Foxglove Summer, book review. (Ben Aaronovitch)

If you're in need of a book that has, Wizard police investigating child kidnapping in the heart of Herefordshire, whilst trying to track down invisible Unicorns that can only be seen at full moon, then this is the book for you.

If you're after a book which is fun, fast a bit bonkers but a damned good read, then this is also the book for you.

If you're into this series, you'll know that this is the first book set outside of London, and I have to admit, after four previous books, I think this was the right time to break from tradition, introduce new characters and get a bit of country air.

Nightingale's still there, well, he's on the other end of the phone, as is Peter's ex-partner, Lesley May, who texts him a few times throughout the book, keeping the narrative active.

Beverley Brook is here too, all naked and sexy, and she and Peter's relationship moves on a few notches, as they search for the two missing eleven year old girls who left their homes in the middle of the night and vanished.

There is country policing, country pubs and countryside, to deal with, and with much mirth and a little bit of help, Peter Grant gets the job done.

With an ex practitioner living virtually on the doorstep, the enquires start there, but on further investigation of the original statements, taken when the girls disappeared, P.C Grant soon uncovers that one of the girls has an invisible friend!

Of course, normally, invisible friends turn out to be imaginary, but of course this book isn't normal, this is wizard policing after all, and the invisible friend turns out to be a Unicorn from an alternate timeline, an invisible Unicorn with very powerful friends.

With a trip into the unknown, some clever policing and a large chunk of luck, the two girls are returned, and all seems right with the world; only one of the girls isn't quite who she used to be!
There is much to like about this book, and what with book 5.7 just out, (The Furthest Station), it's an ideal time to read it.
Three and a half stars.

Broken Homes, book review. (Ben Aaronovitch)

This is part four of Ben Aaronovitch’s magical journey with the Met Police, and it’s a good one.

There are strange things happening in London, especially south of the river.

Why would a normal man, run a red light and crash into another car? Why did that same man kill a woman and leave her body in a shallow grave? Why would someone leave a tube station, only to walk back down to the platform and jump in front of a train? And why was a very rare and expensive, magical book, pawned at a bookshop of the Charring Cross road, having been stolen from an ex-practitioner's house in leafy Hampstead?

With some diligence, a bit of luck and a hell of a lot of help, Peter Grant and Lesley May manage to advance their magic, whilst: trying to track down the faceless man, avoid being killed by a homicidal Russian, Varvara Sidorovna, police the Spring Court for the God and Goddess of the Thames, protect the monstrosity that is the grade two listed tower at Skygarden, (an ugly concrete sky scrapper built by an eminent architect who designed the building to harness large quantities of magic), and walk the dog.

Sky, the wood nymph, dies when her trees are attacked. Abigail is taken on as an ad hoc apprentice. Molly works her way through one of Jamie Oliver’s cook books. The book thief is discovered at his house, cooked from the inside! Nightingale rescues Peter and Lesley from certain death and the Skygarden tower blow up with Peter standing on the roof.

Quite a lot happens then, and all wrapped up in a little over three hundred and fifty pages.

Well, this book is worth reading for the farm scene alone; it is one of the best scenes so far in this entire series. Nightingale steams into an already tense situation, where Peter and Lesley have been overpowered, and are about to die a very uncomfortable death at the hands of the not so friendly Varvara, but with much magic and trickery, Nightingale manages to wreck the barn, destroy a bungalow, capture the villains, and . . .

No, I’m not going to spoil it for you. I’m not even going to tell you why Lesley shots Peter in the back at the end. I’ll just let you read it for yourselves.

Four and half well deserved stars for this one then. On to book five: Foxglove Summer.

Moon over Soho, book review. (Ben Aaronovitch)

Oh I do love a quick dip into books about magic policing, chimeras and sex!

It's quite apt I think, that out of the first four books, this one is the most racy because it's set in Soho, and Soho is, or used to be, synonymous with sin.

That aside, we have another wonderful jaunt with P.C. Peter Grant, through the pitfalls of policing in the capital, whilst trying to practice magic, learn Latin, keep the status quo between the King and Queen of the Thames, and last but not least, catch criminals.

There's an illegal practitioner of magic in London, three girls who died when a bomb dropped on a jazz club in World War II, renting an apartment off of Denmark Street, and there's The Pale Lady; she bites men's penises off with her vagina.

The death of a journalist, who had the misfortune of meeting the Pale Lady, leads P.C. Grant on a journey of jazz venues, where he finds a group of musicians whose lead saxophonist has recently passed on, suspiciously. It turns out he's not the only one; after further investigation, it appears that quite a few jazz musicians have met with untimely deaths recently.
There are also people being magically spliced together with animals.

So, during this escapade, P.C. Grant steals an Ambulance, running amok through the streets of the West End - just managing to save his wards life by dumping him in the river - helps his friend and fellow P.C., Lesley May, (who lost her face in book one), come to terms with her disfigurement, whilst keeping the families of the Thames happy enough to avoid a turf war.

Just like with Rivers of London, I enjoyed this book a lot, and it is in fact, the second time I've read it.

It is funny, fast paced, original and at around four hundred pages, just the right length.

A four star book then, and on to book three, Whispers Underground.

