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Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Peter Grant—cop, magical apprentice, and Londoner to the core—is being forced out of his comfort zone and into the English countryside. His latest case involves the disappearance of children in the small village of Herefordshire, and the local police are unwilling to admit there might be a supernatural element involved. Now Peter must deal with them, local river spirits, and the fact that all the shops close by 4 P.M.Tags
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Member Reviews
A significant part of my enjoyment of this series is the wonderful first-person voice of Peter Grant, with all his snide asides and insight into police procedure and mindset. It continually makes me snigger out loud.
I really enjoyed this episode in his adventures, out of his depth in the non-diverse sticks and bottled up tight with the consequences and aftermath of the last finale. This worked well as a consolidation of everything that's come before, and laying the groundwork (I think) for what's to come, while still being an intriguing and entertaining read all by itself. With bonus points for plenty of Beverley.
I really enjoyed this episode in his adventures, out of his depth in the non-diverse sticks and bottled up tight with the consequences and aftermath of the last finale. This worked well as a consolidation of everything that's come before, and laying the groundwork (I think) for what's to come, while still being an intriguing and entertaining read all by itself. With bonus points for plenty of Beverley.
Fifth in the series. Much better, a lot closer to the original and probably the highpoint so far. Regains some flair and novelty, with a good balance between the gritty police procedural aspects and the policeman's humour at life, and even better works in some more of the backstory explaining the history and motivations behind a few of the characters who have been enigmatic blank slates before.
As a distraction from Leslie's betrayal Peter goes to the countryside to check that one of the few remaining (if senile) practitioners on the Folly's books is not involved with a local child kidnap case. He doesn't seem to be even if his daughter is somewhat odd. However when Beverly comes to visit, he realises that there is something weird show more that's happened with the missing children, and so he's forced to cope on his own, Nightingale being required to protect the secret Folly Vaults from any attempt at infiltration by Leslie. It's a contrived device, but does successfully manage to integrate this book into a series rather than as it has previously felt, being a succession of episodes that have -very unlikely- all happened to Peter.
Ben has rather over-egged the inner-city lad exposed to the countryside for the first time meme, but it does have some very funny moments. The interactions with Beverly are great, and the whole fae world seems to just work far more intuitively than the other interventions Ben has created, sticking to the basic lore, but twisting it as per the current universe seems to work better, and be more understandable and believable.
This remains a more light-hearted series than either Harry Dresden or Peter Cornell's work, but none-the-less enjoyable for all that. show less
As a distraction from Leslie's betrayal Peter goes to the countryside to check that one of the few remaining (if senile) practitioners on the Folly's books is not involved with a local child kidnap case. He doesn't seem to be even if his daughter is somewhat odd. However when Beverly comes to visit, he realises that there is something weird show more that's happened with the missing children, and so he's forced to cope on his own, Nightingale being required to protect the secret Folly Vaults from any attempt at infiltration by Leslie. It's a contrived device, but does successfully manage to integrate this book into a series rather than as it has previously felt, being a succession of episodes that have -very unlikely- all happened to Peter.
Ben has rather over-egged the inner-city lad exposed to the countryside for the first time meme, but it does have some very funny moments. The interactions with Beverly are great, and the whole fae world seems to just work far more intuitively than the other interventions Ben has created, sticking to the basic lore, but twisting it as per the current universe seems to work better, and be more understandable and believable.
This remains a more light-hearted series than either Harry Dresden or Peter Cornell's work, but none-the-less enjoyable for all that. show less
No apologies for making reference to the previous books in the series.
With the events of "Broken Homes" hanging heavy on our protagonist Peter Grant, he finds himself sent out to check a potential lead (with magical import) in a missing child emergency and finds himself drawn into the increasingly frantic search for the two young girls. Unless you're new to this rodeo it'll be pretty damn obvious between missing children, an enchanted wood and references to the fae people a big chunk of what's going on; but only a chunk. Aaronovitch also continues to hand out scraps of just what happened in regards to the fateful events of 1945 that annihilated the cream of official British wizardry and one is given hints regarding what is really at show more stake in the conflict with the Faceless Man.
