Book Review – Broken Homes – Ben Aaronovitch

Facts:

▪   Book: Broken Homes

▪   Author: Ben Aaronovitch

▪   Genre: Fantasy / Mystery

▪   Year of Release: 2013

▪   Read 326-page paperback edition in June 2014.

Book Description:

In this fourth book of the Rivers of London series, Constable Peter Grant is continuing to hone his magical abilities with Chief Inspector Nightingale, of the small magical branch of the London police forces.  However, the mysterious and highly dangerous Faceless Man makes another appearance, and begins a serial killing spree that involves several victims.  Grant works to try and uncover the linkages between the victims, and also the larger motive behind the Faceless Man’s attacks, which may be something extremely dangerous for Grant, Nightingale, and the entire city of London.

Book Review:

This novel continues the fun fantastical intrigue that has begun with prior books, and takes us into more detail into different areas of London, both urban and rural, while at the same time continuing to develop recurring and new characters.  The joy of this series is that Aaronovitch is able to weave fantasy/sci-fi elements with mystery and also with a strong dose of comedy, to bring us a unique take on a variety of concepts.  Character development continues with our usual cast from prior books, but it also involves new characters, some of which appear to be sticking around for future novels.  Aaronovitch isn’t afraid to play with the characters, and introduce new characters into the mix, which keeps each successive novel fresh and exciting.  And in fact, just as I was thinking this book wasn’t quite as original and intriguing as prior novels, Aaronovitch threw in a major curve ball at the end, which was an exceptional end to the novel, and makes us long for the next one in the series.  When that is the feeling upon closing a quick read like this, you know the author has been successful.

Overall: 4 stars out of 5 stars.