Released: 15th November 2018
Genre: Fantasy, Crime
Number of Pages: 404
The adventures and investigations of Constable Peter Grant continue in Lies Sleeping, another solid and enjoyable read that marks the seventh entry in Ben Aaronovitch’s hybrid series of magic against a realistic backdrop.
The previous tale, The Hanging Tree, ended on quite a cliff-hanger with Grant’s partner Lesley having betrayed him to work for the Faceless Man, now unmasked as Martin Chorley. The latter has some dark plans for the city of London and the officer, along with his colleagues Nightingale, Seawoll, Guleed and Stephanapoulos, set out to apprehend him. Suspected bombs disguised as bells, plots against river Goddesses and mythical items for rituals all play a role as the grand conspiracies take on a greater scale. Having built up from previous releases, the book maintains its balance of Peter Grant’s police work placed against the exploits of those closest to him. All the little humorous oddities are also intact as well, the highlight of which this time around being some talking foxes with a love for crisp snacks.
The action beats are kept few and far between but when things do heat up, things get dicey. Aaronovitch once again conveys these sequences with great visualisation and deft summaries. Peter’s interactions with Lesley throughout are particularly unpredictable; clearly, she’s hiding something and this new plot thread has the right amount of mystery to make it interesting for readers who have been following the narrative from the beginning. The intrigue is sustained well for the most part, although there is a moment in the latter half of the book where Peter is momentarily imprisoned by the antagonists, an event that takes up a couple of chapters and slows things down a fair bit. Be that as it may, Peter’s first person perspective breaks up these slower moments with the same witty flair.
Recommended?
YES: Lies Sleeping still provides the strong wit and fantastical elements that have made the series popular. Apart from a slower spell before the final act, the novel is just as entertaining as others in the series, the characters continuing to grow and take on more expansive roles in the narrative. With that said, you’ll be lost if you don’t start from the beginning with the original Rivers of London.