series, I think it is clearly starting to come into its own, and perhaps with that comes a greater appreciation for the little quirks only found in these books. There's of course London's rivers personified as semi-divine spirits, and Peter's esoteric interests into the city's architecture or even his frequent funny jabs at the Metropolitan Police. All of this made even some of the more low-key bits in the book still very fascinating and engaging -- such as the scene with the spring celebration or descriptions of Peter's magical training sessions.
However, I have to say the second half of the book which includes the subsequent build up to the climax and ending is simply phenomenal. As the main protagonist and narrator, I thought Peter would always be my favorite character in these books, but Nightingale may give him a run for his money. His anachronisms and total fail with modern technologies notwithstanding, the guy is totally awesome. You don't know wizard duels until you read about the one near the end with Nightingale versus the Russian Night Witch. I think I may have a crush.
Then, there's the climax and the shocking "twist". I put the quotations there because I'm not sure how truly surprising it is if you've been following the characters. Shocking yes, but it wasn't completely unexpected, and I the clues leading up to it weren't entirely subtle, though that might just be me. The excitement and snappy pace in these final chapters will make you ache for more though, and leave you desperate to find out what happens next.
Sigh, which leads me back here to this familiar place again, waiting for the next book. It doesn't get easier.
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action could provide, and now book four has finally made its way to the US. Ben Aaronovitch does not hold back for this latest adventure, which involves our favorite magician constable working out to solve another series of odd deaths happening around the city. The first red flag goes up when a chance car accident leads them to a murder victim, who may have a link to the mysterious "Faceless Man", the big baddie that Peter and his supervisor Nightingale has been hunting for the last couple books.
As such, Broken Homes probably wouldn't be the best jumping on point if you're new to the series, albeit the central plot within the bigger picture is still wildly entertaining. When it is discovered that the odd deaths are all linked to a controversial housing estate "designed by a nutter, built by charlatans, and inhabited by the truly desperate", Peter and his fellow investigators come up with an insane plan to get to the bottom of the mystery. What do they do? They move in and go under cover. Trouble ensues. And with it, tons of amusement for the readers.
Here's why I think it would be a good idea to at least tackle the previous book first before reading this one: if you're not familiar with the overall story arc with the Faceless Man, the first half of the book will probably feel pretty slow. I myself was interested in the investigations because I knew a lot of it had to do with uncovering the identity of the enemy and trying to capture him, but without that context I think a lot of the happenings will feel disjointed or only tenuously connected.
But as someone who has been following this series, I think it is clearly starting to come into its own, and perhaps with that comes a greater appreciation for the little quirks only found in these books. There's of course London's rivers personified as semi-divine spirits, and Peter's esoteric interests into the city's architecture or even his frequent funny jabs at the Metropolitan Police. All of this made even some of the more low-key bits in the book still very fascinating and engaging -- such as the scene with the spring celebration or descriptions of Peter's magical training sessions.
However, I have to say the second half of the book which includes the subsequent build up to the climax and ending is simply phenomenal. As the main protagonist and narrator, I thought Peter would always be my favorite character in these books, but Nightingale may give him a run for his money. His anachronisms and total fail with modern technologies notwithstanding, the guy is totally awesome. You don't know wizard duels until you read about the one near the end with Nightingale versus the Russian Night Witch. I think I may have a crush.
Then, there's the climax and the shocking "twist". I put the quotations there because I'm not sure how truly surprising it is if you've been following the characters. Shocking yes, but it wasn't completely unexpected, and I the clues leading up to it weren't entirely subtle, though that might just be me. The excitement and snappy pace in these final chapters will make you ache for more though, and leave you desperate to find out what happens next.
Sigh, which leads me back here to this familiar place again, waiting for the next book. It doesn't get easier.
