What Abigail Did That Summer: A Rivers of London Novella
- Downloads：4479
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-26 04:19:16
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ben Aaronovitch
- ISBN：B094SHMLYS
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Laura
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The novellas for this series are consistently great - just fun， quick reads with compelling self-contained stories and fun development of characters who aren't necessarily front and centre in the main series。 Abigail is awesome and she was a great lead for this story - I hope we get to hear more from her perspective！ The magic mystery at the centre was intriguing and creepy， and the narrative mechanisms to show how the house was working on people were really effective。 I really enjoyed it！ The novellas for this series are consistently great - just fun， quick reads with compelling self-contained stories and fun development of characters who aren't necessarily front and centre in the main series。 Abigail is awesome and she was a great lead for this story - I hope we get to hear more from her perspective！ The magic mystery at the centre was intriguing and creepy， and the narrative mechanisms to show how the house was working on people were really effective。 I really enjoyed it！ 。。。more
Saffron Garey
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A return to form。 Short， to the point and all the better for it。
Susana
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Abigail hanging with talking foxes？ Sigh， just the best。。。
James Green
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Abigail Kamara is the Uk's only junior apprentice wizard （think about a magically inclined Girl Guide but with ghost hunting instead of 'bob a jobs'） thanks to her cousin Peter Grant being the UK's only actual apprentice wizard， working for the Met。 When he heads off into the wilds of the English countryside she is left under the more relaxed guidance of his boss Nightingale。 Which is to say she's pretty much left to her own devices given that school is out for summer。 So when a couple of girls Abigail Kamara is the Uk's only junior apprentice wizard （think about a magically inclined Girl Guide but with ghost hunting instead of 'bob a jobs'） thanks to her cousin Peter Grant being the UK's only actual apprentice wizard， working for the Met。 When he heads off into the wilds of the English countryside she is left under the more relaxed guidance of his boss Nightingale。 Which is to say she's pretty much left to her own devices given that school is out for summer。 So when a couple of girls missing （though only for a few hours and apparently unharmed） she decides to investigate。Abigail and her talking fox friends are some of my favourite additions to the Rivers of London sersies， which is not one that lacks for interesting characters by any means。 But she's just the right amount of cheeky/bossy/stroppy without falling into the realm of being annoying and helps to keep Peter in check particularly when she gangs up with Nightingale。 And in this novella she really gets to shine showing herself to be a good mix of brave， smart and kind in a thoroughly enjoyable detective story。 。。。more
Siobhán
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I love the "Rivers of London" books and Abigail running wild when Peter is away was just as fun and weird and full of foxes as I expected。 （I also loved the Terry Pratchett reference that the fox be called "Gaspode" when undercover as a dog！ Woof！ Bark！） It was quite short but very entertaining and I do not regret buying it。 Aaronovitch just does not disappoint and even though the scope here was not as high as in the Rivers of London novels， I still enjoyed this a lot。 It was fun and short and j I love the "Rivers of London" books and Abigail running wild when Peter is away was just as fun and weird and full of foxes as I expected。 （I also loved the Terry Pratchett reference that the fox be called "Gaspode" when undercover as a dog！ Woof！ Bark！） It was quite short but very entertaining and I do not regret buying it。 Aaronovitch just does not disappoint and even though the scope here was not as high as in the Rivers of London novels， I still enjoyed this a lot。 It was fun and short and just what I needed when my lockdown brain needed a change。 4。5 Stars 。。。more
Mark
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A slow starter， but it perks up considerably when Abigail becomes acquainted with House。
Liz
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No magic by wizards， which I understand because Abigail isn’t allowed to do any， but I still miss it。This definitely feels like an attempt at a YA book， which is probably why I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first few books in the series。 The cat lady was a character who could have added a lot more to the story， and the meeting with Fleet was hardly needed。 I was very confused once Grace etc。 became part of the plot and still haven’t really worked out what it was all about， but that is probably No magic by wizards， which I understand because Abigail isn’t allowed to do any， but I still miss it。This definitely feels like an attempt at a YA book， which is probably why I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first few books in the series。 The cat lady was a character who could have added a lot more to the story， and the meeting with Fleet was hardly needed。 I was very confused once Grace etc。 became part of the plot and still haven’t really worked out what it was all about， but that is probably because I can’t be bothered to think it through， not having become engrossed by it。 A waste of a good story， basically。 。。。more
