In a network of lines that enlace

This is my favourite so far of the Peter Grant series, and not only as the premise contains the line: “why oh why did it have to be South of the River?” (most of my family have been in north London since before the war. South of the River jokes are a part of life).

This book takes a step forward in terms of the overarching plotline, which the series was in need of by the fourth book. Ben Aaronovitch’s writing style is as wonderful and gripping as ever; Grant is fantastic narrator, being exceptionally human in a world of the strange and supernatural. The combination of humour, action, real world occurrences, and fantasy is well balanced and the pace of this novel is the best in the series. It’s a great improvement from Moon over Soho which I struggled to finish.

Nightingale and Molly appear more in this novel, which I personally appreciated as they are the characters I’m most interested in. It’s also delving deeper into the magical elements of the plot, which again I think was needed at this stage.

The writing of the second to last chapter is brilliant. It’s too much of a spoiler to talk about in depth, but it perfectly recounts a terrifying, high pressure situation through emotion and fact; the pace keeping you as on edge as Peter is at the time.

And oh the ending. All I can say, is when are we getting book five?