What Abigail Did That Summer

Hardcover, 232 Seiten

Am 17. März 2021 von Subterranean veröffentlicht.

ISBN:: 978-1-64524-028-0

(1 Rezension)

Ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker.

It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks chasing unicorns Abigail is chasing her own mystery. Teenagers around Hampstead Heath have been going missing but before the police can get fully engaged the teens return home – unharmed but vague about where they’ve been.

Aided only by her new friend Simon, her knowledge that magic is real and a posse of talking foxes that think they’re spies, Abigail must venture into the wilds of Hampstead to discover who is luring the teenagers and more importantly – why?

2 Auflagen

DigitalRob@ramblingreaders.org hat What Abigail Did That Summer von Ben Aaronovitch besprochen

“Ghost Hunter, Fox Whisperer, Troublemaker"

5 Sterne

Inhaltswarnung Spoilers in the 2nd half of the review.

I keep waffling between four and five stars. I’m going with five. I love Abigail: she’s such a rebel. I hope we get to see her learning magic and moving into adulthood as the novels continue. She’s funny and resourceful.

“Ghost Hunter, Fox Whisperer, Troublemaker,” the title of the last chapter says it all.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this whole story, two aspects stood out: the foxes and a new type of genius loci. I wonder if the story of man losing his gifts and the fox regaining its voice is a real myth or created for this universe. Abigail’s connection to the foxes and their willingness to support her on this case is wonderful. They become real characters.

—-------- Here be spoilers…

Once Abigail decided the house wasn’t haunted and began considering that it was a genius loci of its own, I wondered how Aaronovitch would explain that possibility, then we get a quick introduction to the witch. When she realizes she’s a memory, not even a ghost, her first question of Abigail, who is from the far future relatively, is about the state of women. Are they respected in the future?

I was surprised that Abigail isn’t aware of the female practitioners encountered in the other novels… but maybe that happens after book five. Hmmm… It’s hard to keep the timeline of some events because I read many of the novels in quick succession.