Lies Sleeping is the latest instalment in Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant series of magical murder mysteries, set in London and featuring a London Metropolitan police force that really doesn’t want to have to admit that magic exists. Lies Sleeping is the seventh full-length novel in a series that also encompasses several graphic novels and at least one novella. Peter Grant’s London has depth, breadth, and a complex array of recurring characters, and every one of the novels can be relied on to start with a bang.
I know I read The Hanging Tree, the previous novel in the sequence, but I have only the faintest recollection of any of its events. While Lies Sleeping is unlikely to make for an easy entry-point to the series—the complex array of recurring characters makes it much more advisable to start at the beginning, with Rivers of London (released in the U.S. as Midnight Riot)—it’s remarkably forgiving to my fuzziness on recent details. Lies Sleeping rapidly and efficiently brings the reader up to date on the doings of now-Detective Constable Peter Grant, apprentice wizard, and his boss Detective Inspector Thomas Nightingale, actual wizard.
In short order, we learn that the individual known as the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, now has an identity that’s known to the police. Grant and Nightingale, and a large task force including DC Sahra Guleed, Grant’s sometime investigative partner, is on the trail of his possible known associates, to try to track him down.
Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant has a distinctive voice, one that makes even the bureaucracy of regular police work engaging and compelling. (It also makes Grant’s relationship with Beverly “Bev” Brook, one of the daughters of Mama Thames and herself a personification of one of the rivers of London, very entertaining.) But amidst the everyday legwork of tracking a dangerous murderer, Grant and his colleagues start uncovering signs that the Faceless Man isn’t, in fact, on the run. The Faceless Man might instead be carrying out a plan that will win him great power and irrevocably change the shape of London.
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Lies Sleeping
Grant becomes part of a perilous game of cat and mouse, unsure whether he can trust the hints dropped to him by his former friend and colleague Lesley May—who betrayed him and everything he thought she believed, but who seems to want to keep him alive. With City lawyers engaged in goat-sacrificing rituals, magically active bells, and a series of thefts from archaeological sites around London, Grant has a puzzle on his hands. And then he falls into the Faceless Man’s hands himself…
Aaronovitch writes a tense, compelling police procedural with magic. As usual, Grant’s voice is striking, and the action gripping and intense. But while Lies Sleeping is generally well-paced, the pacing slacks off towards the climax, when Grant is temporarily taken out of play by his adversaries. This diminution of forward momentum at a crucial moment makes the climactic scenes feel somewhat rushed, a hasty—if explosive—conclusion to a dependably enjoyable story.
Let’s be honest: If you’ve read Aaronovitch’s other Peter Grant novels, you probably already know if you want to read Lies Sleeping. It’s a solid series novel, with few major surprises on either the character or plot development front—though I’m very fond of Guleed, and I appreciate Lies Sleeping‘s gestures towards the need for treating mental health issues and job-trauma-related stress. And one of the things I enjoy about this series is that Grant’s actions have consequences—he’s actually accountable to the rules and regulations of regular policing, even if he’s one of only two wizards in the Met’s employ.
I enjoyed Lies Sleeping. I fully expect to enjoy the next of Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant novels, when it comes out: they’re reliably entertaining.
Lies Sleeping is available from DAW Books on November 20th.
Liz Bourke is a cranky queer person who reads books. She holds a Ph.D in Classics from Trinity College, Dublin. Her first book, Sleeping With Monsters, a collection of reviews and criticism, was published in 2017 by Aqueduct Press. It was a finalist for the 2018 Locus Awards and was nominated for a 2018 Hugo Award in Best Related Work. Find her at her blog, where she’s been known to talk about even more books thanks to her Patreon supporters. Or find her at her Twitter. She supports the work of the Irish Refugee Council, the Transgender Equality Network Ireland, and the Abortion Rights Campaign.
Pre-ordered, but I want to give a recommendation for the outstanding performance of Kobna Holbrook-Smith who voices the audible versions. A voice like honey and he manages all the accents, dialects, and unique style of each character. Reading the book and then listening brings out the dry wit of these books really well for me.
I strongly second the recommendation of the audio books, for the reasons stated. They’re fabulous.
You are the third person who has said to me that in the last two days, with one of my friends who couldn’t even remember the last third of that book and another thinking that the previous book was Broken Homes. I wonder what it is that has made The Hanging Tree (and Foxglove Summer) so forgettable?
I would like to also highly recommend the audiobooks. It’s probably one of the best performed audiobooks I’ve listened to and I’ve listened to a lot of them.
I feel like this series very favorably compares to The Dresden Files.
Just finished reading it this evening. Blimey that was good. Really digging how Aaronovitvch is weaving this narrativve between the novels and graphics series.
Can we have the next book now please? pretty please?
Nice review!
A friend of mine complained about a whole bunch of spelling mistakes and missing words with the book. Did you/anyone notice any of that?
Ever notice how the foreign market covers show everyone carrying pistols? They didn’t get cleared to carry TASERs until like book three or something.
@5
seconded!
@6
I saw three typos, but nothing to throw you off. Need to read the book again slowly, now that I know what happens.
@6
I read the UK kindle edition and didn’t notice any obvious typos
@6 I don’t remember missing words, but there was at least one place where I was sure the wrong name was used. Made me think someone didn’t do a good job of editing. But the story was enjoyable, and I’m ready for the next one whenever it’s ready.
@rak (6)
The US edition, at least, is really bad in that respect. Sometimes there are multiple typos per page, and there are a lot of minor grammatical errors that don’t seem to be intentional. I don’t know if the publication was extremely rushed, if they didn’t want to pay for proper copy editing, or what, but it was very noticeable to me.
Also, apparently there is a “handwritten” note on the file at the beginning of the book which only seems to be present in some editions–and which seems like an important bit of foreshadowing. It’s supposedly in the UK print edition but not the ebook, and it’s not in my US book either.