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The Hanging Tree
- Rivers of London, Book 6
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Series: Rivers of London Series, Book 6
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery
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Lies Sleeping
- Rivers of London, Book 7
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Martin Chorley, aka the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run. Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice. But even as the unwieldly might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long-term plan.
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Favourite series, restricted to bedtime to make it last!
- By Nat Venosi on 20-07-2019
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Foxglove Summer
- Rivers of London, Book 5
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the fifth of his best-selling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London - to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London you can't take the London out of the copper. Travelling west with Beverley Brook, Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods. And what's more all the shops are closed by 4pm....
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Fabulous narration brings the book to life
- By emmoff on 15-07-2015
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Broken Homes
- Rivers of London, Book 4
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Ben Aaronovitch has stormed the bestseller list with his superb London crime series. A unique blend of police procedural, loving detail about the greatest character of all, London, and a dash of the supernatural. A mutilated body in Crawley. Another killer on the loose. The prime suspect is one Robert Weil; an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man? Or just a common or garden serial killer? Before PC Peter Grant can get his head round the case a town planner going under a tube train and a stolen grimoire are adding to his case-load. So far so London.
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Love this series!
- By Amy on 08-08-2017
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False Value
- Rivers of London, Book 8
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Peter Grant is facing fatherhood and an uncertain future with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's brand-new London start-up - the Serious Cybernetics Company. Drawn into the orbit of Old Street's famous 'silicon roundabout', Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with Mama Grant's favourite son.
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Joy
- By Dash57 on 11-03-2020
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The Furthest Station
- A PC Peter Grant Novella
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
There's something going bump on the Metropolitan line, and Sergeant Jaget Kumar knows exactly whom to call. It's PC Peter Grant's specialty.... Only it's more than going 'bump'. Traumatised travellers have been reporting strange encounters on their morning commute, with strangely dressed people trying to deliver an urgent message. Stranger still, despite calling the police themselves, within a few minutes the commuters have already forgotten the encounter - making the follow-up interviews rather difficult.
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Absolutely amazing
- By Richard on 30-09-2017
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Whispers Under Ground
- Rivers of London, Book 3
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And it’s just as well - he's already had run-ins with the deadly supernatural children of the Thames and a terrifying killer in Soho. Progression in the police force is less easy, especially when you work in a department of two. A department that doesn't even officially exist. A department that if you did describe it to most people would get you laughed at.
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Brilliant
- By Janette on 18-04-2018
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Lies Sleeping
- Rivers of London, Book 7
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Martin Chorley, aka the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run. Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice. But even as the unwieldly might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long-term plan.
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Favourite series, restricted to bedtime to make it last!
- By Nat Venosi on 20-07-2019
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Foxglove Summer
- Rivers of London, Book 5
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
In the fifth of his best-selling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London - to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London you can't take the London out of the copper. Travelling west with Beverley Brook, Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods. And what's more all the shops are closed by 4pm....
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Fabulous narration brings the book to life
- By emmoff on 15-07-2015
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Broken Homes
- Rivers of London, Book 4
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ben Aaronovitch has stormed the bestseller list with his superb London crime series. A unique blend of police procedural, loving detail about the greatest character of all, London, and a dash of the supernatural. A mutilated body in Crawley. Another killer on the loose. The prime suspect is one Robert Weil; an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man? Or just a common or garden serial killer? Before PC Peter Grant can get his head round the case a town planner going under a tube train and a stolen grimoire are adding to his case-load. So far so London.
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Love this series!
- By Amy on 08-08-2017
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False Value
- Rivers of London, Book 8
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Peter Grant is facing fatherhood and an uncertain future with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's brand-new London start-up - the Serious Cybernetics Company. Drawn into the orbit of Old Street's famous 'silicon roundabout', Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with Mama Grant's favourite son.
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Joy
- By Dash57 on 11-03-2020
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The Furthest Station
- A PC Peter Grant Novella
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
There's something going bump on the Metropolitan line, and Sergeant Jaget Kumar knows exactly whom to call. It's PC Peter Grant's specialty.... Only it's more than going 'bump'. Traumatised travellers have been reporting strange encounters on their morning commute, with strangely dressed people trying to deliver an urgent message. Stranger still, despite calling the police themselves, within a few minutes the commuters have already forgotten the encounter - making the follow-up interviews rather difficult.
