Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

The second novel in Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series takes the police constable cum apprentice magician into Soho and the world of jazz, where somebody seems to feed of the musician's vibes, while a black magician is expanding his territority.

Hmm. Less satisfying than the first book. Also, the objectification of women is definitely not abating - possibly amplifying, in fact. The other problems from Rivers of London also seem recurrent – for example the two mostly separate plot lines.

Part of the problem might be that I simply don't care about music, so the long passages about jazz made my eyes glaze over. Also, I read it back-to-back with Rivers of London, which may have exacerbated my frustration about the repeated problematic portions. 2 1/2 stars and I'm going to take a break before continuing on.

Good plot, sloppy writing. All sorts of extra information, conversational asides, and insights into other characters that are unhelpful and distracting. The style is intended to feel casual and buddy-buddy, but it comes off like a first draft that badly needs an editor. An author should examine every sentence to see if it needs to be there, and if it's not necessary then CUT IT. This book could lose a good 50 pages of useless asides and other filler and be better for it.

Definitely better than vol 1

I really liked this story. Excellent with many of the main characters making appearances. The story leaves you wanting more. Love the “Tales from the Folly”.