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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoy this series, but at the same time... I don't.
Thoughts later. Maybe.
Thoughts later. Maybe.
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
I now have a YouTube channel that I run with my brother, called 'The Brothers Gwynne'. Check it out - The Brothers Gwynne
Broken Homes follows the same template as the previous three stories in this series. So, it is interesting, funny and engaging, with a new crime story and thread with the same characters.
Broken Homes had another cleverly constructed case that allowed growth and development of character. But, whilst I think that momentum dropped a bit in the middle, so it was a bit flat for a while, that ending! What a twist. Best ending to the series so far in my opinion.
As this is the fourth instalment in the series. there is not much I can say without spoilers, so I will keep this short. The central characters are being explored more and more, with Peter Grant still acting as a very good perspective to view the world from. But the plot was weaker in my opinion, which meant that character development, the introducing of new figures, and the tension was just lacking, until the last phase of the story.
Despite some of these aspects that diminished my enjoyment at times, it was a really great ending, and still an enjoyable read. So, I will be continuing with this series, but I do not know when.
3.25/5 STARS
Broken Homes follows the same template as the previous three stories in this series. So, it is interesting, funny and engaging, with a new crime story and thread with the same characters.
Broken Homes had another cleverly constructed case that allowed growth and development of character. But, whilst I think that momentum dropped a bit in the middle, so it was a bit flat for a while, that ending! What a twist. Best ending to the series so far in my opinion.
As this is the fourth instalment in the series. there is not much I can say without spoilers, so I will keep this short. The central characters are being explored more and more, with Peter Grant still acting as a very good perspective to view the world from. But the plot was weaker in my opinion, which meant that character development, the introducing of new figures, and the tension was just lacking, until the last phase of the story.
Despite some of these aspects that diminished my enjoyment at times, it was a really great ending, and still an enjoyable read. So, I will be continuing with this series, but I do not know when.
3.25/5 STARS
"sociological fantasy is my genre"
I had SO MUCH FUN with the architectural and social history talked about in this book. It felt like Peter was having a great time with everything he was talking about, and unlike my usual pleasant side-eye at how much he remembers from elementary school projects, digging into the architectural history of London community housing seemed like an actual area of expertise.
I also liked the mystery, and I liked hanging out with Beverly for an entire book again.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith continues to be a truly stellar, a-list narrator.
I think Broken Homes is a little bit-- less self-contained than some of the other books, and it feels like it's leading up to some greater climax further down the road, but it still might be my favorite so far of the series.
I had SO MUCH FUN with the architectural and social history talked about in this book. It felt like Peter was having a great time with everything he was talking about, and unlike my usual pleasant side-eye at how much he remembers from elementary school projects, digging into the architectural history of London community housing seemed like an actual area of expertise.
I also liked the mystery, and I liked hanging out with Beverly for an entire book again.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith continues to be a truly stellar, a-list narrator.
I think Broken Homes is a little bit-- less self-contained than some of the other books, and it feels like it's leading up to some greater climax further down the road, but it still might be my favorite so far of the series.
I like the authors humorous style and I also like the whole idea of cops being magicians. So maybe I will at some point embark on Peter Grant number one. But plunching into this series at #4 is not recommendable.
My rating for this book is low and possibly has something to do with the fact that I have not read the other books on Peter Grant. But not only that. There are a lot of characters and relations in this book that are not introduced until late in their appearance. I find myself asking numerous times 'what? who is that? what is that? '.
In my view a bit unnecessary: I think, e.g. that Abigail is Peters younger sister. But on p. 168 I am still not sure. There are ways in which a writer can disambiguate such issues without boring a reader who already knows. Another example is the court of the Godess of the river Thames - the event is talked about for at least 25 pages without explanation, and only on p 135 there is a small disambiguating passage starting with ' it comes as a surprise to many that the rivers of London have their godesses'. I imagine these 'late' explanations are on purpose, but to me, they come too late. Also, during reading, different events appear unrelated to others in the book, and so the story line seems messy. Moreover, the author uses a lot of acronyms, most are explained but there are so many that it is hard to keep track. Finally, as others have pointed out, if you are not a Brit or a Londoner, some scenes or persons are hard to grasp or imagine. There's of course the possibility of finding these out (google) but I would like to be able to read a book without having to.
