Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

Kindle Edition

Published November 2014

Review by N. E. White.

Foxglove Summer is the fifth book in the Peter Grant series written by Ben Aaronovitch.

Unlike the previous four novels set in London proper, this tale takes us to the English countryside where we get to learn of forest management and ecology, watershed interactions, and that unicorns in this world are nothing like My Little Pony™. In Foxglove Summer, they are more likely to skewer you than offer a ride.

Peter Grant, our self-effacing, magic-wielding constable, is lured to Rushpool, a small town north of London, to investigate the disappearance of two pre-teen girls. His first stop is at the local wizard’s lair, but that proves a dead-end. Though it isn’t a failed trip as Peter gets a chance to learn about a local legend, and meet another wizard other than his supervisor, Nightingale. He also gets introduced to the local wizard’s daughter who existence hints at the blend of fey, magic, nature, and humanity.

But just because it seems this case doesn’t have any ‘weird shit’ going on, Peter stays in town anyway, offering the local nick his assistance. He’s assigned to help liaison with the missing kids’ parents, and this is where the weird shit starts.

The parents are not telling the entire truth.

After careful investigation through field and forest, Peter discovers there is indeed something amiss (and not just with strange men roaming the countryside at night). He creates some ingenious magic bait using disposable cell phones and with the help of a local constable and Beverly Brook (a river goddess and his girlfriend), he actually finds the girls.

Peter is hailed as a hero and he gets a bit of action with Beverly that involves some interesting river antics, but that just seems the beginning of the mystery. We still do not know who took the girls and why. He doesn’t give up, of course, and we soon learn there’s more to this earth than meets the eye. Though the ending felt rushed, the author brings the story to a close with a fun rescue.

The series overarching story (the Faceless man and his quest for magical domination) is tucked way back in this book. Peter doesn’t interact much with Nightingale or Lesley (his partner turned traitor) very much, though she does start to text him specifically about the case he’s working on. Headquarter techies try to pin down her whereabouts, but she’s one step ahead of them. Though, I like to think so is Peter.

In this book, he’s really coming into his own. His magic abilities and his understanding of his magic is increasing, and he seems to be gaining more and more allies, who I am sure he’ll be calling upon once the weird shit hits the fan.

My favorite thing about reading this series is the ease at which the author brings Peter to life. I feel like I know Peter and could easily sit down at a pub with him and talk shop about architecture, ecology, or magic. He’s just such a great character to follow, I’d go anywhere with him.

Mr. Aaronovitch also has a great way with language and culture. There are many fun quotes throughout the book that put a smirk to my face. Here are some examples:

“From then on, it was even twistier B-roads through a country so photgenically rural that I half expected to meet Bilbo Baggins around the next corner – providing he’d taken to driving a Nissan Micra.”

― Ben Aaronovitch, Foxglove Summer

“Carnivorous unicorns, I thought.”

― Ben Aaronovitch, Foxglove Summer

“I took the swab using the collection kit that I’d borrowed from Dominic who, I realized, had left the Boy Scout scale behind and was now verging on Batman levels of crazy preparedness.”

― Ben Aaronovitch, Foxglove Summer

Foxglove Summer is probably my favorite from this series. I really enjoyed how the author wove the historic and ecological background of the area into the story and I learned something new about, well, foxglove (a plant). A very satisfying and enjoyable read that I highly recommend. If you haven’t picked up the first in this series, Rivers of London (or Midnight Riot in the U.S.), please do and catch up with the rest of us. You won’t regret it.

SFFWorld.com reviews of the first four books here:

N.E. White, February, 2015.