Sorry to say that i couldnt finish this. I just didnt gel with the story or the setting. I was bored to tears. Sorry.

How do you stop a demon invasion… when you don’t believe in magic?

Inspector Nick Paris is a man of logic and whisky. So staring down at the crucified form of a murder victim who is fifteen centimetres tall leaves the seasoned detective at a loss… and the dead fairy is only the beginning.

Suddenly the inspector is offering political asylum to dwarves, consulting with witches, getting tactical advice from elves and taking orders from a chain-smoking talking crow who, technically, outranks him.

With the fate of both the human and magic worlds in his hands Nick will have to leave logic behind and embrace his inner mystic to solve the crime and stop an army of demons from invading Manchester!

I do enjoy a bit of urban fantasy. I’ve always liked the idea that there are other worlds that exist in tandem with our own. Breaking the Lore, Andy Redsmith’s debut novel, is a police procedural with a fantastical twist. Humanity has been, up until now, blissfully ignorant of demons, elves, monsters, fairies and every other mythical beast you could think of, but all that is about to change.

Inspector Nick Paris falls into the same category as all the best fictional detectives that have come before him. As a human being, he is a bit of a mess; slightly out of shape and a bit too reliant on whisky to offer intuitive leaps when it comes to solving crimes. Underneath the mildly shambolic exterior however, is an insightful mind with keen observational skills. He has a calm methodical approach to his job that serves him well when overnight, Manchester is full of trolls, dwarves, centaurs and dragons. I got the distinct impression that Paris has seen it all in his years on the force, so when something genuinely unexpected occurs, and on such a grand scale, he is suddenly re-engaged with his job. Things are odd but that suits Paris fine, the chance to explore the unknown is too good an opportunity to miss.

There are a whole host of oddball characters scattered throughout the plot. My personal favourite was Malbus, who can probably best be described as Paris’ opposite number on the magical equivalent of the police force… sort of. I’ll provide no more detail than that, I wouldn’t wish to spoil the surprise. Suffice to say Malbus is just the right side of hugely bolshie to be consistently entertaining. I think I was picturing a fantastical Gene Hunt (in attitude at least). There is also Paris’ underlining, Sergeant Bonetti, who is most definitely the brawn and not the brains of the operation. A lot of the novel’s humour (more on that shortly) is based solely on the fact the Bonetti is not the sharpest tool in the box. That said, he is fiercely loyal and will happily follow any of Paris’ orders without question.

I’ve always considered humour one of the trickiest things to convey well in fiction, but the author pulls this off with skill. He goes for the less is more approach. Just the occasional one liner here or there and it works. There is one movie-related moment that I have to admit did make me do that weird gigglesnort thing when something funny and unexpected catches you unaware in a story you’re reading*. You made me embarrass myself in public. Well played Andy Redsmith, well played.

Breaking the Lore acts as the ideal introduction to Inspector Paris and his slightly surreal world. I definitely got the impression we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes Manchester’s new fantastical neighbours. The version of our world that the author has created is positively brimming over with possibility. This is the sort of series that could just run and run. I would be totally ok with that.

I could have gone the obvious Judas Priest route** for my musical accompaniment to this book but I decided to go a different way. The soundtrack to the still much missed Being Human by Richard Wells strikes me as an ideal fit. Humanity and the other-worldly existing together with the distinct chance of a supernatural war spilling over into our world. Sounds about right to me.

Breaking the Lore is published by Canelo and is available from 15 April. I’m looking forward to the next Inspector Paris mystery already.

*Just me? Ok, fair enough.

**I’m big enough to admit I didn’t spot the joke straight away. The penny finally dropped about half-way through. I really need to revisit my eighties Metal catalogue don’t I 🙂

Nick Paris is your average, hard-drinking inspector serving in the murder squad, with amazing deductive powers and a rather arid lovelife – until he’s called out to a murder in the posher part of Manchester, which turns out to be the crucifixion of a fairy. He finds the pathologist on his knees investigating the crime scene, equally amazed. Indeed, the only one who isn’t pole-axed is Sergeant Bonetti, who recalls hearing about talking fish – when it turns out, he’s remembering the plot of Finding Nemo. That opening scene quickly whisks Paris up into a whirlwind adventure where he’s also having to wrap his head around talking crows, dwarves and a rock troll princess seeking political asylum.

This tale is told from Paris’s viewpoint in third person point of view – so we get the full benefit of his perplexed reaction, when years of deductive experience collide full-square with a situation and characters who appear to have leapt out of one of the darker fairy tale books. He retreats into sarky humour to get him through – so there are a number of jokes and puns littering the action, some of which had me laughing aloud.