As for Peter himself, he finds himself increasingly involved with Beverley Brooks and is also less and less adopting the ironic pose of a dodgy fellow involved in a dodgy business; by this point in the series Grant is pretty well part of the police establishment and his rural opposite numbers are damn glad to get his assistance as the resident expert on uncanny doings.
One spoiler; no large buildings were harmed in the writing of this book. show less
With the events of "Broken Homes" hanging heavy on our protagonist Peter Grant, he finds himself sent out to check a potential lead (with magical import) in a missing child emergency and finds himself drawn into the increasingly frantic search for the two young girls. Unless you're new to this rodeo it'll be pretty damn obvious between missing children, an enchanted wood and references to the fae people a big chunk of what's going on; but only a chunk. Aaronovitch also continues to hand out scraps of just what happened in regards to the fateful events of 1945 that annihilated the cream of official British wizardry and one is given hints regarding what is really at show more stake in the conflict with the Faceless Man.
As for Peter himself, he finds himself increasingly involved with Beverley Brooks and is also less and less adopting the ironic pose of a dodgy fellow involved in a dodgy business; by this point in the series Grant is pretty well part of the police establishment and his rural opposite numbers are damn glad to get his assistance as the resident expert on uncanny doings.
One spoiler; no large buildings were harmed in the writing of this book. show less
I called her name and she rose out of the nodding purple flowers, the hot sunlight making amber highlights on the strong curve of her upper arms and her neck. I felt a mad rush of desire, not just sex but something wilder and stronger and almost like worship. I wanted to carve statues of her and paint her image on the walls of my cave, where the firelight would make them flicker and jump. I wanted to wrap myself in an animal skin and dance around the campfire wearing a necklace of bear teeth. Had she just asked, I’d gladly have gone mammoth hunting in her honour – although I’d only do that armed with a suitably high-powered rifle. There are limits, you know.
After the surprise twist at the end of the previous book, this one takes a show more diversion, away from London, as Peter heads to the Worcestershire countryside to check whether a retired wizard has anything to do with the disappearance of two children from a nearby village, and stays on to help the local police. Beverley Brook turns up to help him as his colleagues need to stay in London in case the Faceless Man makes another move.
I would have given it 4.5 stars if not for the abrupt ending. show less
After the surprise twist at the end of the previous book, this one takes a show more diversion, away from London, as Peter heads to the Worcestershire countryside to check whether a retired wizard has anything to do with the disappearance of two children from a nearby village, and stays on to help the local police. Beverley Brook turns up to help him as his colleagues need to stay in London in case the Faceless Man makes another move.
I would have given it 4.5 stars if not for the abrupt ending. show less
I've fallen in love with the "Rivers of London" series. I look forward to each new book because I know I will slide into a world of PC Peter Grant and feel happier for being in his company: a mixed-race police constable in the Met, he approaches the world with an insatiable curiosity, a passion for architecture, a commitment to the scientific method, an implacable resistance to the abuse of power, a dry wit that never slides into jaded cynicism and the ability, after much practice and with great concentration, to do magic. He is clever, brave, amusing and easy to like.
The Rivers of London series describes how Peter becomes assigned to "The Folly", a once-grand establishment responsible for policing the interaction of the human and the show more magical, that has declined as magic started to ebb from the world. Peter. the only recruit for a generation, is assigned at a point when magic seems to be increasing and, of course, bad people are plotting to take advantage of it.
"Foxglove Summer", the fifth and latest in the series, delivers many of the things that I enjoyed in its predecessors: witty text, strong police procedure, often described tongue-in-cheek, Peter's obsession with architecture and with applying science to magic, likeable characters - even the ones who have shady allegiances and are not fully or even partly human. It also benefits from the excellent narration by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith who brings the characters in the book alive.