Sarah
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This had some fun stuff （I would love to see more of the adventures of Abigail and Nightingale） but it felt kind of unfocused。
Suzanne McNeill Taviner
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I love this series， it's such a well written one that gets you hooked。 This story is no exception to that。 Abigail is a teenager with nothing to do， so， you know she's going to find trouble， and boy does she。 She meets new and old characters in the course of working her way through the trouble， none more charming than Simon， who may be returning in later books， I feel！ I love this series， it's such a well written one that gets you hooked。 This story is no exception to that。 Abigail is a teenager with nothing to do， so， you know she's going to find trouble， and boy does she。 She meets new and old characters in the course of working her way through the trouble， none more charming than Simon， who may be returning in later books， I feel！ 。。。more
Bonnie
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There's something going wrong with the teenagers in London and Abigail sets out to find out what that is。 Talking foxes and a visit to one of the Rivers of London。 If you've never read Aaronovich， get to it！ There's something going wrong with the teenagers in London and Abigail sets out to find out what that is。 Talking foxes and a visit to one of the Rivers of London。 If you've never read Aaronovich， get to it！ 。。。more
Blind Mapmaker
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4。0 The first Abigail poin-of-view novella is not bad， but a little too much horror and a little to much internal monologue to reach top-tier。 I like how we learn more about Abigail's family and how the cast continues to diversify， but I don't like how the new characters like Simon are mostly side-lined。 It's clear that this is Abigail's show and the only one who comes close is not Simon， but Simon's mom， who is amazing in her own right， though。 It's good to see a stout， non-action-oriented char 4。0 The first Abigail poin-of-view novella is not bad， but a little too much horror and a little to much internal monologue to reach top-tier。 I like how we learn more about Abigail's family and how the cast continues to diversify， but I don't like how the new characters like Simon are mostly side-lined。 It's clear that this is Abigail's show and the only one who comes close is not Simon， but Simon's mom， who is amazing in her own right， though。 It's good to see a stout， non-action-oriented character portrayed in this way。 Sometimes it feels a little as if the author are checking boxes with representation， but not with this character。The foxes are charming as always， but it gets a little repetitive at times and they are quite ancillary to the story。 I liked heavy lesbian subtext （no， it doesn't really involve Abigail） and the stories within the story， but sometimes it felt a little disconnected， because of that。 The first part is definitely more fun than the others。 What I do like is the 'villain' of the story。 It's quite a nice change from the usual。 。。。more
Katy Wheatley
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To my mind this is far better than The October Man or False Value， and I enjoyed them both。 This though， is head and shoulders above the rest。 It's funny， beautifully written and sets up some really interesting potential plots for Abigail in future books。 I love the foxes。 I know the area that Aaranovitch is writing about here really well， which helped。 It was nicely eerie in places and beautifully paced。 I was sad to finish it。 To my mind this is far better than The October Man or False Value， and I enjoyed them both。 This though， is head and shoulders above the rest。 It's funny， beautifully written and sets up some really interesting potential plots for Abigail in future books。 I love the foxes。 I know the area that Aaranovitch is writing about here really well， which helped。 It was nicely eerie in places and beautifully paced。 I was sad to finish it。 。。。more
Hannah
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3。5
Dianne McFarlane
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Delightful！
Morwen
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Soo！ muss Buch。 Spannend， witzig， unputdownable。 Das können viele Autoren。 Aber gleichzeitig nicht die Intelligenz des Lesers beleidigen， das könne nicht viele。 Aaronovitch kann es。
Alex
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Clever。 Also a very different style of writing to normal with very short snappy chapters。I'm not sure I fully understood the house or some of the implications of Simon's mum， but i guess that might become more important in future stories。 Clever。 Also a very different style of writing to normal with very short snappy chapters。I'm not sure I fully understood the house or some of the implications of Simon's mum， but i guess that might become more important in future stories。 。。。more
Clare K H
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Great Novella in the Rivers of London series。 Nice to see Abigail （the fox whisperer） get her own story。
Victoria Pattison
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I love Abigail’s POV and the foxes。
Megan
