Foxglove Summer Rivers of London Book 5

Truth be told, there's a lot I still don't know. My superior Nightingale, previously the last of England's wizardly governmental force, is trying to teach me proper schooling for a magician's apprentice. But even he doesn't have all the answers. Mostly I'm just a constable sworn to enforce the Queens Peace, with the occasional help from some unusual friends and a well-placed fire blast. With the new year, I have three main objectives, a) pass the detective exam so I can officially become a DC, b) work out what the hell my relationship with Lesley Mai, an old friend from the force and now fellow apprentice, is supposed to be, and most importantly, c) get through the year without destroying a major landmark.

Two out of three isnt bad, right?

A mutilated body in Crawley means another murderer is on the loose. The prime suspect is one Robert Weil, who may either be a common serial killer or an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man -- a man whose previous encounters I've barely survived. I've also got a case about a town planner going under a tube train and another about a stolen grimoire.

But then I get word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, on a housing estate designed by a nutter, built by charlatans, and inhabited by the truly desperate. If there's a connection to the Crawley case, I'll be entering some tricky waters of juristiction with the local river spirits. We have a prickly history, to say the least.

Just the typical day for a magician constable.

—Tor.com (for Broken Homes)

"Adding a supernatural element to the urban cop story seems to have hit the crossover-genre audience with a bang.... This is Harry Potter with hard-boiled wisecracks."

—Strange Horizons (for Broken Homes)

"It's witty, fun, and full of vivid characters, and the plot twists will keep even seasoned mystery fans guessing."

—Publishers Weekly (for series)

“The perfect blend of CSI and Harry Potter.”

—io9 (for series)

"The prose is witty, the plot clever, and the characters incredibly likeable."

—Time Out (for series)

"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) (for series)

"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 (for series)

"The most satisfying fantasy thriller to hit bookshelves in quite some time." —SFX Magazine

“The perfect blend of CSI and Harry Potter.” —io9

"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

"The prose is witty, the plot clever, and the characters incredibly likeable." —Time Out

"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." —Romantic Times (top pick)

"This fast, engrossing novel is enjoyable, cheerful, and accessible to new readers." —Publisher's Weekly (for Whispers Under Ground)

Its purely routine—Nightingale, Peters superior, thinks hell be done in less than a day. But Peters never been one to walk away from someone in trouble, so when nothing overtly magical turns up he volunteers his services to the local police, who need all the help they can get. But because the universe likes a joke as much as the next sadistic megalomaniac, Peter soon comes to realize that dark secrets underlie the picturesque fields and villages of the countryside and there might just be work for Britains most junior wizard after all.

Soon Peters in a vicious race against time, in a world where the boundaries between reality and fairy have never been less clear....