Picking favorite books is a little picking favorite kids; you can’t. So far I’ve loved all of Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant/Rivers of London series; Midnight Riot was grand, introducing us to Peter, his buddy Lesley, boss Inspector Nightingale, crypto-pathologist Dr Walid, assorted semi-supernatural rivers and semi-dead bad guys. Moon Over Soho gave us jazz vampires and introduced the Faceless Man. Whispers Underground was just a tiny step down the wow! scale as we plodded through London’s sewers and discovered the Quiet Folk.
Now we’ve Broken Homes, combining the best of the first three with more suspense and mystery. Inspector Nightingale goes into action, Peter and Lesley chase bad guys, and best of all, Peter does his usual intuitive/random/unfocused policing.
I enjoy Peter’s curiosity and intuitive feel for hidden problems. Combined with his talent for messing up, his unique approach to problems makes him feel like someone I know. Peter tells the story himself, using his own colloquial slang grammar (“me and Lesley”) and shares his thoughts as he goes. He is refreshing, honest with himself and it’s fun to ride along inside his head.
The book works on multiple levels. It’s a police/mystery/suspense story as Peter discovers the plot and sleuths connections that are as wispy as cobwebs, a character story, and a wizard/magic fantasy. Peter is the common element and he’s a great character, well thought out, rounded, real.
Broken Homes ramps up the stakes for Peter and Nightingale. Earlier we danced around small disasters and caught glimpses of a larger threat; this time we can see more. The Faceless Man is an example. Inspector Nightingale calls the Faceless Man a criminal, and so he is, but his aims are hidden until the end when he tells Peter he is pursuing power, more magic power than he can safely use within himself.
Broken Homes has great secondary characters, Betsy and Kevin of the slightly shady Tankridge family and Jake Phillips, socialist activist and balcony gardener. (His garden sounded wonderful.)
Aaronovitch uses tiny details to make bit players real. Example is how he presents Jake Phillips as dignified, older, dedicated in just a short paragraph. Jake is completely unembarrassed when Peter catches him stooping to put a notice in Peter’s Skytower mail slot – a vastly undignified position. Jake needs help to stand up, so we feel his age and arthritic back.
These encounters make the story richer, more real and add humor. In fact Broken Homes had several laugh out loud scenes, particularly Peter’s comments on architecture and decorating. Plus we got a rich list of new British slang terms and food types; I particularly liked reading about suet jam pudding. For the uninitiated it is not the English version of Eskimo ice cream but a cross between a shortening-rich pastry, a steamed bread and jelly roll. Maybe someday I’ll make one.
Broken Homes took the Rivers of London series on a slight turn that should result in better stories, a longer series, more difficulties and more realistic suspense. Earlier we tiptoed through the tulips with Peter – despite horrible moments and murders in Midnight Riot it mostly seemed like magic was fun – but now it’s serious. There are ethically-challenged wizards who don’t care whom they hurt (even if they do draw the line at mass murder) and there is something in the Folly basement…
Five Stars.
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