*Starred Review* It’s hard to understand why Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series, of which this is the fourth installment, is not more well known in the U.S. It’s quite popular in Britain, and rightly so because it has everything: a plucky hero, London Metropolitan Police constable Peter Grant; clever mysteries; entertaining villains; and, just for fun, wizardry. Yes, wizardry. It seems Peter Grant, an ordinary police officer, has been recruited into a special branch of the police department, known as the Folly, which deals with matters of witchcraft, sorcery, and the supernatural. He’s an apprentice wizard, too, which comes in handy when dealing with cases that are decidedly weird. Take the murdered man who might be the latest victim of the Faceless Man, a powerful rogue magician; or take the old German textbook of magic—well, you can’t take that because someone already did, took it from its rightful home in Germany to England, where it turned up in the London police department’s recovered-goods repository (but was never reported stolen in the first place). Oh, and let’s not forget the weird goings-on at a housing estate with an odd past and, apparently, an even odder present. Honestly, this series is so much fun it really deserves an enormous audience on both sides of the pond. It’s a natural for grown-up Harry Potter devotees but also for urban-fantasy fans in general. --David Pitt
Review
"A low-income housing tower gone awry, an old enemy with a bone to pick...and a shocker of an ending—Broken Homes is a delight." —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times-bestselling author
"The prose is witty, the plot clever, and the characters incredibly likeable." —Time Out
"It's witty, fun, and full of vivid characters, and the plot twists will keep even seasoned mystery fans guessing." —Publishers Weekly
“The perfect blend of CSI and Harry Potter.” —io9
"This book is, at its heart, a police procedural with an overlay of urban fantasy elements. The voice is persuasive and funny as all get-out, and the reader is engaged with the narrative from the very first page. Aaronovitch has written a diverse cast of characters who all feel like real people with their own specific motivations. This book is simply wonderful." —RT Reviews (top pick)
"The most satisfying fantasy thriller to hit bookshelves in quite some time." —SFX Magazine
"The most entertaining book that I have read in such a long time.... It's very funny, it's very clever, it's very nicely written.... It's such a treat." —Nancy Pearl
"Aaronovitch makes the story sing, building momentum until the ending is literally breathless.” —SF Revu
"Aaronovitch has a very witty, casual voice, with a tendency toward sarcasm and humor, which is threaded throughout Broken Homes. And a few crazy plot twists will devastate and delight fans in equal measure." —RT Reviews
About the Author
Ben Aaronovitch was born in London in 1964 and had the kind of dull routine childhood that drives a man either to drink or to science fiction. He is a screenwriter, with early notable success on BBC's legendary Doctor Who, for which he wrote some episodes now widely regarded as classics, and which even he is quite fond of. After a decade of such work, he decided it was time to show the world what he could really do, and embarked on his first serious original novel. The result is Midnight Riot, the debut adventure of Peter Grant. He can be contacted at his website, http://www.the-folly.com/.
