Even though I've reached my target, I'm still going. I've just finished a great book that I have to tell you about. It's called Rivers of London, by Ben Aaranovitch, which I read on audio. This is a crime novel set in London ... so far, so what you might be thinking ... but when the key witness to a brutal murder in Covent Garden is a ghost, you realise this is not your usual police procedural! Peter Grant is a young constable who discovers that not only do ghosts talk to him, but that magic is actually real. He is taken under the wing of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in Britain and becomes his trainee. Together, they try to get to the bottom of what, exactly, is causing seemingly random and previously trouble free people suddenly lose it and attack others with extreme violence ... often shouting "that's the way to do it" as they go! Peter enters a world no one would have believed really existed, and comes face to face with a force that seems determined to cause mayhem on his beloved streets of London. Throw in having to sort out a dispute between the god and goddess of the River Thames, and our trusty constable finds himself in trouble every which way he turns. This is a crime novel with some fantasy thrown in for good measure - for me, two of my favourite genres thrown together in skillful fashion. I'm definitely heading for the sequel (Moon over Soho). I did find the narration a little stilted at times, but a thoroughly enjoyable read nonetheless.
My star rating: FIVE.
Length: 432 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99 (from my Audible monthly account)
Other formats available in: print, unabridged audio CD, Ebook.
With the fantasy element I would never have picked this one out but you make it sound like one I should consider. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMary