The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch [Book Review]

The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch

The Furthest Station is a novella, so quite short, set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree. There’s some interesting character development of some of the regular cast and also a couple of new characters. There are also some tantalising loose ends that I hope end up being explored in future stories.

The Furthest Station

The main plot is of a ghost hunt on London Underground. Peter is joined by his younger cousin Abigail, who is turning out to be more than she appears on the surface. Abigail has an affinity with Foxes. Some things happen off-screen that I think may be connected with the Cry Fox graphic novel (which I’ve not yet read, I’m waiting for the collected edition before I acquire it). The Furthest Station refers to the action being at the end of the Metropolitan line.

The Peter Grant universe is expanded through exploring the nature of ghosts, and how they are motivated. Peter Grant is called in by Sergeant Jaget Jumar of the British Transport Police following reports of assaults on the tube. All of the victims forgot the details by the time the police arrive to question them. All of the attacks take place on the northern end of the Metropolitan line. Sgt Kumar recognises the nature of the incidents and calls in Peter Grant.

The ghosts are messengers, to draw in help and attract the attention of the Folly. There’s a bit of the history of the Folly revealed by way of explanation. By extension that too expands the nature of the setting. It’s all in keeping with the previous canon, and adds to the richness of the stories.

Definitely well worth a read to stage you through until the next Peter Grant novel comes out next year.