Saturday 10 August 2013

URBAN FANTASY REVIEW: Rivers of London 4: Broken Homes - Ben Aaronovitch

Release Date: 25/07/13
Publisher:  Gollancz

SYNOPSIS:

Ben Aaronovitch has stormed the bestseller list with his superb London crime series. A unique blend of police procedural, loving detail about the greatest character of all, London, and a dash of the supernatural. 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? Or just a common or garden serial killer? Before PC Peter Grant can get his head round the case a town planner going under a tube train and a stolen grimoire are adding to his case-load. So far so London. But then Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, on an 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? Full of warmth, sly humour and a rich cornucopia of things you never knew about London, Aaronovitch's series has swiftly added Grant's magical London to Rebus' Edinburgh and Morse's Oxford as a destination of choice for those who love their crime with something a little extra.


REVIEW:

There is always an interesting element within the supernatural community but who’s going to Police it? Well it comes down to the “Isaac’s”, a special branch consisting of one wizard, two trainee’s and of course the brave as well as hardy Toby the Dog. Its fun, it has some moments of levity and when added to some darker elements, cracking twists alongside high octane action all round makes this a wonderful read.

Yet whilst most would think that these elements alone enough to read the book, the author has also worked in to it a set of characters that not only work well together but created a community that the reader just cannot wait to return to in future outings. All round, for me, this is one of my top UK Urban Fantasy series and will continue to be so for quite some time. I really can’t wait to see what awaits around the corner for PC Grant and friends.


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