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Absolutely amazing
- By Richard on 30-09-2017
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Whispers Under Ground
- Rivers of London, Book 3
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And it’s just as well - he's already had run-ins with the deadly supernatural children of the Thames and a terrifying killer in Soho. Progression in the police force is less easy, especially when you work in a department of two. A department that doesn't even officially exist. A department that if you did describe it to most people would get you laughed at.
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Brilliant
- By Janette on 18-04-2018
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Moon over Soho
- Rivers of London, Book 2
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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I was my dad's vinyl-wallah: I changed his records while he lounged around, and that's how I know my Argo from my Tempo. And it's why, when Dr Walid called me to the morgue to listen to a corpse, I recognised the tune it was playing. Something violently supernatural had happened to the victim, strong enough to leave its imprint like a wax cylinder recording.
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❤️❤️❤️
- By Lucy on 05-06-2016
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Amongst Our Weapons
- The Brand New Rivers of London Novel
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The London Silver Vaults - for well over a century, the largest collection of silver for sale in the world. It has more locks than the Bank of England and more cameras than a celebrity punch-up. Not somewhere you can murder someone and vanish without a trace - only that's what happened. The disappearing act, the reports of a blinding flash of light and memory loss amongst the witnesses all make this a case for Detective Constable Peter Grant and the Special Assessment Unit.
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Angels and the Spanish Inquisition
- By Bernadette Aitken on 18-04-2022
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The October Man
- A Rivers of London Novella
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Sam Peter Jackson
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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A brand-new stand-alone novella in the Rivers of London series! Tobias Winter has been assigned to the Abteilung KDA - the Department for Complex and Unspecific Matters. Despite the intriguing department name, as Winter explains, dealing with the strange and the supernatural is 'actually 90 percent paperwork'. But this is a story about the other 10 percent of the job: the life-threatening danger part.
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Awesome
- By Saul on 08-09-2021
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Rivers of London
- Rivers of London, Book 1
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May.
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What a voice! (Book wasn't too bad either.)
- By Kai1 on 14-01-2017
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Tales from the Folly
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Alex Kingston, Ben Aaronovitch, Ben Elliot, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short-story collection from number one Sunday Times best-selling author Ben Aaronovitch. Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand new tales in the same place for the first time.
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Great short stories!
- By Anonymous User on 29-06-2021
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What Abigail Did That Summer
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Shvorne Marks
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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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, apprentice wizard and police Constable 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.
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Kid's story barely holds the line
- By IAN JOHN MACINTOSH on 14-04-2021
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Rotherweird
- Rotherweird, Book 1
- By: Andrew Caldecott
- Narrated by: Kris Dyer
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Rotherweird is a twisted, arcane murder-mystery with shades of Deborah Harkness, Hope Mirrlees and Ben Aaronovitch, Mervyn Peake and Edward Gorey at their disturbing best. The town of Rotherweird stands alone - there are no guidebooks, despite the fascinating and diverse architectural styles cramming the narrow streets, the avant-garde science and offbeat customs. Cast adrift from the rest of England by Elizabeth I, Rotherweird's independence is subject to one disturbing condition: nobody, but nobody, studies the town or its history.
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Intriguing
- By Bernadette Aitken on 18-09-2018
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Just One Damned Thing After Another
- The Chronicles of St Mary's, Book 1
- By: Jodi Taylor
- Narrated by: Zara Ramm
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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When Madeleine Maxwell is recruited by the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research, she discovers the historians there don't just study the past - they revisit it. But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And she soon discovers it's not just History she's fighting....
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Comic and very novel (no pun intended)
- By Kaz on 25-06-2016
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One Foot in the Fade
- Fetch Phillips, Book 3
- By: Luke Arnold
- Narrated by: Luke Arnold
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In a city that lost its magic, an angel falls in a downtown street. His wings are feathered, whole - undeniably magical - the man clearly flew, for all that he plummeted to his downfall moments after. The mystery will set Fetch - in his quest to bring magic back to his beloved city - on a journey involving necromancers, genies and shadowy secret societies. Fetch will search Sunder's wildest forests and dingiest dive bars for the answer, and when he finds it, nothing will ever be the same again.
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The Last Smile in Sunder City
- Fetch Phillips, Book 1
- By: Luke Arnold
- Narrated by: Luke Arnold
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Fetch Phillips fought on the wrong side of a war between humans and magical creatures, and his actions helped to drain the world of enchantment. Now he works on the streets of Sunder City, taking what odd jobs he can while trying to help those whose lives he ruined. His first case is to find a missing teacher. Professor Rye is a 400-year-old vampire with a heart of gold in a husk of a body. In a world without magic, most vamps have already crumbled into dust, but Fetch is happy to go looking for some dirt with pointed teeth if it gets him his drinking money.