In previous books, London or aspects of her spirit or history, was almost a character in her own right. This book is set in deepest, darkest Herefordshire, a land of farms, forests, cows and dogging. By moving Peter Grant, the quintessential Londoner, from a city that he blends into like a lion on the Savannah, to the country where he doesn't have a clue, Ben Aaronvitch made it easier for me to see Peter and understand who is becoming.
Until "Foxglove Summer", Peter Grant played the role of apprentice, with his boss, The Nightingale, there to advise and support Peter's still-developing powers and guide his sometimes extremely rash judgements. In this book, Peter is at least a journeyman, choosing his own path independently of his mentor. He is also pushed to be more by Beverley Brook, a twenty-something river goddess who has been flirting with him and teasing him since the start of the series.
"Foxglove Summer" resists the Holmes vs Moriarty or Bond vs Spectre dynamic. Instead of Peter Grant pursuing the Faceless Man that he fought at the end of "Broken Homes", he is confronted in "Foxglove Summer" with nothing more or less sinister than a force of nature to whom his fate is largely incidental. The result is a kind of coming of age for Peter that I thought worked very well.
A couple of things in "Foxglove Summer" were less than satisfying: the storyline around the bees seemed to go nowhere, which felt somehow like a broken promise rather than a loose-end in the plot, and the resolution of the story was so focused on Peter that I didn't find out as much as I would have liked about what happened to the sisters.
These are small things that might have made a very good book even better. I'm still in love with this series. I hope it runs for a very long time. show less
The Rivers of London series describes how Peter becomes assigned to "The Folly", a once-grand establishment responsible for policing the interaction of the human and the show more magical, that has declined as magic started to ebb from the world. Peter. the only recruit for a generation, is assigned at a point when magic seems to be increasing and, of course, bad people are plotting to take advantage of it.
"Foxglove Summer", the fifth and latest in the series, delivers many of the things that I enjoyed in its predecessors: witty text, strong police procedure, often described tongue-in-cheek, Peter's obsession with architecture and with applying science to magic, likeable characters - even the ones who have shady allegiances and are not fully or even partly human. It also benefits from the excellent narration by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith who brings the characters in the book alive.
In previous books, London or aspects of her spirit or history, was almost a character in her own right. This book is set in deepest, darkest Herefordshire, a land of farms, forests, cows and dogging. By moving Peter Grant, the quintessential Londoner, from a city that he blends into like a lion on the Savannah, to the country where he doesn't have a clue, Ben Aaronvitch made it easier for me to see Peter and understand who is becoming.
Until "Foxglove Summer", Peter Grant played the role of apprentice, with his boss, The Nightingale, there to advise and support Peter's still-developing powers and guide his sometimes extremely rash judgements. In this book, Peter is at least a journeyman, choosing his own path independently of his mentor. He is also pushed to be more by Beverley Brook, a twenty-something river goddess who has been flirting with him and teasing him since the start of the series.
"Foxglove Summer" resists the Holmes vs Moriarty or Bond vs Spectre dynamic. Instead of Peter Grant pursuing the Faceless Man that he fought at the end of "Broken Homes", he is confronted in "Foxglove Summer" with nothing more or less sinister than a force of nature to whom his fate is largely incidental. The result is a kind of coming of age for Peter that I thought worked very well.
A couple of things in "Foxglove Summer" were less than satisfying: the storyline around the bees seemed to go nowhere, which felt somehow like a broken promise rather than a loose-end in the plot, and the resolution of the story was so focused on Peter that I didn't find out as much as I would have liked about what happened to the sisters.
These are small things that might have made a very good book even better. I'm still in love with this series. I hope it runs for a very long time. show less
City boy Peter Grant leaves home comforts behind and heads off to deepest, darkest Herefordshire on behalf of some due diligence for the Folly. Two girls have gone missing and as there is a registered practitioner in the area, an old retired wizard, it's routine for them to be checked and ruled out of any possible involvement. Hugh Oswald, the elderly wizard in question, is quickly dismissed from any connection but there may be something odd about his granddaughter who is looking after him. So Peter decides to stick around for a bit and help with the search while he's there. He also gets to renew acquaintances with Beverly Brook whom Nightingale has deputised and sent to assist with his enquiries.
