Review by yvo_about_books - Stone and Sky

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yvo_about_books 's review for:

Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch

3.0

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Finished reading: June 14th 2025

"Police Scotland had gone for an all-black uniform design, probably aiming for some of that Scandinavian chic, but had hit low-budget YA dystopia instead."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and DAW in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I remember having SUCH a great time when I first discovered the Rivers Of London books, and this is probably one of the series I own most physical copies of. There is just something about this blend of urban fantasy, thriller and humor that makes for a fantastic bookish cocktail, and I've been following the series for years. That said, the most recent sequels and short stories haven't quite measured up to the first couple of books... But book nine seemed to be on the right track again, so I decided to still read Stone And Sky to see if the upward trend would hold. Unfortunately, this didn't quite end up being the case, and this series might just have run its course for me.

So, Stone And Sky. Before I continue, I have to repeat that this is definitely a series to read in order, because you won't have a clue what is going on otherwise. There is a big cast of characters and numerous references to previous books, and you will also be missing out on key character development and dynamics... Don't say I haven't warned you. This newest sequel will bring you a mix of old and new characters as well as a new magically touched case to investigate; it seems like Peter can't even go on vacation without trouble finding him, but that doesn't come as a real surprise of course.

Book number ten is different than the first nine sequels in the sense that the setting switches to Scotland instead of the usual London backdrop. Nothing wrong with that, and I quite liked the descriptions of the Scottish setting and how it actually played an active role in the plot. I had mixed thoughts about the incorporation of many Scottish phrases and the use of local dialect in the dialogues though... While authentic (something I love as a philologist), I also struggled considerably to understand what they were saying at times. This might just be a consequence of being a non-native English speaker, but I can imagine anyone not familiar with the Scottish dialect struggling.

The plot itself is interesting enough and it had plenty of twists and turns, although I do wish there would have been more focus on the concept of the parallel worlds and other magical aspects of the story. I also wasn't as big of a fan of Abigail's POV and just how present she was in the plot. Sure, I can't deny that I LOVE the talking foxes, but her POV mainly read like a YA romance/coming of age novel and that isn't exactly my cup of tea. I also wasn't a fan of the tone of the writing in her chapters; I guess that it is ment to portray how teenagers speak now, but it was both highly annoying and at times not all that easy to understand.

With Peter, Nightingale and Abigail mixing business with pleasure during their holiday in Scotland and the fact that they came with the whole family, this means that there are multiple angles and storylines to be discovered along the way. We mainly stay with Peter and Abigail though, and I kind of missed not seeing more of Nightingale. Peter's POV is just as great as always, and I enjoyed both seeing him with Beverley and the twins as well as following him as he starts investigating the new case. His humor is just as brilliant as always, and he is one of the main reasons I've kept reading this series as long as I did.

In short, there were elements I enjoyed in Stone And Sky, but as a whole I don't think this sequel lives up to the quality of the first books of this series. Part of this probably had to do with the fact that Abigail plays a big role in this book, and her chapters deviated from the usual formula... The talking foxes were brilliant, but the YA romance feel not so much. I'm starting to suspect that this series simply has run its course for me, and I'm not sure if I will continue reading it considering the fact that the most recent sequels just haven't quite hit the mark for me.

Content Warnings