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A pleasant surprise!
- By Amazon Customer on 06-05-2021
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The Stranger Times
- Stranger Times, Book 1
- By: C. K. McDonnell
- Narrated by: Brendan McDonald
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), The Stranger Times is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable. At least that's their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor...well, that job is a revolving door - and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who's got problems of her own.
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Fun romp
- By sandra darling on 03-06-2021
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This Charming Man
- Stranger Times, Book 2
- By: C. K. McDonnell
- Narrated by: Brendan McDonald
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Vampires do not exist. Everyone knows this. So it's particularly annoying when they start popping up around Manchester. Nobody is pleased about it. Not the Founders, the secret organisation for whom vampires were invented as an allegory, nor the Folk, the magical people hidden in plain sight who only want a quiet life. And definitely not the people of Manchester, because there is nothing more irksome than being murdered by an allegory run amok. Somebody needs to sort this out fast before all hell really breaks loose - step forward the staff of The Stranger Times.
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Brilliantly funny.
- By Julia Brady on 27-03-2022
Publisher's Summary
Suspicious deaths are not usually the concern of PC Peter Grant or the Folly, even when they happen at an exclusive party in one of the most expensive apartment blocks in London. But Lady Ty's daughter was there, and Peter owes Lady Ty a favour.
Plunged into the alien world of the super-rich, where the basements are bigger than the house and dangerous, arcane items are 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....
Read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.
Features an audio-exclusive interview with Ben Aaronovitch and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.
More from the same
What listeners say about The Hanging Tree
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Carol
- 11-06-2018
Fabulous
I know I'm repeating myself but Kobna is so engaging, you can't stop listening to him. Love these stories and can't wait for the next installment Mr Aaronovitch. I troll the site for more narrations by Kobna, he truly is a voicesmith!
3 people found this helpful
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- LVR
- 04-10-2019
Excellent narration!
So easy to listen to, great story line. Perhaps not as much humour in this story as in the previous books.
2 people found this helpful
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- Dash57
- 01-09-2017
Highly Recommended
Love this series of books. The story-lines and the story teller keep you entertained from start to finish
2 people found this helpful
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- catwomanOz
- 01-04-2017
Kobna is outstanding
I've read all the previous Rivers of London books in paperback and thoroughly enjoyed them. But from here on, I'll be keeping an eye out on Audible for future instalments. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's excellent narration takes Peter Grant's adventures to a new level.
2 people found this helpful
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- Libretto
- 03-06-2018
Brilliant
My absolute favorite so far!
Lots of action and a concrete progress in to Leslie’s Case
1 person found this helpful
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- Michelle O'S
- 05-03-2018
Worth a listen
Still love the narration on this set of books. I did find this story less compelling though. Not as engaging as others by same author.
1 person found this helpful
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- Boat
- 11-11-2017
awesome !
The series goes from strength to strength ! Write faster Ben ! Really enjoying how things are building .
1 person found this helpful
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- Adrianne Jerrett
- 29-11-2016
Awesome
Love this series. Carrying on strong. Can't wait for next one! Beautifully written and read as usual. If you like this series you will enjoy it as per usual. If you haven't yet. Start at the beginning and enjoy
3 people found this helpful
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- Dermot McCaul
- 05-03-2022
Consistently Great
Ben Aaronovitch continues to develop his fantastic London mythology in the most remarkable way, and he has the ideal vocal interpreter in Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. This series started off great, and just gets greater with every instalment.
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- Lyndel
- 17-03-2021
Waste of money.
Thin thin thin !
Nothing at all in the book to for me to recommend to you except the BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE of narrator.
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- leefis
- 30-09-2017
Best Narration that I have heard for an Audiobook.
The Narrator’s voice and way of reading fit my picture of the main character perfectly. His reading of the story is so smooth, well paced, and well acted that I could completely fall into the story while listening.
2 people found this helpful
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- Coral
- 30-11-2016
If you are a fan then you know
Would you consider the audio edition of The Hanging Tree to be better than the print version?
I love Kobna Holbrook-Smith and I think he embodies all of the series so I don't read the print version
What other book might you compare The Hanging Tree to and why?
Sort of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Have you listened to any of Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
He is fantastic
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Loved it but I love the series
Any additional comments?
