Read December 2023 Recommended for fans of Aaronovitch ★ ★ ★ 1/2 It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the Peter Grant series and consider the audio versions some of the best books I've ever enjoyed. Winter's Gifts is the latest novella entry into the series and centers on an ancillary character, American FBI Agent Kimberly Reynolds ("oooooh"), first introduced in Whispers Under Ground. Set primarily in my home state of Wisconsin, it was an interesting look at culture and local myths through outsider perspective that mostly succeeded.
A retired special investigator calls the FBI tipline and eventually Reynolds is part of the investigation. She heads off into the 'Nort'Woods,' as we say, with the rest of her crew intending to join her later--until a wicked snowstorm hits and changes plans. We all know, of course, that there is nothing natural about this storm, but Kimberly is a little slow on the uptake. Eventually, the plot takes off and there is a nice balance of tension and action, although it is occasionally sidelined by Kimberly's libido. Per Kimberly, this is unusual for her, so maybe Aaronovitch is trying to work in a future resource for Peter to draw upon (part of his "enhanced partnership with local resources" philosophy). I had a mixed reaction to it myself, a combination of irritation and amusement. I settled on 'amusement,' but it could have gone the other way depending on reader and mood. Do we really need to pair everyone off? Must females be paired off? And for heaven's sake, why do men who don't normally write in female narrative think they can attempt a woman thinking about attraction and sex?
I liked the plotting which starts simply and quickly becomes more layered as Kimberly discovers the former FBI agent has gone missing. I appreciated the level of both sensitivity and complexity to the plotting, but thought it became quite tangled at a couple of points. This is one that probably could have been drawn out to novel length, although not to Peter-level description of architecture and the like (we are, however, treated to depictions of the Nort'woods denizens' trucks that are 100% accurate).
For me, the major detraction was the attempt to integrate Kimberly's religious upbringing and current religious perspective that just did not ring true. I'm not sure I felt the truth, so to speak, of the fundamentalist upbringing and the magic-aware adult and how she balanced the two in her head. He even opened the book in her voice with some down-home Jesus-speech--shudder. Thankfully, it didn't last.
Despite my deep affection for the series, non-Peter entries do not fare as well for me. I find it difficult to parse out whether it is Peter-bias, but honestly, I think it comes down to Peter being the perfect voice for Aaronovitch's style. However, it was a lot of fun to see a more American-style investigation in action, along with a different kind of mythology. I'm definitely not mad that I got a hardcover signed edition for my library.
No comments:
Post a Comment