This is the fifth entry into the series show more and continues shortly after the shocking conclusion to #4. It's good to see Peter running his own investigation and employing more of his tech gadgets along the way. We also get to learn some back-story with snippets of what happened at Ettersberg and Beverly is fleshed out as a more fully formed character and some more hints about Molly. The overall Faceless Man storyline isn't progressed too much but there is some foreshadowing of what's to come in the phone dialogue between Peter and Lesley. This book is strongly reminiscent of the first in the series as there's much more of a police procedural feel about it than a few of those in-between. While this is a self-contained story be warned that not all the whys and wherefores are tied up completely. It is, however, another very good entry into an excellent series. show less
This is the fifth entry into the series show more and continues shortly after the shocking conclusion to #4. It's good to see Peter running his own investigation and employing more of his tech gadgets along the way. We also get to learn some back-story with snippets of what happened at Ettersberg and Beverly is fleshed out as a more fully formed character and some more hints about Molly. The overall Faceless Man storyline isn't progressed too much but there is some foreshadowing of what's to come in the phone dialogue between Peter and Lesley. This book is strongly reminiscent of the first in the series as there's much more of a police procedural feel about it than a few of those in-between. While this is a self-contained story be warned that not all the whys and wherefores are tied up completely. It is, however, another very good entry into an excellent series. show less
My favorite one so far -- thank you, Ben Aaronovitch, for the happy pop culture references (I nearly hurt myself trying to giggle quietly on the bus at valor morgulis), for the continuing development of a complex and appealing character, and the excellent mystery. Two girls have gone missing from a country town and Peter goes out to make sure the local magical denizens aren't involved. He stays on and gets drawn into a very weird set of occurences. Brilliant!
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- Canonical title
- Foxglove Summer
- Original title
- Foxglove Summer
- Original publication date
- 2014-11-13
- People/Characters
- Peter Grant (Constable); Thomas Nightingale (DCI); Beverley Brook; Abdul Haqq Walid; Dominic Croft (DC); Hugh Oswald (show all 16); Mellissa Oswald; Charles Edmondson (Inspector); David Windrow (DCI); Allison Cole (DS); Joanne Marstowe; Andy Marstowe; Victoria Lacey; Derek Lacey; Victor Lovell; Not-Nichole
- Important places
- Herefordshire, England, UK; Rushpool, Herefordshire, England, UK; Leominster, Herefordshire, England, UK
- Epigraph
- Part One
Borderlands
In th'olde days of the Kyng Arthour.
Of which that Britons speken greet honour.
Al was this land fulfild of fayerye.
The elf-queene, with hir joly compaignye,
Daunced ful oft... (show all)e on many a grene mede.
'The Wife of Bath's Tale', Geoffrey Chaucer
Part Two
The Other Country
The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
Eden Phillpotts 'A Shadow Passes' (1919) - Dedication
- This book is dedicated to Sir Terry Pratchett OBE
who has stood like a wossname upon the
rocky shores of our imaginations - the better
to guide us safely into harbour. - First words
- I was just passing the Hoover Centre when I heard Mr Punch scream his rage behind me.
- Quotations
- Caratacus suffered the double indignity of being taken to Rome in chains and having an opera written about him by Elgar.
We trooped off behind her into waist high bracken, down something that was not so much a path as a statistical variation in the density of the undergrowth. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I put my arms around Beverley's waist and buried my face in her hair. Beneath the oil and metal she smelt of peppermint and shea butter.
I was ready to go home to London. - Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 823.087663
Classifications
- Genres
- Fantasy, Fiction and Literature, Mystery
- DDC/MDS
- 823.087663 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English fiction By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Speculative fiction Fantasy fiction Urban fantasy
- LCC
- PR6051 .A76 .F69 — Language and Literature English English Literature 1961-2000
- BISAC
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- Reviews
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- ISBNs
- 25
- UPCs
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- ASINs
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