Mixed Pickles - the Book log 2012

Don't take for Granted

The second book in the Peter Grant series, and it builds nicely on the first ("Rivers of London").  Our hero is a rookie policeman, and rookie wizard.  Hold on to your Hogwarts induced heavings, he's no Harry P.    Son of a West Indian jazz man, barely able to conjure a single fireball without blowing the place up, Peter G has to rely on his wits and his ability to sense the presence of magic to solve this one, a nasty tale of jazz men being murdered by... but that would be telling.

New readers start here

The story moves at a hectic pace, and there are colourful characters aplenty mixed in with some great invention (Larry the Lark, the living fortune-telling machine is one to remember).  More widely read people than me might be able to detect influences, but to me Aaronovitch is an original - light-hearted and black-hearted at one and the same time, full og plot and full of wit.  Looking forward to the next one.

Unputdownability : I think I'll go to bed early and do some reading...