Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitvh |
Quick catch up: Grant is a policeman in London, who discovers that he can do magic, and that there is a whole magical underworld (sometimes literally under) in the city.
In the UK these books are published with lovely, distinctive covers featuring quirky maps of London, and it was actually my elder daughter who spotted this one for me in a bookshop: "Look, Daddy, there's a new book in that series you like!" Bless.
Broken Homes carries on the tradition of these books being very, very good page turners. Now, I've liked all of the series so far (aside from my ongoing grouch about poor grammar), but this one was a particular treat. It builds very nicely on the previous books, so that the returning reader is rewarded by the building cast of characters. The story is also continuing to build, as this is less stand alone than the previous one, as the Faceless Man, the "dark wizard" enemy, is an ever-present danger, along with his sidekick.
The book gives Nightingale, the senior good guy wizard, his first really meaty bit of combat magic, letting us know that he really is the bees knees when it comes to this stuff. Big applause from the reading audience.
Not only does the book build up to a nice finale, but it then ends on a big cliffhanger. I'm studiously avoiding spoilers, but I can safely say that it will have you clawing at your local bookseller for the next volume NOW!
If you haven't enjoyed any of these books yet, put all four on your Christmas list. NOW!
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