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LibraryThing member ablueidol
Sigh, over far too soon and now year to wait for the next one. More backstory emerging of the historical wizard networks/ conflicts and the different stories/characters being weaved into the main story. Serious villain developed and lots of loose ends waiting for the next instalment. So anyone
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talking about a TV show yet? Police procedural with myth and magic, it's begging for one. Show Less
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
I love this series and do tend to be forgiving of some of it's flaws because I really do enjoy the company of Peter Grant et al, including the character Ben Aaronovich has created in the city of London in these series. This series has a firm sense of place, a feeling that this is the only place in
The twist at the end took me by surprise, there were moments that shocked and there were moments that truly moved me as well as moments that felt a bit dragged out, but overall I enjoyed the read.
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which this would happen and where this would be possible. Finding out more about Nightingale and magic also draws me in and keeps me reading. Peter's wry look at humanity and policing is also a lot of fun and elicits a grin from me every time. It feels like Ben Aaronovich knows something about policing or at least the mindset.The twist at the end took me by surprise, there were moments that shocked and there were moments that truly moved me as well as moments that felt a bit dragged out, but overall I enjoyed the read.
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LibraryThing member ernst.schnell
I have liked this series ever since the BBC Radio Book Club hooked me on Rivers of London. But this one in particular has been a tick up with an extra serving of surprise twists and portrait of London living off the glamour and monuments. Can't say more without spoiling. But warmly recommend it.
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And impatiently waiting for more... Show Less
LibraryThing member jessicariddoch
despite beeing book four in a series Ben has not lost the ability of hold my attention. The characters still ring true and i am made to care about them.
LibraryThing member rivkat
Peter Grant is moving forward in his magical studies, chasing the Faceless Man, and investigating a new series of crimes apparently connected to the Faceless Man and also to a huge residential tower whose high-aspiring architecture collided with reality. While Peter’s love life makes some guest
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appearances, this is basically a procedural magic investigation with a shocking conclusion that made me very angry that the next book isn’t yet published. Peter’s caution avoids some classic dumb moves, but the Faceless Man remains not just faceless but really unclear, which might be a sign of a smart villain but I hope won’t delay a satisfying resolution too long. Show Less
LibraryThing member 4hounds
Love these. They totally hit the sweet spot of sff/mystery. The characters are great and complex, the magic is interestingly thought out, the mysteries are good, too. The end of this one was a shocker!
LibraryThing member Claudia_Colin
I've loved it, just as every other thing I've read by Aaronovitch so far! only thing I feel like complaining about is the fact that this paperback edition was riddled with typos that basic editing could have avoided. Apart from that, though, this series is great and it keeps getting better and
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bette Show Less
LibraryThing member imyril
Another entertaining with PCs Grant and May as they try to get to the bottom of the Faceless Man's sudden interest in brutalist architecture. Back on form after the last installment; I thoroughly enjoyed this, not least for the resplendent Lieutenant Varvara Tamonina and Molly's experiments in
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(post)modern cuisine. Show Less
LibraryThing member melydia
You know, there's only so long I'm willing to deal with cliffhangers at the end of every book. This is the fourth Peter Grant book and I feel like I haven't learned anything more about The Big Picture (Nightingale's story, the Thames gods, the Faceless Man, etc.) than I did after the first book. I
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only read this far because a friend lent me the first four books in the series. I won't be seeking out any more. I like Peter and his universe, but I'm tired of things not happening. Show Less
LibraryThing member bgknighton
The weird of London are on parade in this book. The life of a police constable of the Folly is interesting. But who can he trust?
Awards
Crimefest Awards (Shortlist — 2014)
Language
Original publication date
2013-07-25
ISBN
0575132469 / 9780575132467
Local notes
A mutilated body in Crawley. Another killer on the loose. The prime suspect is one Robert Weil; an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man. But then Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, on a housing estate designed by a nutter, built by charlatans and inhabited by the truly desperate.
Signed by the author. Came with a promotional bookmark.
Signed by the author. Came with a promotional bookmark.