Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Spooky Spelunking Ahoy!

Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch

by Leave a Comment

…but before we dig in, let’s celebrate a Pulp reference! Well, our victim had a thirst for knowledge,” said Stephanopoulos. “He was a student at St. Martins College. Ha! Delightful. This series is chock full of geeky innuendo. Come for a magical rollick through London, but stay for the myriad Harry Potter, Terry Pratchett, Dr. Who, and Tolkien references- just to name a few. Somehow, despite many references to the fantasy that came before and continues to ripple around the world of Rivers of London, this […]

Another Fun Romp Through the Rivers of London

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

by Leave a Comment

Peter Grant is back, and he is diving further into the underbelly of London and the under-the-table world of magical police work. In the last outing, Midnight Riot, I was treated to a great deal of London’s history. There was another blast of history this time as well; it remains a primer on the foundations of the city and running commentary on the architectural abominations foisted upon the area since the ’50s. Were it not for all the gore and sex I’d say that ol Prince […]

Splashing into the Rivers of London

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

by 2 Comments

I’d seen this author and series pop up from time to time in CBR, and my curiosity finally overcame my aversion to jumping into a series. How could I continue to ignore the siren call of that terrific cover?! I am ever-so-glad that I went ahead and judged a book by its cover, because I thoroughly enjoyed this police-procedural-gone-off-the-rails. It had all of the inner workings of the police bureaucracy that I, for some reason  find strangely enthralling. The officers had all of the spark […]

“The victims of Jack the Ripper were never ‘just prostitutes’; they were daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, and lovers. They were women. They were human beings, and surely that in itself is enough.”

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

by 4 Comments

When I think back to my experiences as an undergrad history major I was often one of very few, if not the only, women in the room. Each course was the same; walk in, pick a position near the front of the room, but off to the side so as to not be considered aggressive but not be lost in the sea of testosterone, and hunker down to have to talk over those who would talk over you. I eventually got to a place of […]

Yer a wizard, Peter…but not that kind

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

by 1 Comment

The plot on this one sounds pretty unoriginal – rookie London cop sees ghosts – but it ended up taking a few unexpected turns. Peter Grant is a rookie, just about to be assigned to the most boring and paperwork-heavy department, when a ghost tells him he witnessed a murder. Peter checks into the ghost’s story (very open-minded of him, I thought) and finds out that maybe he’s not going crazy. Then he gets assigned to the mysterious Detective Nightingale, and learns all sorts of […]

Interesting idea, short on plot

The Walworth Beauty by Michele Roberts

by 1 Comment

A south London neighbourhood forms the nexus for this split narrative novel, with half the story set in the 1850s and the other half in 2011.  The 1850s portion follows Joseph, a middle class man who lives in the respectful north half of the river but researches the lives of the poor living in the rougher southern parts.  Joseph is writing reports for his boss, Mayhew, who is a real historical figure.  Madeleine is recently laid off lecturer who moves from central London to south […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo