Whispers Under Ground: PC Peter Grant, Book 3Audiobook review by Paul Fiander
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Written by: Ben Aaronovitch
Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins Series: Peter Grant, Book 3 Publisher: Orion Publishing Group Limited |
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Why Should I Listen to Whispers Under Ground?
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 third instalment of the Rivers of London series concentrates on the world beneath the capital. Whispers Underground is a very apt title as Peter is forced to look into the sewers and tube lines that crisscross the city. This is being done with his new partner at the Folly Lesley Mae, their dynamic growing and adding a new dimension to the storytelling. Then there is the foe from the previous title who adds a layer of menace that before has been missing from the series. |
Review
The Folly compliment of the Metropolitan Police is growing, in fact the constables in the section has doubled in the few months since the last outing we were privy to. Of course the fact that the compliment was one officer adding another is hardly a big expense but the move to grow shines a light on things that are brewing within the magical fabric of London town. In the first book Lesley-Mae pretty much lost her face and was placed on medical leave. Thanks to her natural policing instincts she would have been a loss to the force so her move to share the “beat” duties with Peter was an obvious if unexpected move.
There is an unanswered sexually tension that appears thick in the air throughout their interactions from the first book to this. However there is also the more obvious banter that shows up throughout life in an official service like the Police. This desire to keep things realistic in a fanciful world gives the narrative a punch that keeps the reader enticed throughout. Then of course there is the “Nightingale”, who acts as both the constables senior officer and tutor in magic. We don’t get a lot of interaction between him and Lesley as this is Peter’s story.
The setting for the book is again a trip around London from the Trocadero to New Covent Garden Market, with the main location being the tunnels below the city. It is sometimes easy to forget hat below the streets there is a maze of tunnels built by our over industrious ancestors the Victorians. They were a generation intent on bettering the country as they saw fit and in many ways they achieved their goal. Of course anyone familiar with the work of Charles Dickens will know they also made a fair few mistakes and treated people very poorly if they were not in the upper social groups. This dichotomy of class still remains and certainly pokes its head out within the story.
The scenes set within the tunnels have a claustrophobic feel which have a peak when Peter becomes trapped and fighting for his life. Aaronovitch writes this section extremely well giving the listener an opportunity to pause and think about the feeling of suffocation. It is a strong piece of writing that delves from the mortal to the supernatural and back again. The interplay between the two states is never fully separated within the series and this is sizable draw to Aaronovitch writing as he sticks to the rules of his universe throughout.
Despite the two preceding books both being crime stories this is perhaps the most mysterious story we have encountered. This is mostly due to the lack of knowledge on display from Nightingale; his normally encyclopaedic knowledge of all the beasties and spirits of London is put to the test as he and Peter try to unravel the murder of a young American Art Student. The brutality of the kill is what we have come to expect in terms of the description, however in essence it is not of a magical nature. This small twist adds another level mystery to the series as a whole; the team have to ask themselves if magic is involved in a crime of if it’s just a run of the mill murder. This again shows the link between the material and magical world that Aaronovitch has woven so well.
The extended cast of characters continues to grow; we already have Molly as a constant presence at the Folly. She is a wonderful creation that adds a level of threat within the walls of the “Isaac’s” stronghold. Of course her creepy demeanour shows its head a number of times but at heart she is Nightingales friend (or something akin to this within a more Victorian setting). Then there are the supernatural’s who live outside the Folly, the Rivers are a fascinating bunch the Gods and Goddesses of the Thames have a varied amount of powers that keep on revealing themselves within every book. The real ace in the deck though is the Faceless man; he feels akin to Holmes’s Moriarity and gives The Rivers of London a constant threat. The search for the Little Crocodiles is now an ongoing case that sucks in the Folly team giving them another strain on their resources. This time demand helps to keep the plot moving and whenever you feel a lull coming in the investigation the narrative can easily switch to the larger case.
