Ben Aaronovitch Follow

I really love the world building in this series. It's so engrained into the society, no one really bats an eye about magic. Well most usually roll their eyes like it's some annoying secret of London that they'd rather not have to deal with. Which is a hilarious way to address the public knowing about magic.

The love of music, mixed with the love of London, it's so engulfing. It feels like you're walking the streets with Peter. These books read like your sitting at a café, and Peter is telling you about his latest case. Which is fun, because Peters side thoughts are funny, and he tells it in such a laid back manner that you can't help but want to know more.

His character growth from the last book to this one is fascinating. He is like growing a heart I guess? Ha. I don't know how to explain it, he's still a pretty crass main character, but he is also becoming less of a solo act I guess. Caring about those around him, and doing what's right by them.

I love his approach to magic, wanting to do all the tests. It feels like the book has the old way on display as we learn about the world, and how Nightingale's era did things, but it also has the new way, which I hope is hinting to a new generation of magic users.

This case was intricate and took us all around London meeting interesting people-magical and not. I look forward to the plot lines that were opened up here for future books. It looks to be an exciting ride. I hope the cases having many layers to dissect continues, because it makes it more complex and harder to tell who the really villains are. I didn't suspect one of them in this book at all.

Lesley, oh Lesley. I don't want to say much here because I don't want to spoil any of her development but man. After our first run in with her in this book I was so hoping it was going to develop the way it did. Glad to see she will still be a key part of the series.

The Peter does seem to make a lot of HP comments, which feel a bit cheap, like it's leaning on that world building already there to explain how something works in this world. But I also get that if a lot of us discovered magic right now, we would probably be making the same comparisons.

If you love police procedural mysteries, that are funny but build a vast magical world, you'll love this series.

The audiobook is fantastic, they found the perfect voice for this story.

If you don't enjoy British humor, think shows like Black Books, then you probably aren't going to find this book that amusing, and maybe a little boring. It reads much like how I would imagine a Londoner would tell me a story if I met him in a pub. Much different than an American urban fantasy.

The main character, Peter, takes you though the story of how he discovered magic is real/first case in the same way you'd expect him to tell you the story about how he landed his first girlfriend. Rough around the edges, unconventional and crass. I enjoyed his laid back take on magic, and his lot in life.

This world has an array of characters that I look forward to getting to know better in future books. I love the way everyone knows magic/paranormal is real to some extent, and either still don't believe it, or roll their eyes at it as if it's childish. Makes it more realistic in the sense that it's very likely how people would act about it.

The author does a fantastic job at introducing the reader to a wide list of "this is real" situations in this world, without having a main character that is actually wanting to have a long chat about what the rules are or what is real. Peter remains skeptical until proven otherwise, pushes boundaries and experiments in a manner that is refreshingly normal.

The mystery is well laid out, kept me guessing all the way to the end. I am curious if the future books will be as expansive, or if this one was just so we could get to know all the major players in the world.

You'll love this book if you like to believe that magic is real, and follow a low brow male lead detective as he shakes up tradition.

Notes: HP Mentions, infant death.