387 pages
English language
Published Jan. 1, 2016
Suspicious deaths are not usually the concern of PC Peter Grant or the Folly, even when they happen at an exclusive party in one of the most expensive apartment blocks in London. But Lady Ty's daughter was there, and Peter owes Lady Ty a favour. Plunged into the alien world of the super-rich, where the basements are bigger than the house and dangerous, arcane items are bought and sold on the open market, a sensible young copper would keep his head down and his nose clean. But this is Peter Grant we're talking about.
He's been given an unparalleled opportunity to alienate old friends and create new enemies at the point where the world of magic and that of privilege intersect. Assuming he survives the week . . .
Another really solid addition to the Rivers of London series with a healthy pile of well written magical shootouts thrown into a tightly plotted police investigation thriller. I’m still loving the wry first person narration and all of his nerdy cultural references. All of the characters are great.
Spoiler Alert: The identity of The Faceless Man is revealed in this chapter, and it’s awesome!
It’s interesting to me that where these books begin and where they end are such different places. Peter starts this adventure with the investigation of a drug overdose; his investigation spurred by Lady Ty, whose daughter was witness to and possibly involved in the overdose.
We end with the reveal of The Faceless Man’s identity and a couple of epic battles, one mostly “off-camera” between Nightingale and said Faceless Man, the other involving Peter, Leslie, and the Faceless Man.
I love the introduction of the new magical factions, the witches and the Virginia Gentlemen, and I look forward to their involvement in future novels. And, I’m very interested to know why we have the return of the ghost?, Mr. Punch.
This is clearly a turning point in the story of The Faceless Man and …
Spoiler Alert: The identity of The Faceless Man is revealed in this chapter, and it’s awesome!
It’s interesting to me that where these books begin and where they end are such different places. Peter starts this adventure with the investigation of a drug overdose; his investigation spurred by Lady Ty, whose daughter was witness to and possibly involved in the overdose.
We end with the reveal of The Faceless Man’s identity and a couple of epic battles, one mostly “off-camera” between Nightingale and said Faceless Man, the other involving Peter, Leslie, and the Faceless Man.
I love the introduction of the new magical factions, the witches and the Virginia Gentlemen, and I look forward to their involvement in future novels. And, I’m very interested to know why we have the return of the ghost?, Mr. Punch.
This is clearly a turning point in the story of The Faceless Man and Leslie May. I’m glad I don’t have to wait to read the next book.
A nice one. Darker, more action, higher stakes than the last book and back on more familiar ground. The metaplot really gets going here!
It seems that every other book finds us returning to the overlying story arc of the Faceless Man against the Folly. The books that don't deal with him tend to not interest me as much, and so I was heartened by a return to it. In fact, this time we actually find out who the Faceless Man is, in a plot that initially centers on a drug-related death of a posh teenager that somehow involves the posh teenage daughter of super-posh Lady Tyburn, one of the river goddesses of London.
The case itself is not super-exciting, but I like the revelations that we receive, and this feeling how all the things from the all previous books are coming together. The Peter Grant books and The Checquy Files continue to be my absolutely favorite urban-fantasy series.
I was so hesitant to pick this up because I pre-ordered it, then I waited forever, and the date of release kept getting pushed back and back that I just sort of gave up. That was a mistake.
The book was awesome, I really liked it, set around places I know and have been to before in london (which is always some of the appeal), and with the classic police procedural drama combined with urban fantasy I've come to love from the other books.
The only thing I feel made this book miss a star is that I didn't feel it dug into any new area of the "weird stuff" going on in london in any detail like the others did. Still it was interesting and fun and what I was looking for when I picked it up.
Also one of the major characters is trans, which is awesome.
