A Bestselling Rivers of London Novella: A Peter Grant and the gang story
Published: 27th September 2017
Pages: 118
Featuring: Peter Grant, Abigail, Toby the Dog, Kumar Jaget, Beverley Brook, Nightingale
If you follow me on Instagram, you will know about my love of Ben Aaronovitch and his Rivers of London series. I have been totally addicted to this series for the best part of a year now and recently I was lucky enough to attend a book signing of his, for The Furthest Station, at Forbidden Planet in London.
Anyone who has not heard of the Rivers of London series, you should check out my Rivers of London page for a full list of all of the books in order. If you like a good mystery or detective story and you like a bit of fantasy and magic then this is the series for you. In fact, if you like architecture and the history of London then this is also the series for you. Basically, if you like a good story then this is the series for you. This novella features Peter’s niece, Abigail, quite prominently.
As you can tell, I’m a fan.
The Furthest Station Blurb
There’s something going bump on the Metropolitan line and Sergeant Jaget Kumar knows exactly who to call.
It’s PC Peter Grant’s specialty…
Only it’s more than going ‘bump’. Traumatized travelers have been reporting strange encounters on their morning commute, with strangely dressed people trying to deliver an urgent message.
Stranger still, despite calling the police themselves, within a few minutes the commuters have already forgotten the encounter – making the follow-up interviews rather difficult.
So with a little help from Abigail and Toby the ghost hunting dog, Peter and Jaget are heading out on a ghost hunting expedition.
Because finding the ghost and deciphering their urgent message might just be a matter of life and death.
The Furthest Station Review
This book is actually a novella. Like the novels, the graphic novels and the audiobooks, this novella moves on the story of Peter Grant and his hunt for the faceless man. It is a story heavily featuring Abigail and Seargent Jaget Kumar and less on the police procedural side of the books, something which we’ve not seen much before.
This book is predominantly set in and around the Chesham and Beaconsfield area (hence the title), somewhere I am very familiar with. One of the things which I love about Ben Aaronovitch’s books is that he paints a very accurate picture of the areas in which the books are set. Usually based in and around central London, this book differs by moving slightly further out.
I read The Furthest Station in just one weekend. It was a great book
I love this novella. I’m currently on my second read and it is just as good. Ben just has such a way with words, I mean that is obvious, he’s a successful author of over ten novels/novellas and another five graphic novels in the Rivers of London series alone. Not to mention his work on Dr. Who. He has this ability to make even a boring cement building sound interesting and inserts so much description and back history into his narrative.
Another thing I like about the series and this book, in particular, is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The Furthest Station is quite a dark story, but one which has a light-hearted nature. We also learn more about Abigail’s relationship with the foxes. It becomes clear to Peter that she has been convening with these creatures behind his back, but ultimately, they prove to have knowledge that will help the case and he is forced to see them as an asset.
You will also find a reference to the series ‘Being Human‘ when Abigail and Peter refer to the ghosts on the ‘Annie’ scale.
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