In addition to Paris, we have his sidekick Sergeant Bonetti (think of the smart, slim Sergeant Hathaway in Lewis – his absolute opposite defines Bonetti) and Cassandra, the magical consultant he somehow acquires. It’s a smart move to have Bonetti and Cassandra completely accepting of the situation, while Paris is still grappling with the concept, because while we get the benefit of his bemusement, it doesn’t hold up the action. Which comes thick and fast as magical creatures pitch up with increasing frequency at the only portal on the planet, situated in a suburban garden. I loved the reaction of the homeowner, who provides a pathway through his house marked with duct-tape in return for dwarven gold…

The pages turned themselves as the story gathered pace and the plot thickened, bristling with nice touches, such as a chain-smoking crow and an excessively polite elf, who turns out to be a lethally effective killer. All in all, this is an entertaining, enjoyable beginning to what promises to be a solidly good urban fantasy series – I’m now waiting with eagerness for the next book. Recommended for fans of enjoyable urban fantasy and those who like their crime on the quirky side. The ebook arc copy of Breaking the Lore was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book
9/10

Breaking the Lore is Andy Redsmith's clever debut novel and it's the first book in his Inspector Paris Mystery series. Nick Paris is a seasoned detective in Manchester, England who is all about logic on the job (and he drinks more than he ought to), so when finds himself investigating the murder of a 15cm tall fairy he's at a total loss. Nick doesn't believe in magic, but if he wants to solve this case and save both Manchester and the magic world he's going to have to adapt to his new reality. I don't know about you, but that description totally hooked me and luckily the novel reeled me in right from the start. Redsmith's writing style is addicting and I love his sense of humor. The magic system and the cast of characters are pretty cool as well. I love that we're thrown right into the middle of everything alongside Nick. The twists and turns of the central mystery kept me right on the edge of my seat turning the pages as quickly as possible. By the way, I didn't expect my favorite character to be a chainsmoking crow but what can I say. I have a feeling you'll like this debut urban fantasy if you're a fan of Ben Aaronovitch, Terry Pratchett, and Douglas Adams. I can't wait to see where this series goes next.

My thanks to Canelo for an eARC via NetGalley of Andy Redsmith’s comic crime fantasy, ‘Breaking the Lore’, in exchange for an honest review.

Manchester Police Inspector Nick Paris is a man of logic and certainly doesn’t believe in magic. So when he is called to a murder scene with a victim who is fifteen centimetres tall and has wings his perception of reality is challenged. Before long he is dealing with a host of magical creatures, consulting a local witch, and an army of demons intent on invading Manchester.

This was a great deal of fun and had me in stitches more than once. Redsmith clearly had fun with various police procedural/crime tropes such as the jaded, hard-drinking detective. Some of the jokes were cheesy but overall a thumbs up.

There are plenty of great characters with special shout-outs to Cassandra, the aforementioned local witch, and Malbus, a talking, chain-smoking crow, who to Nick’s annoyance is a Chief Inspector in the Magic Police and so technically outranks him.

This is Redsmith’s debut novel and the first in a planned series featuring Inspector Paris and friends. I look forward to reading more in due course.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book and really enjoyed the first half. Unfortunately the second half didn't live up to the standard of the first and the I felt the ending was a bit.. weird.

Breaking the Lore is the first book in the Inspector Paris Mystery series best defined as a heady mix of fantasy, crime and comedy. This bizarre-sounding amalgamation is what initially attracted me to Breaking the Lore, but unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. There were a lot of humorous moments throughout this lighthearted read and the characters were original, unique and full of irony, however, this wasn't enough to elevate this beyond three stars.

Inspector Nick Paris felt a lot like a kindred spirit as I am one of those people who also views things logically rather than emotionally and am unable to believe in something without proof of its existence. Here, this worked well making Paris question his long-held beliefs in terms of magical beings when he encountered one first-hand.

The author throws you in at the deep end from the first few pages, but because the worldbuilding is controlled and the world works in a simple, understated manner there was never a feeling of either an information dump or being out of your depth. So, if you fancy a sarcasm-filled mystery featuring magical beings and a cynical, whisky-supping, chain-smoking protagonist then give this a go. It was a fun and relatively entertaining way to pass the time.

Many thanks to Canelo for an ARC.

A welcome arrival to the world of Urban Fantasy. I really enjoyed how Redsmith threw you straight into the deep end with minimal background and explanation. It set the tone and pace and readers of this genre probably don't need more long-winded, half-book explanations about how the supernatural and paranormal worlds work in THIS story.

