Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch – the latest in his fantasy/crime series that began with Rivers of London – is out now (Gollancz £14.99):

“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?”

Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch: book review

Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz £12.99)

Reviewed by Jan Edwards

This is the third volume that follows the progress of Peter Grant, Metropolitan Police constable and trainee wizard. This time we are taken below ground into the dank and dangerous world of the London Underground and the sewers where mysterious sightings of ghosts and street people are being linked with organised crime. Goblin markets and underground raves are just two of the things that PCs Peter Grant and Lesley May come across as they investigate the disappearance of a son of a US Senator, aided and mislead by the beautiful and headstrong FBI agent Kimberley Reynolds.

As Whispers Under Ground concentrates very much on the trio of Grant, May and Reynolds, newcomers to Aaronovitch’s London may want to read the first two Peter Grant books Rivers of London and Moon Over Soho in order to fully understand the plotlines. For example: how and where Grant’s mentor Inspector Nightingale, Molly the maid and Ziggy the dog come into the equation. May’s facial destruction, for example is frequently referred to, but only in terms of her reticence to be seen and Grant’s need to see her – which occasionally veers into near obsession without resolution. But these are small points.  

Make no mistake, Whispers Under Ground is a compulsive read, utilising the folklore and urban myths of London and beyond to devastating effect. Aaronovitch ruthlessly plunders the legends of fae magic and river spirits and entwines them seamlessly with such modern myths as 24 Leinster Gardens. Dark humour and atmospheric explorations of the unknown corners beneath London’s streets ensures that Whispers Under Ground does not disappoint. The meticulous research that obviously went into this book makes for an informative read without descending into the lectures and info dumps that so often appear in the many fantasy books that take on unusual settings or events. The magic is ever present but never steps beyond the realms of ‘possibility’, with well-defined limits and ramifications placed on its use.

All in all Whispers Under Ground is another great urban crime fantasy in the ‘Peter Grant’ series, which sets us up nicely for volume four. Highly recommended.

Joyce & Aaronovitch: new books

Two of the highlights to look out for this month from Gollancz:

Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce (£9.99): “It is Christmas afternoon and Peter Martin gets an unexpected phone call from his parents … He arrives to discover that they have a visitor, his sister Tara. Not so unusual you might think, this is Christmas after all, a time when families get together. But twenty years ago Tara took a walk into the woods and never came back and as the years have gone by with no word from her the family had assumed that she was dead.”

Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch (£12.99): “Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And it’s just as well – he's already had run ins with the deadly supernatural children of the Thames and a terrifying killer in Soho. Progression in the Police Force is less easy. Especially when you work in a department of two. A department that doesn't even officially exist. A department that if you did describe it to most people would get you laughed at. Now something horrible is happening in the labyrinth of tunnels that make up the tube system that honeycombs the ancient foundations of London.”