Magician has taken flight. (I've sent it out to the agents)

So, Magician, or Magica, as it might end up being called, has flown the nest.
Being the first book of a trilogy, I've had my work cut out, making sure I have no continuity issues, (book two is in what I like to call, the pre-production stage); in other words, I've only just finished the first draft, but bear with, I do work full time and I have a family to talk to once in a while, 'and pubs to visit', who said that?
But, Magician is done. Well, done to the degree that I think it punches in all the right places, cuddles you when you need it and gives you a jolly big slap around the face towards the end.
Magician, charts Charlie and Eve’s journey from their home town of Enfield, (where they go on a magical shopping spree), to Hertford, (where Eve listens, in a swimming pool), to the famous University City of Cambridge, (where they spend a few days hiding in a camper-van), to the harbour town of Brixham, (where they find Heather). [For any international readers: Enfield and Hertford are just north of London, whilst Brixham is on the south coast of England, in Devon].
Whilst being pursued, we experience the ups and downs of their relationship, the stresses and strains, as they get evermore isolated from their friends and family. We share their most intimate fears, marvel at Charlie’s magic, and rejoice at Eve’s most wonderful gift!

So, it's with the agents, I'm in their hands now; wish me luck cyber friends, 'cause I might need it.
Thanks of course, go to my long suffering, (yes I still live here, I'm in the back room editing again), wife, (a good cup of tea keeps me in her good books), my junior editors, Nathan and Verona, for ideas aplenty, and Sam from Texas, for all her editorial and grammatical advise last year.
I've not got any proper artwork for Magician yet - here's hoping I won't need it - but if I have to go down the self publish route, the picture to your left, might have something to do with it, so, let me know what you think.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, book review. (J.K. Rowling)

Okay, so what can one say about a story that everyone already knows?

Well, lots actually. 

Seen the film, don't need to read the book! Think again.

Don't get me wrong, I love the film, but there's just so much more intricate detail in the book, and once read (again), you really do start to understand the depth of the story. 

Take Dobby, everyone's favourite house-elf, not in the film but he and another house-elf named Winky, play a big part in getting Harry through the second task of the Triwizard tournament, and help an escaped criminal from Azkaban, bring about the rise of Lord Voldemort. 

Sirius Black appears briefly in a fireplace in the film, but in the book, Harry corresponds with him regularly and they meet up in Hogsmead with Ron and Hermione. 

Barty Crouch, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, (hardly in the book), mysteriously disappearing due to illness and then ends up being killed by his own son; who is then killed by a Dementor, (not in the film). Another character not in the film is Ludo Bagman, another ministry employee, (ex beater for the English Quidditch team), and then there's Rita Skeeter.

She's in the film of course, but in the film you don't really find out just how low she'll sink for her next sensational headline, but you do in the book.

Severus Snape is revealed as being a reformed Death Eater, Hermione catches Rita Skeeter in the act whilst trying to free house-elves, and Barty Crouch Jnr, gives a much more detailed explanation into Lord Voldemort's comeback. 

More detailed than the film then, more story, more twists and turns, more intrigue; this book is just so good you need to read it. It's long, so not a quick read, but you will not regret spending the time it will take, and it will leave you with a rich experience that sets you up perfectly for book five.

Harry Potter, the early years. Book reviews. (J.K Rowling)

So much has been said about these books, by so many, that you're probably wondering what there is to add. 

Well, lots really, both likes and dislikes.

I like the simplicity of the first two books; the fact that they are short and get to the crux of the matter, whilst adding elements to the overall story as a whole, is clever.

Take Dobby the house-elf for example. How can he save Harry Potter in book seven, if Harry doesn't save him in book two? Tom Riddles diary is another example, a Horcrux in book two, yet we don't really start learning about Horcruxes until book six; again, clever!

Another thing I like about the books over the films, is that they have more depth.

Harry and Ron get invited to Nearly Headless Nick's 500th death-day party in The Chamber of Secrets, and as a reader, we learn exactly what year the books are set. Again, very clever!

There's the last task at the end of the first book, the one set by Professor Snape, where Hermione helps Harry solve the riddle of the potions, so he can go on and find the philosophers stone; something you’ll never know about if you’ve only ever watch the film.

Then there’s Neville Longbottom, who features more in the books than any 'would be movie goer' might imagine; going into the forbidden forest at the end of book one instead of Ron is the best example, but there are others.

The third book was all shaping up to be another fabulous read, when time travel was introduced. Now I understand that Hermione had to adhere to a strict set of rules when using the time turner, but one has to question Voldemort’s lack of intellect when it comes to this.

We all know that he splits his soul into seven (well eight really) so as to survive any would be attack on his person, gathers an army of like-minded dark wizard supporters, before being defeated when his own spell rebounds and kills him.

But eleven years later and it's all kicking off again, three years after that and the Dark Wizard is back, but what does he do? The greatest wizard of all time! He spends the next few years chasing Harry, using ever more elaborate schemes to try and trap and kill the boy, when all he really needs to do, is get a time turner, go back to the beginning, and get a mate to kill him instead.

That would of course make for a shit book, but come on! If you introduce time travel, you've got to be prepared to accept that anything can happen.

Still love the book through, just thought it was the weakest of the three.                                     
So, four and a half stars for book one, four and a half for book two, but only four for book three.