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I love this so much。 I think even more than the rest of the series。 I need an Abigail series！
Alyson Walton
，
Just adored this！ Abigail is a fantastic addition to the ROL series。
Carl Phillips
，
Too damn short， but like all of the Rivers of London books it was a joy to read。 Big fan of the change of POV and the narrowing of focus onto an area of London that I once knew very well。 That said I felt that the final "boss battle" was poorly structured and both （oddly） rushed and too brief。 Still good though。 Too damn short， but like all of the Rivers of London books it was a joy to read。 Big fan of the change of POV and the narrowing of focus onto an area of London that I once knew very well。 That said I felt that the final "boss battle" was poorly structured and both （oddly） rushed and too brief。 Still good though。 。。。more
Ari
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This didn't really call to me。 The narrator is Peter's cousin Abigail， on the fringes of the magic world。 She's a good narrator with an engaging and distinctive voice。 But the long historical-memory sections were a little tiring， the foxes weren't well explained， and the work as a whole didn't really cohere。 If this were standalone I might have marked it down as low as two stars。 This didn't really call to me。 The narrator is Peter's cousin Abigail， on the fringes of the magic world。 She's a good narrator with an engaging and distinctive voice。 But the long historical-memory sections were a little tiring， the foxes weren't well explained， and the work as a whole didn't really cohere。 If this were standalone I might have marked it down as low as two stars。 。。。more
Richard
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Cracking storyI’ve enjoyed all the Rivers of London series， but this stands out as one of the very best - there’s a change of characters as this one has a heroine who’s a minor character in some of the other books， the story is really good， playing on familiar themes in the series， but especially it all takes place in and around Hampstead which is described with pinpoint accuracy， both past & present。Congrats Ben， great work！PS: My wife attend Acland-Burghly， and you I hope you’ll mention Fenton Cracking storyI’ve enjoyed all the Rivers of London series， but this stands out as one of the very best - there’s a change of characters as this one has a heroine who’s a minor character in some of the other books， the story is really good， playing on familiar themes in the series， but especially it all takes place in and around Hampstead which is described with pinpoint accuracy， both past & present。Congrats Ben， great work！PS: My wife attend Acland-Burghly， and you I hope you’ll mention Fenton House and the Pergola in a forthcoming episode。 。。。more
Kassie
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my favourite trouble maker getting her own book？ yes please！ also its amazing how fast you can go through audiobooks when you're moving house my favourite trouble maker getting her own book？ yes please！ also its amazing how fast you can go through audiobooks when you're moving house 。。。more
Nighteye
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I really liked this one， fun talking foxes and a interesting and creepy case。 Likable， as I understand it， side characters I hope to see more from later on。
Phil On The Hill
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Great character and really well narrated by Shvorne Marks。 Thought the story was not that great， but the book sets us up for more adventures with Abigail and I shall look forward to these。
Anne
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I really like Abigail and was very glad she got to tell a story from her persepective。 I'd love to hear more from her。I listened to the audiobook， Shvorne Marks was a good choice for Abigail in my opinion。 I really like Abigail and was very glad she got to tell a story from her persepective。 I'd love to hear more from her。I listened to the audiobook， Shvorne Marks was a good choice for Abigail in my opinion。 。。。more
Lois Bujold
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Continuing my Aaronovitch catch-up this weekend。 I knew almost nothing about this book going in， more short YA novel than novella it turns out， though I'd become acquainted with Abigail as a character from earlier books in the Rivers of London series。 Being in large part a magical mystery， not having spoilers going in was a Good Thing， so I won't add much here， except to note that the author's love affair with historical London finds an excellent additional vehicle。 I certainly enjoyed it。Was gi Continuing my Aaronovitch catch-up this weekend。 I knew almost nothing about this book going in， more short YA novel than novella it turns out， though I'd become acquainted with Abigail as a character from earlier books in the Rivers of London series。 Being in large part a magical mystery， not having spoilers going in was a Good Thing， so I won't add much here， except to note that the author's love affair with historical London finds an excellent additional vehicle。 I certainly enjoyed it。Was given the lovely SubPress edition as a gift， but I bought the ebook as a reading copy for the insta-large-print。Ta， L。 。。。more
Maurynne Maxwell
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I didn’t enjoy the footnotes， but everything else was wonderful， stayed up last night to finish it。 I’d love to see Abigail get her own whole novel。
Scott Hall
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