Saturday, January 10, 2015

Foxglove Summer-Ben Aaronovitch

Foxglove Summer
Ben Aaronovitch
Daw, Jan 6 2015, $7.99
ISBN: 9780756409661

In the rural village of Rushpool, North Hertfordshire, two BFF eleven years old girls (Nicole Lacey and Hannah Marstowe) from different families vanish.  As the national media picks up the news about the missing tweeners, the local police conduct a search that leads to finding the children’s phones in a local war memorial.

London constable Peter Grant becomes involved when his wizard mentor Nightingale sends him to check on whether retired Hugh Oswald is involved with the snatch.  After reporting to Nightingale that apparently no “Falcon” wizardry is involved; Peter offers to help DCI David Windrow on the Operation Manticore missing girls’ investigation.  David assigns him as the second Family Liaison Officer to Hannah’s kin.  However, as he wishes he was back in his big city environs Peter soon believes something very dark engulfs the area.

The fifth Rivers of London police procedural fantasy (see Broken Homes, Midnight Riot, Moon Over Soho and Whispers Under Ground) is a pleasant entry as the hero feels out of place rusticating in a small village surrounded by menacing woods.  The intelligent investigation anchors the exhilarating storyline (especially the interwoven fantasy elements), but fails to move the overarching Faceless Man theme.  Still this is an electrifying Peter Grant wizardry mystery.


Harriet Klausner

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