There were a lot of laugh out loud moments, and quite a few memorable characters. Not quite as slick as Rivers of London, Alex Versus or Dresden, but a few more rounds of editing to remove a few redundant and repetitive areas could elevate it to 5 stars. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC.

This was a nice and funny book with interesting characters and interesting situations. Some of the situations were outright hilarious. I loved Nick Paris and his rapport with his Sergeant, Bonetti who's as dumb as they come, often leaving Paris wondering 'how did he become a sergeant from a constable' and 'the sergeant's exams must have become really easy now'. The magical creatures were also nicely written with Tergil the Elf, Eric the dwarf, Grarf the demon and my favourite, Malbus the talking chain-smoking crow who technically outranks Paris as he's a Chief Inspector (much to Paris' annoyance!) And also Cassandra the witch, who's Paris' supernatural adviser was a well written character. And as a Ben Aaronovitch fan, I feel that comparing this book to Ben Aaronovitch would be totally unfair to Andy Redsmith as his book is completely different to that of the Rivers of London books. Overall a very enjoyable book and I'm looking forward to the next book in this series. And a big thank you to NetGalley and a big big thank you to Canelo for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

I was drawn to this book, as when you combine two of my favourite authors in the blurb I am going to pick the book up. While I really enjoyed this book and there are similarities in premise to Ben Aaronovich’s Rivers of London it is not quite up to the same standards. However, this book is good in its own merit.

It is a great pun filled and lighthearted urban fantasy. I honestly think this would be a great transition book from YA into Adult fantasy for those looking for a gateway into such reads.

I have to admit I was slightly trepidatious at the start as the cliche of the drunken haunted inspector that is great at his job, with the slightly oaf-like Sargent is immediately thrown at us. But I was put at ease as soon as this is media staple is twisted and turned with the introduction of the fantastical aspects. I will say I was never really fully enamoured with Inspector Paris, instead I, and I suspect most readers, was instantly drawn to Morbus, the chain smoking, talking Crow! But the character that really shone for me was Cassandra, a sassy new age witch that really gives Paris a run for his money. Cassandra runs rings around Paris but in a fun and flirty way, she flings puns and quips out in rapid fire, her intelligence present with a quiet grace. She quickly became my favourite.

The worldbuilding its self is also really interesting. We learn as Paris learns and there is never a huge dump of information instead it just organically grows. There is a great combination of large action scenes and quiet one-to-one conversations that just give the book great structure. There are twists that blindside the reader while others creep quietly into the plot all keeping a nice steady page and an enjoyable read. The only pacing issue I found was the ending seemed a little abrupt. It just seems to resolve in a chapter in a very understated way that left a kind of “oh its finished” feeling. It was just a little underwhelming after the build up.

Overall, I really enjoyed this fun fast paced novel and would gladly read on in the series. I can see this being more appealing to the British audiance than an international one (there is use of British slang that may not sit well with some international audiences. But I would recommend it to those who are wanting a fantastical and entertaining tale!

I requested this book because I'm a fan of Douglas Adams and Ben Aaronovitch. Somebody forgot to add Terry Pratchett, Jim Butcher or Kevin Hearne.
Because there are echoes of all these writers in this book, a book that is amazing.
I can use some more adjective it's funny, entertaining, engaging, enthralling. Choose one, all can be used to define how I feel about this book.
I think that characters like Malbus are a stroke of genius, just like nearly all characters in this book.
I read it as fast as I could, I laughed out loud and couldn't put it down.
I can also say that the plot was great and full of great ideas.
As far as I understand this is the first in a series and this makes me happy because it means I just discovered a new amazing series and I hope there will be a lot of installment as funny as this one.
I can't wait to read another book by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Canelo and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Overall
I didn't know what to expect to from this book. It sounded interesting but in the end, fell a bit flat to me.
It was ok and enjoyable, but too stereotypical and obvious to me. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it either.
The ending was very random! which is probably the word that explains the entire book; very random.

Story
The story premise is how do you solve a murder when you don't believe in magic? well, that wasn't much of a problem after the first few pages. Or it didn't feel like a problem after those pages. Detective Paris turned around fast, but didn't admit to it before the end.
I tend to dislike it when the premise matches less than 1/4 or the book.
The story overall was entertaining but at places tries too hard and other places were very stereotypical.

