In the fifth of his bestselling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London - to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London you can't take the London out of the copper.
Rating: 3.5/5
Review:
Written in first person point of view by Ben Aaronovitch, the fifth installment of the Peter Grant series was, although unique, somehow unimpressive and vaguely disappointing. In spite of the unique plot line and the masterfully subtle diversity, it did not seem to draw in the reader (this could obviously differ from reader to reader), and the main character was quite simply not likable In all honesty, there was too much going on in the story and it may have been too much to handle. As a Peter Grant series reader, one would expect much more from Foxglove Summer.
An aspect that did not disappoint was the diversity. Foxglove Summer was not your generic 'every single character is white except for maybe that one side character that is not significant in any way whatsoever' story. In fact, the main character is black. Not only that, but there was a Muslim doctor, and strong female characters. The impressive thing about this, however, is that it is done in a way where it isn't abnormal to have these characters as some of your main personalities. Aaronovitch managed to expertly represent certain groups that tend to be forgotten with the majority of writers in a surprisingly subtle and appropriate manner.
Aside from its diversity, Foxglove Summer succeeded to a certain extent in having a unique story line. The reader quite simply had no idea what was going to happen next. At times, there was too much going on and at times, it was not clear as to how anything lead up to certain events. But as a complete whole, everything made sense, the main conflict was resolved (in a writer's sense), and in the end, the reader got their expected share of magic and action.
Something that is worth noting and appreciating is the amount of knowledge the author had about what he was writing. In the acknowledgements section, it is shown that Aaronovitch had first hand practiced experts he was consulting in the matters he was writing about (as in police matters and countryside affairs). (It is also shown in his writing by the way).
Although this Foxglove Summer may not be everyone's cup of tea, it is certainly worth reading if you are into action, complicated plots, and amazing representation.
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