Again Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is on narration duty, within this book he is stretched to his limit as he has to deal with harsh cockney and even American. He jumps every hurdle in the fashion we have come accustomed to. The real challenge is the end of the book as he has to portray a different speech pattern to anything we have so far seen in the series. It’s a treat all in all to listen to and the varied inflections he adds to the narrative help to keep the flow of the characters throughout.
Whispers Underground is a great crime story filled with mystery; Aaronovitch has taken his original idea and continued to evolve it in to a larger story filled with a varied cast and settings. The production of the Audiobook makes listening to the twists and turns a true treat and although I think it is always best to go to the start this is not such a bad title to jump in on.
There is an unanswered sexually tension that appears thick in the air throughout their interactions from the first book to this. However there is also the more obvious banter that shows up throughout life in an official service like the Police. This desire to keep things realistic in a fanciful world gives the narrative a punch that keeps the reader enticed throughout. Then of course there is the “Nightingale”, who acts as both the constables senior officer and tutor in magic. We don’t get a lot of interaction between him and Lesley as this is Peter’s story.
The setting for the book is again a trip around London from the Trocadero to New Covent Garden Market, with the main location being the tunnels below the city. It is sometimes easy to forget hat below the streets there is a maze of tunnels built by our over industrious ancestors the Victorians. They were a generation intent on bettering the country as they saw fit and in many ways they achieved their goal. Of course anyone familiar with the work of Charles Dickens will know they also made a fair few mistakes and treated people very poorly if they were not in the upper social groups. This dichotomy of class still remains and certainly pokes its head out within the story.
The scenes set within the tunnels have a claustrophobic feel which have a peak when Peter becomes trapped and fighting for his life. Aaronovitch writes this section extremely well giving the listener an opportunity to pause and think about the feeling of suffocation. It is a strong piece of writing that delves from the mortal to the supernatural and back again. The interplay between the two states is never fully separated within the series and this is sizable draw to Aaronovitch writing as he sticks to the rules of his universe throughout.
Despite the two preceding books both being crime stories this is perhaps the most mysterious story we have encountered. This is mostly due to the lack of knowledge on display from Nightingale; his normally encyclopaedic knowledge of all the beasties and spirits of London is put to the test as he and Peter try to unravel the murder of a young American Art Student. The brutality of the kill is what we have come to expect in terms of the description, however in essence it is not of a magical nature. This small twist adds another level mystery to the series as a whole; the team have to ask themselves if magic is involved in a crime of if it’s just a run of the mill murder. This again shows the link between the material and magical world that Aaronovitch has woven so well.
The extended cast of characters continues to grow; we already have Molly as a constant presence at the Folly. She is a wonderful creation that adds a level of threat within the walls of the “Isaac’s” stronghold. Of course her creepy demeanour shows its head a number of times but at heart she is Nightingales friend (or something akin to this within a more Victorian setting). Then there are the supernatural’s who live outside the Folly, the Rivers are a fascinating bunch the Gods and Goddesses of the Thames have a varied amount of powers that keep on revealing themselves within every book. The real ace in the deck though is the Faceless man; he feels akin to Holmes’s Moriarity and gives The Rivers of London a constant threat. The search for the Little Crocodiles is now an ongoing case that sucks in the Folly team giving them another strain on their resources. This time demand helps to keep the plot moving and whenever you feel a lull coming in the investigation the narrative can easily switch to the larger case.
Again Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is on narration duty, within this book he is stretched to his limit as he has to deal with harsh cockney and even American. He jumps every hurdle in the fashion we have come accustomed to. The real challenge is the end of the book as he has to portray a different speech pattern to anything we have so far seen in the series. It’s a treat all in all to listen to and the varied inflections he adds to the narrative help to keep the flow of the characters throughout.
Whispers Underground is a great crime story filled with mystery; Aaronovitch has taken his original idea and continued to evolve it in to a larger story filled with a varied cast and settings. The production of the Audiobook makes listening to the twists and turns a true treat and although I think it is always best to go to the start this is not such a bad title to jump in on.
Review copy and Cover Image courtesy of Publisher
