Broken Homes (Peter Grant #4) by Ben Aaronovitch

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.

In the new novel DC Peter Grant must head south of the river to the alien environs of Elephant and Castle. There's a murderer abroad and, as always when Grant's department are reluctantly called in by CID there is more than a whiff of the supernatural in the darkness.

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.


What the hell did I just read? Where’s the rest of it? I need the rest of it NOW!

On a more rational note, this is another better novel of the Peter Grant series. As ever, the strength of the writing and story lies on Peter’s narration and sarcastic voice, so if that hasn’t won you over by now, don’t expect the scattered plot threads to dazzle you. If you’re invested in the long plot, however, sit back and enjoy the ride.

The story is of the slow sort and reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes in a way that doesn’t make a good mystery novel. Not in the puristic sense. Too much is hidden for the readers to piece together the puzzle for themselves and they have to wait for the genius to guide them through the intuitive steps of logical deduction.

Broken Homes also suffers from the middle book syndrome but because this is the fourth in the series let’s call it the set up syndrome. Everything, and I do mean everything is set up for bigger things to come and even the explosions at the end aren’t enough to release the underlying tension. It feels like things are going to get a lot worse before they get better and Peter needs to improve on his policing as well as his magic lessons. And fast.

When’s the next book coming out again?

Rivers of London/ Midnight Riot (Peter Grant #1) by Ben Aaronovitch

Form: e-book, mobi format
Genre: Urban fantasy, crime mystery
Target audience: older YA and adults

Synopsis:

Peter Grant wants to become a real police officer but his plans seem to be thwarted even before his career starts for good. His superior, not impressed by Peter's efforts, plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut, a power failure or eternal boredom and a spare tyre around your belly. Still Peter feels his fate might change soon. First he sees and talks to a ghost. Then he gets under the wings of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, a one-man magical law and order enforcement squad. Not one moment too soon. As a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic. He won't be bored but will he survive?

What I liked:

“Fuck me, I thought. I can do magic.” 

The sense of humour of our dear Peter was impeccable although sometimes rather uncouth. Maybe it is so  because  he lives in London, a vibrant big city where you rub your elbows with strange and not necessary kind creatures from all over the world. Like all those pesky tourists. Anyway the level of geekiness, science and the dry British jokes aimed at practically everyone and everything, from African mothers and policemen to Polish kitchen aids and cockney blue collar workers, was really high.

“Conflict resolution,' said Nightingale. 'Is this what they teach at Hendon these days?'
'Yes, sir,' I said. 'But don't worry, they also teach us how to beat people with phone books and the ten best ways to plant evidence.” 

Anybody firmly rooted in pop-culture and modern world will like and appreciate the divagating of Peter, although, from time to time, sad, mean purists wearing unfashionable, square glasses might say the boy is a tad too misogynist/undereducated/violence-prone specimen of a Londoner. He doesn't know Latin or Greek after all and he got just those measly Cs while passing his Science A levels. Pathetic, isn't it? Hardly a role model for the younger generation.

“Carved above the lintel were the words SCIENTIA POTESTAS EST. Science points east, I wondered? Science is portentous, yes? Science protests too much. Scientific potatoes rule. Had I stumbled on the lair of dangerous plant geneticists?”

Ben Aaronovitch's love for London is big, wild and contagious. I can relate. It is a city I felt immediately at home so it was a big advantage that London plays an important role in this story, being treated with deference. It is way more than just a setting. You can't stay indifferent after reading such a passage:

A traditional Punch and Judy booth. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Being a seasoned Londoner, Martin gave the body the "London once-over" - a quick glance to determine whether this was a drunk, a crazy or a human being in distress. The fact that it was entirely possible for someone to be all three simultaneously is why good-Samaritanism in London is considered an extreme sport - like BASE jumping or crocodile wrestling."

A nice quote, isn't it? Perhaps you can say that about every big city and its inhabitants but I find it especially true for London for reason or reasons unknown. Perhaps it is a matter of the climate. Or the Punch and Judy show. Or the famous British tea more often than not superseded by fine Brazillian coffee. Yeah..

What I didn't like:

First let me tell you that I don't appreciate the double title of the book. Rivers of London made sense; why wasn't it good enough for the American editor? Search me. Maybe because they were at a loss what rivers of what London the author meant? Maybe at first glance they took this novel for one of quaint hydrology textbooks or a guide for the fans of riverspotting? (If you ask me riverspotting would make far more sense than trainspotting. At least a river is almost always there so you can 'spot' it as long as you want to. And take a picture. Just saying.)

When it comes to the adventures of darling Peter...the plot was hardly surprising or innovative. A good sense of humor is not a band aid you can slap over a pile of plot construction problems; a wise-cracking hero or not, when he repeats the steps of practically all other heroes, featured in similar books  you find yourself yawning after a moment or two. On the verge of his manhood he discovers he is a wizard? Just like Harry Potter only a bit later. He gets an older mentor? Albus Dumbledore, anyone? He gets into serious trouble and finds himself all on his lonesome? Yeah...

Also the water spirits or gods and godesses of Thames and its tributaries seemed ordinary, almost surprisingly normal. No, it wasn't exactly a pleasant surprise. Why introduce a bunch of supernatural characters when a bunch of ordinary Londoners would do as well if not actually better?

Finally one of my pet peeves when it comes to fantasy: time travelling. So you can do it without major consequences but in another dimension and it might take a vampire bite or two? Not persuaded, sorry.

Final verdict:

A very promising beginning of an urban fantasy series; still I hope the next book will be better. Because it can be better, right?