Get it read it listen to it and if you haven't started the series I'm envious I wish I hadn't read/listened to it because then I could do it again
2 people found this helpful
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- Lawrence Dembo
- 13-02-2020
All the big names are back
My favourite so far. All the big names. I missed you Stephanopolous! Brilliant narration. Cool story. Cool history of London. Next one downloaded already.
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- Moose in NZ
- 11-02-2020
I am the most unlikely person to become such a fan
Up front I must confess anything (book, film, audio) with supernatural and/or magic theme has been dismissed by me as unsuitable adult fare. sure, take nephews or nieces to Harry Potter, but thats it. I'm more Nelson de Mille, Gerald Seymour, Barry Eisler - that kind of thing. I got a freebie short about a library and, stuck in Friday night traffic, gave it a go. well, I'm on book 6 or 7 or something now. I have to say the choice of voice actor is huge in this- his performance has made PC Grant feel real and someone youd crack a beer with and watch the rugby. The series have all been great; Ive enjoyed some others, but none have disappointed. Give them a go, but dont be surprised if you end up with all in the series. You have been warned
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- Anonymous User
- 09-04-2019
Now I have to wait to hear what's next!
Always expect the best from Ben Aaronovitch and again... Not disappointed. Had me hanging on every word. Great suspense and action.
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- Claire
- 30-11-2016
Read in Order, whatever you do!!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I wouldn't recommend this one directly, but the series? Most DEFINITELY. It's quirky, clever and has so many laugh out loud moments ,this is my most looked forward to series. This book HAS to be read in order. I hadn't caught up on the story before starting in on this one, and I was a little lost with the constant referring to past events. It's a good story regardless, but one of my least favourite of the series
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
I was a little lost with the referring to past books. There needed to be a little more context given to past events. Otherwise, it was a good book. The story felt a bit disjointed, and didn't have a clear engaging story line that caught me, but it wasn't bad or boring at all.
What does Kobna Holdbrook-Smith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He has an unreal talent to switch between characters and accents. He is probably my favourite narrator, along side Sebastian York - who has the sexiest voice ALIVE
Any additional comments?
This is such a fun quirky series. Start at the beginning, and listen to it. The narration brings it alive in a way you wouldn't believe. The only thing that set this back from 5 stars for me, was the storyline not being "bowl me over amazing" like the others I've read, but still, decent.
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- Eileen
- 01-12-2016
I adore this series!
I wish they came out every month rather than every year! They stories are great fun and Kobna Holbrook Smith brings them to life brilliantly.
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- Erik
- 30-11-2016
Good story and praise to the auther
Good story, fun narrating with good use of London slang and dialects
Praise to the author for gathering threads from earlier books, but without closing them all.
He also did a good job of avoid powercreep, what have become stronger in this story is not the protagonist, but police organization behind him (it opens also up for new problems).
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- Justine
- 12-12-2016
As usual, a great read.
I love Kobna reading these books - he really makes the story live. This book progresses Peter's story well. The only criticism is nothing to do with the book, but with the way that whoever arranges the audio book has not thought about the placement of the interview with Ben and Kobna. It should come after the acknowledgements read by Kobna - instead the loud harsh voice of the interviewer comes straight in after the very quiet ending of the story - it is very jarring, and such a contrast to Kobna's quiet voice, so be prepared!! It gave me such a fright as it was so unexpected. Chapter 17 is the interview.
22 people found this helpful
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- Wendy Smith
- 30-11-2016
Confused
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I feel that I must have missed big parts of this book, but when listening again I find I have not. This book has left me slightly confused. With all of the other books the scene has been set and you can set play on your 'imagination video' and as Kobna reads the book you can visualise what is happening. With this book it was totally lacking.
Would you ever listen to anything by Ben Aaronovitch again?
Of course, I love this series, its just this book didnt light my fire as much as the others.
What does Kobna Holdbrook-Smith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Ahhhh Kobna, I love his voice, I could listen to him read the AA road Map!
Any additional comments?
I'm going to listen to the whole series again - because I can and you hear something new every time. Please please, if you have just discovered this book on audible, don't buy it, go to the first book, buy that and work your way through the series. Honest its worth it.
16 people found this helpful
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- Emma
- 02-05-2017
Another great story but...
Where's the fun jazz intro before each chapter gone? (Insert sad face emoji here). I really enjoyed this one though - things are really hotting up now!
5 people found this helpful
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- Jackie Burns
- 25-11-2016
It's been worth the wait...
Lovely - Ben Aaronovitch has put a bit more muscle into the story arch, fleshed out the minor characters (past AND present), and has woven tantalising threads through the fabric of the main character that may, or may not, bear fruit in future episodes. I love it when I sense a variety of possible future outcomes.
