I started these books back in March and have been reading one a month since. There are currently seven published books with an eighth coming in the fall. I have been enjoying them immensely and thought I would catch you all up with some mini-reviews. I did a big review of the fist book back in March which you can read here.
Moon Over Soho (2011)
“You can’t die of jazz,” said Dr. Walid. “Can you?”
I thought of Fats Navarro, Billie Holiday, and Charlie Parker who, when he died, was mistaken by a coroner for a man twice his real age.
“You know,” I said, “I think you’ll find you can.”
Jazz Vampires, do I need to say more? Just kidding. The concept of the Jazz Vampires was pretty cool. I also liked that we got more backstory on Peter and his childhood. His parents are a bit more prevalent in this story. Lesley is off recuperating from her injuries that happened at the end of book one. But Peter does still stay in contact with her. I really like their friendship in this one. Peter also has a romantic entanglement, which was nice to see. The River Gods and Goddesses are around still, but not as important to the story. The plot of this one was a bit slow but still engaging with lots of wit and comments about policing. The ending was amazing too.
Whispers Under Ground (2012)
“This is why magic is worse even than quantum physics. Because, while both spit in the eye of common sense, I’ve never yet had a Higgs bosun turn up and try to have a conversation with me.”
I liked this one more than the second one. The plot was fascinating and I liked the added element of the FBI being involved. The agent Kim Reynolds kept popping up as Peter was trying to solve the murder. The parts underground were interesting, especially with what they find there. There is a bit more magic too. Peter is gaining in his skill and knowledge of magic, although it is still slow going. Nightingale is still a nice counterpart to Peter, being the old school magician. Peter’s experiments into how magic works are always an interesting time. The plot is pretty fast moving in this one and way cool. Abigail, a young lady that has the sight, is a nice addition to the main cast of characters. I hope we continue to see more of her.
Broken Homes (2013)
“Inside, it was very dark but I am, if not exactly a master, then definitely an apprentice in the secret arts. And as such I laugh in the face of darkness.”
I think this one is my favorite so far, and mostly because of that twist at the end that I did not see coming at all! Wow! The rest was really good too. The plot was fast moving and very hard to put down. I liked the whole idea of a building being a magical conduit. The Faceless one is also more active in this story line, which made the story that much more interesting. Nightingale gets to strut his stuff as well. Peter continues to advance in his training, and this was very interesting. Lesley has become more accepting of what happened to her in the first book, but she has changed. She is still there for Peter in that they can bounce ideas off of each other about what is going on in the case, but she is more reserved. The romance that I keep hoping will develop between them looks less and less likely now. I’m really looking forward to the next book.
It looks like these books have been optioned for TV. Hopefully they will make it to the states too. I would love to see this made into a series. It also looks like Ben Aaronovitch will be writing the screenplay. It is always a good sign when the author is involved with the shows.
I really do encourage you to pick this series up, if you haven’t yet. They are a fun urban fantasy/police procedural with magic and mayhem, that will keep you up at night laughing.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 