4.0 (1 rating)
The Searcher Of The Thames
Things are going from bad to worse for Tommy Lawrence; he’s lost his girlfriend, his job and he’s got sick on his shoes. But over one hot summer in 1997, Tommy learns about the secret side to Gravesend, the home town he thought he knew. How can a fuzzy ball of fluff with googly eyes get his girl back?How can an ancient Indian princess, an all-girl death-punk band, an elderly prostitute and Four Gentlemen help him prevent the end of life as he knows it?And who is the Searcher of The Thames?For fans of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series, and anyone who grew up in the 1990s.
Published: December 31, 2019
Pages: 371
ISBN: 9781702676618
Get This Book
Available in: Paperback
Reader Reviews
4.0
1 rating
Charlene M.
Apr 18, 2026
I got sucked in really fast which to me is a good sign of a good book! And I love urban fantasy and this is definitely that, so I was just really happy.
I love the magic system (I’m a sucker for that kind of thing) and the idea of seeing people’s auras, but calling them ‘Gist’ made me smile. (I thought I was the only one who said things like ‘get the gist of it’ thanks Dad). I really liked the characters, and the mystery was solid enough as well. And there was just enough death and bad things happening, but it wasn’t overwhelming which I find is an issue for a lot of people trying to write something grittier.
Really, what stopped me from giving this a 5?
The formatting.
I don’t know if it was my Kindle (possible – it’s older), or my phone app (new phone, but who knows), but the formatting was kinda blown to hell, as a word of warning. Many paragraphs or sentences were broken up over lines and many of the chapters weren’t done in the proper heading style, so the Table of Contents doesn’t work properly. (Neither will your time estimate of how long it will take to finish a chapter on your Kindle as a result). I have no idea if this is an issue in the paperback version because I only have the Kindle copy and for all I know, it was just my Kindle and my app being junky, so I didn’t hit it too hard, but something to look at perhaps. It was jarring enough to give me a lot of mental whiplash which took me out of the story regularly.
Fortunately, it was easy to get back in again.
The Searcher of the Thames is a good way to get an introduction to urban fantasy and a really fun read!
I love the magic system (I’m a sucker for that kind of thing) and the idea of seeing people’s auras, but calling them ‘Gist’ made me smile. (I thought I was the only one who said things like ‘get the gist of it’ thanks Dad). I really liked the characters, and the mystery was solid enough as well. And there was just enough death and bad things happening, but it wasn’t overwhelming which I find is an issue for a lot of people trying to write something grittier.
Really, what stopped me from giving this a 5?
The formatting.
I don’t know if it was my Kindle (possible – it’s older), or my phone app (new phone, but who knows), but the formatting was kinda blown to hell, as a word of warning. Many paragraphs or sentences were broken up over lines and many of the chapters weren’t done in the proper heading style, so the Table of Contents doesn’t work properly. (Neither will your time estimate of how long it will take to finish a chapter on your Kindle as a result). I have no idea if this is an issue in the paperback version because I only have the Kindle copy and for all I know, it was just my Kindle and my app being junky, so I didn’t hit it too hard, but something to look at perhaps. It was jarring enough to give me a lot of mental whiplash which took me out of the story regularly.
Fortunately, it was easy to get back in again.
The Searcher of the Thames is a good way to get an introduction to urban fantasy and a really fun read!