The story unfolds at a very fast pace, yet the characters are always given just enough time to develop without any sense of being rushed. I loved the sprinkling of magical back history throughout the previous books and wasn't disappointed with this volume. And, as always, I especially love the way that Ben Aaronovitch give as much effort to crafting the past and present background, geographically speaking, as he does to his characters.
And as to the performance by Kobna Holbrook-Smith...I love, love, love it. Kobna REALLY brings the story alive with such passion and humour. His timing is amazing.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the story and the performance.
10 people found this helpful
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- I OFarrell
- 07-12-2016
Steeped in the mystical
What made the experience of listening to The Hanging Tree the most enjoyable?
The narrator is particularly suited to this series and the wide range of accents that he has really lends authenticity to the story.
Any additional comments?
Peter is back and so is the faceless man. Set deep in the mysteries of London, the Hanging Tree is both the name of a pub and a relic of bygone criminal action. It seems only fitting that an officer of the law should look there for clues. Peter once again risks his life and several blocks of prime real estate to neutralise the bad guys and as always, he does it with style.
Peter is one of my all-time favourite characters and I always look forward to Aaronovitch’s unique London style. The characters are well built and are particularly expressive when it comes to British wit. The mix of ancient London architecture, history, and myths and legends make the books really come alive, not to mention the lively natural element that the rivers bring. Nightingale enables the reader to get an understanding of the immense scale of the world that Aaronovitch has created, giving the story a depth in time.
If you get the chance to listen to the audio version, which I highly recommend, you will not be disappointed. The narrator has a distinctive style and really embodies Peter’s character.
4 people found this helpful
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- SmilingMrJ
- 06-12-2016
Procedurally brilliant. More things explode
Another great dive into the Met & Folley. Great addition to the series. Brilliantly read
4 people found this helpful
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- Beccameriel
- 01-12-2016
Magical London gets bigger and better
I feel like I've been waiting AGES for this (mainly because I have) and then it was over really quickly (mainly because I binge listened in a few sessions) The story is moving on: things are revealed with new characters and old. Some seemingly random people and events from previous books are suddenly significant. More Guleed which is excellent. Nightingale gets more magisterial (magusterial?). We learn more about magic and London history. What's not to love?
DO NOT listen to this until you have read/listened to all the preceding books. This is not a stand alone title. Maybe give the comics a go too. The latter are not essential but a few events from them are referred to in passing and, although this does not affect the ongoing story, it's always good to be an obsessive completist.
Kobna Holdbrook Smyth is excellent as ever. I enjoyed the interview at the end where David Aaronovitch reveals that he writes some accents just to see how Kobna handles them. At any rate, his voice is now and forever that of Peter Grant.
4 people found this helpful
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- anonnymouseling
- 31-03-2019
Left too much hanging
I was really enjoying this book - Kobna Holbrook-Smith is always a pleasure to listen to and I love the Rivers series) - then it seemed to stop rather abruptly with rather too many loose ends left dangling, as though the author decided that was enough for one book and he'd just stick the rest in the next one. I appreciate that you need to leave your readers hanging to maintain interest, but unlike previous books it seemed as though nothing at all was resolved in this one. Perhaps Hanging Tree was an appropriate title, but I would have like at least some of the story lines to come to a conclusion. Yes, my interest is piqued sufficiently to continue to the next book, but I'm left slightly dissatisfied with this one, like The Empire Strikes Back.
3 people found this helpful
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- Jackie
- 18-12-2016
Acronyms ...
I struggled to work out some of the acronyms that litter the story but perhaps there's a glossary in the actual book?
Also found it hard to recall what happened in the last book as it's quite a long time since I listened to it.
And what a sudden ending! I thought something had gone wrong when the voice of the woman interviewing the author and the reader piped up.
I really like KH-S reading these stories and generally enjoy them but this one seemed to finish shortly after it got going.
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- P2
- 27-11-2016
Left hanging?
The book started very well and felt as if it would return the the excellent form of the earlier books in the series. I enjoyed the humour and the mix of characters. However, the ending is such a disappointment. It felt as if it had been finished for a particular deadline, rather than being brought to a proper conclusion in its own right. I can appreciate that certain threads of the story have to be left so that they can be picked up in the next book, but everything was rushed, bundled up in a most unsatisfactory way. I shall undoubtedly read the next one when it appears, but with less of the pleasurable anticipation with which I awaited this one. Perhaps the next should be the last.
5 people found this helpful
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