Foxglove Summer

A Rivers of London Novel

By: Ben Aaronovitch

Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Peter Grant - cop, magical apprentice, and Londoner to the core - is being forced out of his comfort zone and into the English countryside. His latest case involves the disappearance of children in the small village of Herefordshire, and the local police are unwilling to admit there might be a supernatural element involved. Now Peter must deal with them, local river spirits, and the fact that all the shops close by 4 P.M.

©2014 Ben Aaronovitch (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Narrator is Amazing!

Peter Grant stories are always fascinating, unexpected, and fun. But more than just the story, I love Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's truly phenomenal narration! In every book in this series, I've loved listening to him and the variety of voices he can bring to life. This book in particular really shows off his immense range. Perfectly smoothly, he shifts from male to female, between ethnic groups, social classes, regions, ages, etc. Just astonishing. It really makes this stpry, as others in this series, a true pleasure to listen to - and not just once!

Great book to listen to... better than reading

I have the print version of this book but actually enjoyed the audible version better.

Return to form.

I think the narrator I'd particularly well suited to this main character. He is very good.

Wonderful narrator, good book

Kobna Holbrook-Smith as usual does a stellar job as narrator. The book itself is very good. although there are a few loose ends left that frustrated me.

The dynamic duo strike literary gold again!

If you liked the first three Rivers Of London Series, then this one won't disappoint.
Aaronovitch & Holdbrook-Smith go together like PB&J! Kobna is one of the narrators in the business. So get to listening or listen again!

I couldn't stop listening!

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is an excellent narrator! His voice is pitch perfect for DCI Peter Grant and the voice he does for Beverly Brook also fits her perfectly.

This episode is a real return to form. There is a lot at stake here with the two missing girls. I literally could not turn my ipod offer listening to this. It's very suspenseful. Also I love Peter Grant's unique take on the world and how he describes and explains what he sees and experiences.

Very entertaining!

I have listened to all of the books in the series and I have enjoyed every one immensly. Even though this one was every bit as good (or maybe even better) than the previous ones it is disheartening to know that I now have to wait another year for the next episode. So, my only complaint is that the many open story threads lead out of this episode makes the narrative feel more like a TV show. Not necessarily a bad thing if you only have to wait a week to satisfy your curiosity. But now...

The narrator is superb.

Great Story! Fabulous Narrator!

I adore Ben Aaronovich’ s books, Peter Grant’s world, wonderful storytelling. and, of course, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s glorious and skillful narration.

Starts slow but ends strong

I have to say I really enjoy this series. The excellent urban fantasy/police procedural mix works quite well. This genre appears to be growing fast and while there are a lot of similar series coming out, this series feels like the most realistic of the group. The author also maintains a good balance between having a stand alone story and advancing the meta-plot.
This is good as a lot of my favorite authors have been focusing on their overarching story to the detriment of the one you are currently reading. Good to see Mr. Aaronovitch has gotten it right.

The narrarator does his usual excellent job. He is definitely top notch and enhances the story with his reading style. He has a pretty good range and you can definitely tell each character apart from the reading alone.

I really only have two complaints with this novel. First, it starts off really slow. The first quarter of the book is almost devoid of any supernatural elements and advances at a snails pace, hence 4 stars for the story instead of 5. Fortunately it picks up after that and moves the story along quite nicely. My second complaint is minor and most may not agree but I am really getting to hate the music between chapters. If anyone from the publishing company is reading this please either get rid of it or rotate in some different music.

Those small issues aside, this is a great novel once it gets moving. Stick with it and you'll be glad you did. I really look foreward to the next book in this series.

What am I going to listen to now!?!

Any additional comments?

Peter Grant, the magician constable, is back and brilliant. In this installment, Peter goes to a small town to help find two missing girls. The typical cast of characters is not present in this book. With the exception of a few phone calls and text messages, Nightingale, Molly, and, of course, Leslie are largely absent. But Peter is still stumping along and taking huge curveballs in stride, and Beverly shows up to save him when he gets into trouble. If you aren't familiar with this series, give it a try.