All of these things make it (for me) impossible to read the book and enjoy it - instead it feels like too much work. So therefore, I gave up on it, half ways, which is something that happens to me very seldomly.
My rating for this book is low and possibly has something to do with the fact that I have not read the other books on Peter Grant. But not only that. There are a lot of characters and relations in this book that are not introduced until late in their appearance. I find myself asking numerous times 'what? who is that? what is that? '.
In my view a bit unnecessary: I think, e.g. that Abigail is Peters younger sister. But on p. 168 I am still not sure. There are ways in which a writer can disambiguate such issues without boring a reader who already knows. Another example is the court of the Godess of the river Thames - the event is talked about for at least 25 pages without explanation, and only on p 135 there is a small disambiguating passage starting with ' it comes as a surprise to many that the rivers of London have their godesses'. I imagine these 'late' explanations are on purpose, but to me, they come too late. Also, during reading, different events appear unrelated to others in the book, and so the story line seems messy. Moreover, the author uses a lot of acronyms, most are explained but there are so many that it is hard to keep track. Finally, as others have pointed out, if you are not a Brit or a Londoner, some scenes or persons are hard to grasp or imagine. There's of course the possibility of finding these out (google) but I would like to be able to read a book without having to.
All of these things make it (for me) impossible to read the book and enjoy it - instead it feels like too much work. So therefore, I gave up on it, half ways, which is something that happens to me very seldomly.
That's right. 5 stars. 'Cause any small quibbles about pacing or characterization or what-have-you in no way taints the full-monty-awesomeness of modern-day, stupid regs and psychological claptrap and all, London Policing by constable Peter Grant.
Not to mention the well-formulated sorceror bits.
Not to mention the emotionally-charged but we're not talking about the elephant in the room interactions with his face-disfigured partner Lesley, nor the obvious blockheadedness of Peter when it comes to people who care for him such as the aforementioned Lesley, the river spirit Beverley, etc.
Not to mention the incredibly visually real, detailed architecture bits based on real german architects and their socio-political historical impact on the poor workers of London.
Or who could forget the Nazi witchhunter Russian spies?
And a surprise at the end that was a sucker-punch out of left field.
Peter and Lesley are still after the Faceless Man in this fourth book in the series. I highly recommend you NOT read them out of order. Several disparate-seeming murders and an architectural monstrosity congeal into a case they know their enemy is involved with, but can't quite pin down.
Excellent police procedure, cool magic, excellent city and architectural details. This series just gets better and better. You even get Peter's guv'nor, Nightengale, delivering a massive whomping on one of the Faceless Man's cronies. What more could you ask for?
Not to mention the well-formulated sorceror bits.
Not to mention the emotionally-charged but we're not talking about the elephant in the room interactions with his face-disfigured partner Lesley, nor the obvious blockheadedness of Peter when it comes to people who care for him such as the aforementioned Lesley, the river spirit Beverley, etc.
Not to mention the incredibly visually real, detailed architecture bits based on real german architects and their socio-political historical impact on the poor workers of London.
Or who could forget the Nazi witchhunter Russian spies?
And a surprise at the end that was a sucker-punch out of left field.
Peter and Lesley are still after the Faceless Man in this fourth book in the series. I highly recommend you NOT read them out of order. Several disparate-seeming murders and an architectural monstrosity congeal into a case they know their enemy is involved with, but can't quite pin down.
Excellent police procedure, cool magic, excellent city and architectural details. This series just gets better and better. You even get Peter's guv'nor, Nightengale, delivering a massive whomping on one of the Faceless Man's cronies. What more could you ask for?
Loveable characters:
Yes
Absolutely soared through this one! Really loved the pacing here. Fabulous character development - and that twist ending!! There's so much building up right now and I can't wait to see where it'll lead.