‘Foxglove Summer’ by Ben Aaronovitch

Audiobook Review

Finished on 1/7/2019

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Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Peter Grant, Police Procedural

Similar books: Harry Dresden, Lords and Ladies, War for the Oaks

Previous books in the series reviewed: Midnight Riot, Moon over SoHo, Broken Homes

Highly Recommended British Urban Fantasy. LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK!

Spoiler-ific review

I’m in the middle of powering through the Peter Grant series, and man if it isn’t fun. This is probably the darkest book in the series so far, featuring the kidnapping (and possible murder) of two preteen girls in the middle of the British countryside. This is my favorite book in the series so far.

When two girls go missing in the middle of British sheep country, Peter is called in to help the search. What unfolds is a tale of murderous unicorns, eviscerated sheep, changelings and the fae. I’m gonna keep this review short because this is book five in a seven book series.

Plot: A committed Londoner, Peter is thrust out of his element when he’s sent out to the British countryside. He’s forced to make new allies amongst the coppers of the rural police force, and confront the strange realities of a bustling agrarian society. But the when he finds out that the missing girls’ “imaginary friends,” who just so happen to be unicorns, he figures out that something supernatural might just be going on here.

I’ve never read a mystery about a missing person’s case about children before, so this story had me based on the novelty alone. The palpable sense of gloom pervading the story really enhanced things.

Characters: Peter and his girlfriend Beverly Brook (aka the anthropomorphic manifestation of a medium sized river in the London suburbs), have some solid character development in this novel as they take their relationship to the next level. Also Peter must come to terms with Leslie’s betrayal in the previous book. This made for good character growth, if truncated by the fact that this story is not where the characters’ arcs begins or ends.

Pacing: Well paced. The author did a good job.

Prose: As always, Peter Grant is a hilarious main character. He loves telling jokes, most of which are actually funny.

Constructive Criticism:

Very little happened in terms of the overarching plot of the series. Also we didn’t get much Nightingale or Molly. I would have liked more of all that.

I wanted more of Peter Grant’s humor. I mean, I always want more of his humor, so this isn’t saying much.

But honestly, while this book wasn’t bad at all. I think this is my favorite book in the series, putting the order of best to worst at

1. Foxglove Summer
2. Moon over SoHo
3. Midnight Riot/Rivers of London
4. Broken Homes

My advice for ya’ll is to check out Midnight Riot/Rivers of London. If you like that, check out the rest of the series. This is my favorite traditional UF series.