World Building
The world builds slowly due to the main characters slow exploration and learning of this new found world. The MC struggles to come to grips with the new stuff happening around him. The world building overall was a very shallow incline. Sometimes, it was too slow to me, but it made sense in the story as the MC suddenly realises something or get some more information from someone who had been holding back.

Magic system
As this world isn't magical there is only magic with magical beings. The magic and how it works is revealed throughout the book so I can't say too much about it, but it made sense.

The characters
Inspector Nick Paris is the main character and the narrator and he was alright. I don't have a lot of feeling for this guy. I felt sometimes he was a bit short sighted and stereotypical
In addition, there is his second Sergeant Bonetti. He is (obviously) built like a rugby player but dumb as a troll.
Then there is a clever elf.
A cockney accented talking chain smoking crow. Obviously.
Dwarfs that are good at finding things, are charming and good fighters, but not the most intelligent creatures.
Fairies; like barbies with wigs. Or that was my image of them.

All the creatures are stereotypical and have no surprises. Not to me anyway. In the beginning, it was boring to find these things out, but after a while, I just shook my head and rolled my eyes. Of course, they were like that!

There aren't many female characters in here but the ones how are have high positions (thank you) but are not the best at comping with the surprise of these creatures. Unless you are the witch. Then you are an endless chain of surprise and fearlessness, and weird.

LGBT+
Nope. not even mentioned. A very straight book.

the writing
the writing was fine. It was an easy talkative language with some sarcasm and what I at the time of reading though was trying to be funny but wasn't. Turns out it wasn't trying, it was meant to be funny.
There was also repetition in this book which annoyed me a bit. The narrator kept telling me his surprise over his second passed his sergeant exam. by the second one I kind of got the message. By the fifth, I was sighing.
Apart from that, it was a quick and easy read

Summary
I feel this review came out a bit negative, but I didn't dislike the book. I didn't love it either. It was ok in a positive way.
Recommended to people who like funny fantasy.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Inspector Nick Paris is your all too typical cynical, bitter, hard-drinking, chain-smoking police detective, and his world is being rocked. The latest corpse he's been brought out to see and investigate the circumstances around the death is that of a fairy. The tiny, impossibly good looking, humanoid with wings kind of fairy. While still trying to wrap his mind around how that was possible, a crow (named Malbus) flies into his house demanding, demanding a smoke and talking to him about the murdered fairy. Not long after this, he's visited by an elf and a rock troll (Tergil and Rocky).

And that's just Day One of his new reality.

Essentially, there's a connection between our world and the world of all these magical beings -- a portal of sorts that those who desire to can travel between the two (or people and animals can stumble through unintentionally). For all sorts of great reasons, the magical creatures/folk kept their existence from humanity -- and let what humans know fade into myth and legend. But something's happened in their world, and those who are over here have to come seeking help (in terms of political asylum) and possibly even letting humanity in on what's going on around them.

This is a little beyond Paris' typical caseload, but he and his Superintendent, a no-nonsense woman named Thorpe, respond very well to these new challenges -- dragging other officers and even the army along with them. They are obviously relying on the advice and guidance of the magical creatures -- Tergil in particular (although Malbus makes sure his input is heard, too). They also recruit a local supernatural expert -- Cassandra, a self-styled witch that no one in the police would've given any credence to if not for this new reality.

As fun as Paris, Tergil and Malbus are, Cassandra is a delight. She's wise, insightful, and has a fantastic sense of humor -- she might be harder for Paris to cope with than fairies, dwarves, and trolls. I shouldn't forget Paris' Sergeant Bonetti -- he's loyal, strong, brave and probably not as mentally quick as he should be. He's also the target of near-constant mockery from his superior. I'm not sure why he puts up with the abuse, but I found myself laughing at it. When the fate of multiple worlds is on the line, it's these few who will stand strong in Manchester, England to keep everyone safe.

I can think of as many reasons that this is a lousy comparison to make as I can to make it -- but throughout Breaking the Lore I kept thinking about Chrys Cymri's Penny White books. There'll be a big overlap in the Venn diagram of Fans of Penny White and Fans of Inspector Paris. I'm sure there are other comparisons that are as apt, or more so -- but this is the one that I kept coming back to for some reason.

I had so much fun reading this book, Redsmith has a way with words that makes me think it really doesn't matter what story he decided to tell -- I'd want to read it. He was able to express the seriousness of the situation, while never stopping (either narratively or through the characters) the quips, jokes and sense of fun. There's an infectious charm to the prose and characters that easily overcomes whatever drawbacks the novel has. I'm not saying this is a novel filled with problems, it's just that I woudn't care about most of them thanks to the voice.

