Book Review: Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch

A great follow up to The Hanging Tree, Lies Sleeping continues to follow Peter Grant and his search to hunt down and thwart the plans of The Faceless Man and his apprentice while getting himself mixed up in the demi-monde world, which this time involves bells, along the way. 

As I said when reviewing The Hanging Tree, I’ve found these novels to get better and better as they progress as the world is now so well established, and the characters are all charismatic and varied. In particular, this wouldn’t work if Peter himself wasn’t so damn likeable. He’s flawed - always trying to be the ‘do gooder’, likes the sound of his own voice, far too inquisitive to the point of verging on annoying...yet he’s down to earth, the every man of the Folly to counterbalance the extremes that are Nightingale and his associates. It helps that I’m also extremely fond of Beverley too. Goddess, girlfriend, and maybe more? I love all the Rivers, although we seem to see Tyburn and Bev the most, and the introduction of Walbrook here added another layer to their mythology. 

The world building and mythology is convoluted, and the writing style at times can get overly bogged down in descriptions and facts about London/buildings/literally anything. But I’ve come to expect this now of Aaronovitch, and there’s a certain charm in it that I find quite endearing. Yes, it can get complicated trying to decipher who or what various members of the demi-monde are, and what magic is, but we’re seven books in now and I feel like I have a good outline of this world and the creatures who inhabit it. We’re learning along with Peter, and it’s a fun ride. 

This expanded on the plot from The Hanging Tree well, delving deeper into the ultimate plan of The Faceless Man. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of his world and his weird cat creatures and pale ladies and how/why they’re working for him - but this small mystery that remains only adds to his air of menace.

I really hope there isn’t a long wait before the next installment, because the fast pace of this coupled with an exciting ending has just left me wanting more.