320 pages
English language
Published Dec. 31, 2012 by Gollancz.
A mutilated body in Crawley. A killer on the loose. The prime suspect is one Robert Weil, possibly an associate of the twisted wizard known as the Faceless Man. Or maybe just a garden-variety serial killer. Before apprentice wizard and Police Constable Peter Grant can even get his head 'round the case, two more are dropped in his lap: a town planner has gone under a tube train, and there's a stolen grimoire for Grant to track down. So far, so London. But then Peter gets word of something very odd happening on a 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—in the jurisdiction of some pretty prickly local river spirits?
Still not as good as #1 and #2 but on a par with #3 and I'll keep reading.
The investigation dragged a bit so the resolution didn't seem very well tied to the opening. The new characters weren't as interesting as in previous books, though Varvara has great potential. The action was well handled and the ending twist was good.
This story felt disjointed as I read it, like incomplete short stories. I struggled enough to keep all of the plot points in my head that I reviewed this summary at about the 75% mark. (summary link didn't transfer: allreaders.com/book-review-summary/broken-homes-40217)
However, I liked quite a bit of it. The characters are really the reason I love this series. Peter is a great narrator with a good balance of humor integrated into tense situations and clear explanations of some police procedures. The explanations are helpful as an American reading about policing in London.
Most story threads came together at the end. Aaronovitch did a nice job of leading the reader to understand the importance of the architecture of Skygarden and its connection to the farm and the Faceless Man. And, that end, WOW! I’m a bit upset about it.
These are the plot points that seem to be …
This story felt disjointed as I read it, like incomplete short stories. I struggled enough to keep all of the plot points in my head that I reviewed this summary at about the 75% mark. (summary link didn't transfer: allreaders.com/book-review-summary/broken-homes-40217)
However, I liked quite a bit of it. The characters are really the reason I love this series. Peter is a great narrator with a good balance of humor integrated into tense situations and clear explanations of some police procedures. The explanations are helpful as an American reading about policing in London.
Most story threads came together at the end. Aaronovitch did a nice job of leading the reader to understand the importance of the architecture of Skygarden and its connection to the farm and the Faceless Man. And, that end, WOW! I’m a bit upset about it.
These are the plot points that seem to be hanging a bit for me. I’m sure if I took more time, I’d make stronger connections. Maybe I just read the story too slowly to make the connections as I read: What is the importance of the German grimoires? Why did the trees need to be killed? What is the importance of the suicide/murder of the man with the train? I know he was connected with Skygarden, but why did he need to die?
Zach develops as a character with this book, and I’m looking forward to his role in future books. I love the introduction of the Night Witches, and I hope to see Sidororovna again. The River Gods don’t seem to have an important part in this novel, but I always enjoy any scene with Beverly Brook. She just brings such wonderful sexual tension.
We finally have a scene that shows Nightingale’s power instead of hearing about it through exposition of his history. And then we get a new complication with Leslie. I hope this ends up being a positive development. I love her, and she’s a great partner for Peter.
This may be the best book in the series - so far. There are one or two things that I did not expect and consequently hit hard. Quite a few unresolved storylines, but I have faith in Aaronovitch.
Yet another corker of a page turner from Aaronovitch. This had wit and charm and kept me up late at night which is all you can ask of a book. This is what urban fantasy should be, barely a whiny teenager in sight. This whole series is highly recommended.
Re-read 2021 - I would probably upgrade this one to a 5 star now. It has certainly aged like fine wine. On original reading I didn't see the twist coming but on this careful re-read I could see it all being set up nicely and appreciate the craft of how it was done. The theme for this one is missed opportunities, I would say and it really resonates.
