Foxglove Summer: PC Peter Grant, Book 5Audiobook review by Paul Fiander
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Written by: Ben Aaronovitch
Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins Series: Peter Grant, Book 5 Publisher: Orion Publishing Group |
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Why Should I Listen to Foxglove Summer?
Ben Aaronovitch hit some sort of Alchemy when he decided to give the Metropolitan Police a Magical Branch. His mix of police procedural and magical shenanigans have created a hugely rich playground in which he can cast his spells on the unsuspecting reader as well as those desperate to for more tales of The Folly. His accomplice in the Audiobooks is Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and together they have contrived a way to steal hours of your life with a mix of delight and amazement at what the Rivers of London have in store. The world is getting bigger or at least the scope of the Folly, it turns out their reach extends far beyond the M25 and so Peter finds himself in the wilds of Herefordshire far beyond the reaches of the Rivers of London. This move away from the rigours of the city allows our apprentice the chance to reflect on what has been a rough few months mostly due to the actions of Leslie Mae. There is of course a case to solve and in a move away this is pretty much the sole focus if you discount the ever present issue of the Faceless Man and his new apprentice. |
Review
Being stabbed in the back is a difficult to stomach and when the act of betrayal is actually getting shot in the back the feeling must be even worse. However this is the situation that Peter finds himself in after the events on Sky Garden tower. The Faceless Man was able to make the best of a bad situation and despite the Folly being close behind him he still managed to fulfil his goal. He is becoming almost if not quite as awe inspiring as Moriarty, the arch villain was the thorn in Holmes’s side and their rivalry helped to raise the detective’s stories higher than the rest of the sleuths the world has ever known. Aaronovitch has though hit on to something with his arch villain giving the series an anchor on top of the weird and wonderful goings on within England’s magical community.
Now for the meat of the Foxgloves, it turns out that children have a place in the seedier of magical practice. Hedge wizards as Nightingale calls them were once known to use children and so the Folly has a mandate to look into any possible abductions on the off chance it has a magical element. Of course there are missing children reports all the time but due to a few factors the disappearance of two young girls comes to the attention of our magical investigators. It does feel like a bit of an extension onto the storytelling but thanks to the locality of the crime Aaronovitch manages to dance nicely around the McGuffin aspect and create a believable scenario.
Peter in this book is the most distracted we have seen him, this obviously relates to the events of Broken Homes and gives us our main insight into his character within the book. This has been one of the hallmarks of the series so far as we have explored the inner workings of Peter’s mind. This time though we have been a part of the event from its initial onset through to the actual symptoms coming to the fore. Thankfully the whole situation never weakens his character instead it shows him as a real human being complete with real flaws and issues. The most fun part is the way that he gets somewhat to grip with his issues, of course I will not spoil things suffice to say he has a teacher who is the master of a rather unique form of anger management.
One of the drawbacks of British crime stories can be the issue of threat, in other countries where guns are more numerous the implied danger is built into every interaction. Now of course there are guns in the UK but there is still a drop in the high octane action that the proliferation of American crime dramas has fed us on for years. This has meant that many British crime stories have been overshadowed by their counterparts from across the pond. Rivers of London though has a trump card that other stories do not have; Magic. The inherent danger of the unknown force keeps not only Peter on edge but also the reader. At nearly every twist and turn you are thinking how can Peter dig himself further into the mire this time and of course how can he possibly dig himself out again. The threat within Foxglove Summer is one of the most startling we have so far seen and surprisingly there is not a hint of gunpowder present (for the most part).
The move out of London gives the voice of Peter aka Kobna Holdbrook-Smith the chance to play with his regional accents as he takes on everything from Welsh to the native tones of Herefordshire. It is a task he handles with the resolute smoothness we have come to expect. The storyline does call for more than one moment of high tension and the emphasis placed on these moments by the narration is top draw, you literally feel the anxiety and live through every breath until the sweet sound of Jazz allows you to relax for a moment or two. The duo of Aaronvitch and Holdbrook-Smith again are showing why they are a partnership seemingly made by alchemy.
Foxglove Summer does a great job expanding not only the reach of the series but also the implied threat pace upon the Folly’s team. The story gets you excited for what is to come but not at the expense of immersing yourself in a thoroughly engaging story.
Now for the meat of the Foxgloves, it turns out that children have a place in the seedier of magical practice. Hedge wizards as Nightingale calls them were once known to use children and so the Folly has a mandate to look into any possible abductions on the off chance it has a magical element. Of course there are missing children reports all the time but due to a few factors the disappearance of two young girls comes to the attention of our magical investigators. It does feel like a bit of an extension onto the storytelling but thanks to the locality of the crime Aaronovitch manages to dance nicely around the McGuffin aspect and create a believable scenario.
Peter in this book is the most distracted we have seen him, this obviously relates to the events of Broken Homes and gives us our main insight into his character within the book. This has been one of the hallmarks of the series so far as we have explored the inner workings of Peter’s mind. This time though we have been a part of the event from its initial onset through to the actual symptoms coming to the fore. Thankfully the whole situation never weakens his character instead it shows him as a real human being complete with real flaws and issues. The most fun part is the way that he gets somewhat to grip with his issues, of course I will not spoil things suffice to say he has a teacher who is the master of a rather unique form of anger management.
One of the drawbacks of British crime stories can be the issue of threat, in other countries where guns are more numerous the implied danger is built into every interaction. Now of course there are guns in the UK but there is still a drop in the high octane action that the proliferation of American crime dramas has fed us on for years. This has meant that many British crime stories have been overshadowed by their counterparts from across the pond. Rivers of London though has a trump card that other stories do not have; Magic. The inherent danger of the unknown force keeps not only Peter on edge but also the reader. At nearly every twist and turn you are thinking how can Peter dig himself further into the mire this time and of course how can he possibly dig himself out again. The threat within Foxglove Summer is one of the most startling we have so far seen and surprisingly there is not a hint of gunpowder present (for the most part).
The move out of London gives the voice of Peter aka Kobna Holdbrook-Smith the chance to play with his regional accents as he takes on everything from Welsh to the native tones of Herefordshire. It is a task he handles with the resolute smoothness we have come to expect. The storyline does call for more than one moment of high tension and the emphasis placed on these moments by the narration is top draw, you literally feel the anxiety and live through every breath until the sweet sound of Jazz allows you to relax for a moment or two. The duo of Aaronvitch and Holdbrook-Smith again are showing why they are a partnership seemingly made by alchemy.
Foxglove Summer does a great job expanding not only the reach of the series but also the implied threat pace upon the Folly’s team. The story gets you excited for what is to come but not at the expense of immersing yourself in a thoroughly engaging story.
Review copy and Cover Image courtesy of Publisher
