Book Review: The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch

The Hanging Tree
Author: Ben Aaronovitch
Series: Peter Grant (Book 6)
Publication: DAW; Reissue edition (January 31, 2017)

Description: Suspicious deaths are not usually the concern of Police Constable Peter Grant or the Folly—London’s police department for supernatural cases—even when they happen at an exclusive party in one of the flats of the most expensive apartment blocks in London. But the daughter of Lady Ty, influential goddess of the Tyburn river, was there, and Peter owes Lady Ty a favor.

Plunged into the alien world of the super-rich, where the basements are bigger than the houses, where the law is something bought and sold on the open market, a sensible young copper would keep his head down and his nose clean.

But this is Peter Grant we’re talking about.

He’s been given an unparalleled opportunity to alienate old friends and create new enemies at the point where the world of magic and that of privilege intersect. Assuming he survives the week…

My Thoughts: This sixth Peter Grant novel begins with Lady Ty calling in a favor. It seems that her daughter was at a party filled with drugs where a young friend of hers died from an overdose. Lady Ty wants Peter to make it go away and to keep his involvement secret from Nightingale. Naturally, Peter's first phone call is to Nightingale and his next to the police to find out what is going on.

A group of young people from one of the neighboring high class schools has broken in to a posh apartment to have a party complete with illegal drugs which results in the death of seventeen-year-old Christina Chorley. Beyond Lady Ty's daughter Olivia's involvement, it isn't long before the case gets even more complex and more magical.

As Peter and Guleed investigate connections are made to a long-missing magical book written by Isaac Newton and the number of people who would like to get hold of it. There are also links to the Faceless Man that Peter and Nightingale have been chasing for the whole series which culminate in them actually finding out who the Faceless Man is.

I liked that we learn about more groups of practitioners than Peter or even Nightingale knew about. I especially liked meeting Lady Helena and her daughter Caroline who are also heirs of Isaac Newton's tradition but who branched off when magic became a boys only club. The American practitioners were also a new set of characters.

This story was entertaining as I can never get enough of Peter's determination and snark. I like the way his relationship with Beverly is progressing.

Favorite Quote:

One Hyde Park squatted next to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel like a stack of office furniture, with all the elegance and charm of the inside of a photocopier. Albeit a brand new photocopier that doubled as a fax and document scanner. Now, I have - as Beverly says - views about architecture.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.