Now, Redsmith's wit does have an Achilles' heel -- puns. Redsmith is an inveterate punster, and will hit you with them when you least expect it. Now me? I love a good pun -- and I hate them at the same time. Maybe you know what I mean. I cackled at pretty much all of them (frequently audibly), but I hated both myself and Redsmith for it. You know those, Pearls Before Swine strips where Rat beats up Stephan Pastis because of the very carefully constructed pun? Yeah, this book is a series of those moments (but he rarely gives the setup Pastis does, usually it's a quick sucker punch).

There are many other points I'd intended to make, but I think I've gone on long enough. This novel is silly, goofy, intelligent, charming -- with a fresh take on a great idea. You'll find yourself enjoying Paris, Cassandra, Malbus, Tergil and the rest. I can see a few different ways that Redsmith takes Book Two, and I'm looking forward to seeing which one he picks (probably none of my ideas). But before that happens, I'm just going to relish the fun that Breaking the Lore was and encourage you all to go buy and read it for yourself.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Canelo via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.

I am a fan of quirky fantasy (Robert Rankin/Terry Pratchett) and was intrigued by the concept of Breaking the Lore. And for about 50% of the book I really quite enjoyed it. It's not a difficult read, the chapters are short, the characters quite fun - although Malbus is the standout character. However, the story quickly ran out of steam, and I found the last 40% really hard to get into. At this point, the really short chapters didn't help a great deal, the jokes were all getting a bit stale, and Nick Paris was spending a lot of his time 'pondering' but never really finding any answers to his questions, or indeed, doing a great deal to find the answers.
There's a great deal of potential in Breaking the Lore, but in the end, it fails to live up to that potential, and I was just pleased to get to the end.
With a little less pondering, more of Nick Paris actually doing some police work and following up on his hunches as opposed to leaving them hanging in an effort to extend the story, this could be a really fun book. Perhaps Book 2 will be stronger.
Thank you for my review copy.

This was zany and light – a spoof urban fantasy cosy mystery! But humour is subjective and, while I saw the farcical angle this was going for, it didn’t quite land for me.

I found the characterisation shallow, bordering on caricature, but I found there wasn't quite enough exaggeration of that to work as a send up.

The concept has a lot of potential and I think it’ll work well for a lot of readers, but the execution of it wasn’t really my thing.

I was attracted to this book by a comment I read somewhere that likened it to Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, a series which is a favourite of mine. Breaking the Lore does indeed have some similarities but it is not quite up there in the same class yet.

Nevertheless it is an entertaining read for anyone who enjoys a lighter urban fantasy - that is fairies, elves and demons living in Manchester and causing trouble for Inspector Paris and his team. Some of the characters are delightful especially the friendly demon, the chain smoking crow and Cassandra the witch. Paris is interesting too and I liked the way he took all the fantastical characters in his stride.

Overall the book leaned towards being cosy crime. It was light hearted and humorous and only bad people (or creatures) died. And speaking of humour - some of it was really funny and some of it tried a bit too hard.

A light, entertaining read which did not require much concentration. I will look out for book two and I hope the Inspector and the witch continue to develop their relationship!

Inspector Nick Paris of the Manchester Police force finds his skills and patience tested when the latest case he is called to investigate turns out to be a crucified fairy. However, Paris doesn't believe in magic though that soon begins to change when he encounters a snarky talking crow, an elf, a rock troll...

Complete nonsense but of the most entertaining variety and wonderfully witty too. I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Fun and somewhat irreverent spin on the growing paranormal cop market. It edges on farce territory, but never quite manages it (and I don't think it's intended).

Breaking the Lore, by Andy Redsmith, an fun enjoyable read. A dead fairy has turned up in Manchester, England and the detective assigned to the case definitely does not believe in magic. But after the autopsy comes back he realizes he needs to start changing his viewpoints.

How do you stop a demon invasion when you don’t believe in Magic? That was all I needed to read in the description to know I wanted to read this book and I’m grateful to Canelo for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

There was so much to love in this book that it’s hard to know where to start. Nick Paris is a bitter detective but so brilliantly written. He may seem like an ordinary detective, but the case he’s investigating is far from ordinary – it’s the murder of a fairy. Now the problem is Nick doesn’t believe in magic. He tries to cling to the old world he believes in all the while fighting to save it from a demonic invasion.

The book is packed with twists and great action scenes as well as some very funny and witty characters. Cassandra was one of those characters who had me smiling and wondering what she was going to say next every time she appeared on the page.

This was a fun and fabulous read and I can’t wait to read more from this author.