Breaking the Lore

Nick Paris is a tough-as-nails, bitter detective, who probably drinks more than he should. Basically, he’s your typical main character in a crime thriller. However, the mystery he’s been thrown into is far from typical: he’s investigating the murder of a tiny fairy. The problem is, he doesn’t believe in magic and is in way over his head.

This book was funny and incredibly clever. I had no idea how the book was going to end, but I didn’t spend much time trying to solve things because I was so busy thoroughly enjoying myself. Nick Paris had a fantastic internal dialogue throughout. Add a loyal but dumb-as-they-come partner, a purple-haired witch, and a gigantic orphaned troll- this book was zany fun!

Things tended to be rather convoluted and confusing at times, but that only added to the fun. I felt bad for poor Nick for a good chunk of the book because he was so far out of his depth and it was an unusual situation for him. While he was a great character, my favorite was either Cassandra, the “magical expert” who took everything in stride and added a wonderful brand of sarcasm to the mix, or the chain-smoking crow. He just cracked me up.

This book was a joy to read, and I look forward to the next book in the series. I hope there will be many more.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was fun, had a great cast of characters,and some brilliant one liners. It was good to read as long as you enjoy light reads you should love this..It made a nice change for me in between the dark thrillers I like to read, it was a refreshing change to enjoy this book.I liked the main character, I also like writers who think outside the box and have a great imagination and this author had both ,and then some.It was great and I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for an ARC.

This turned out to be a whole lot of fun. Plenty of laughs and some interesting ideas too.
It starts with a murdered fairy and a copper who doesn't believe in the mystical and supernatural. With the evidence in front of his eyes though things have to change and soon there is a full supporting cast of elves, dwarves, trolls, demons etc. And a potential invasion of Earth (or at least the posh area of Manchester).

The jokes come thick and fast and, being honest, too thick and fast at times but I got many a funny look from people as I was reading it on the bus and chuckling along.

As the first book in a series it ties up nicely but left me looking forward to visiting these characters again

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for this arc.

Some of the Manchester police go on a Magical Mystery Tour! This was fun. I loved the dead-pan, completely dry sense of humor and bad puns through out. There was plenty of action broken up with Paris's ruminations and reactions as well as his trying to deal with the office politics of the Police Department. The characters were great, especially Bonetti and Malbus. I found the most charming aspect of the book to be other characters' complete unquestioning acceptance of the world they found themselves in while Paris was befuddled and bemused at all of them/it.

"What? said Paris, his flabber now well and truly gasted.

Imagine you live in a world without magic, like ours. Imagine you are an inspector living in Manchester, the UK. Imagine that everything you thought to be true is wrong. There is magic, there are magical creatures and you are in the middle. Nick Paris thinks he is going to have another murder investigation. But what he finds instead is a dead fairy. And that is just the beginning. He meets elves, dwarves, witches, demons and more fairies, live ones though.

I loved this story soooooo much. Andy Redsmith did a very good job of blending logic with magic. And fun!! I laughed out loud even while taking the bus to get to work. Imagine the stares I got.

I can’t wait for the next one in the series.

I received a copy from Canelo through NetGalley, thank you very much. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this read. For me, it offered a lot: faeries, elves, rock trolls, romance and mystery. The pace was good, and each chapter an enjoyable story of its own. My only regret, if you can call it that, is that the romance between Nick and Cassandra could have been a little more jazzy. It was a very much male view? Hard to say, but I’m thinking more to come in book #2? Either way, highly recommend this read for an enjoyable, easy, page turner that is fantasy, meets detective mystery.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Canelo for the ARC.

This book is truly entertaining; mix together some Ghostbusters, Men in Black, a touch of StarGate, and use of a Jedi's power of persuasion, pour in streams of one-liners, puns and a pinch of sarcasm, and be prepared to smile, chuckle and laugh.
When I began reading this book I started off thinking 'this is just so silly' - but really, it isn't - it is well written and cleverly constructed FUN! This would make a great film. Hats off to Andy Redsmith for his fantastic imagination.

Inspector Nick Paris relies on whisky and contemplation to solve baffling cases in Manchester. His partner, Bonetti is, well, a bonehead, who misinterprets anything said to him.
Called out to a murder scene, at the bottom of someone's garden, they find the cruciform body of a 15cm tall fairy. A cover-up operation quickly ensues to convince the householder and media that in fact it was a doll which had been placed there.
Back home with his whisky and cigarettes, Nick tries to puzzle the case. Now, the reader, as with myself, could be forgiven for concluding that the subsequent events were all part and parcel of Nick's enormous alcohol consumption - but no, oh no! Enter Malbus the talking crow - who also smokes - who has something important to tell Nick about the significance of the dead fairy.

Subsequently Nick finds himself in the company of elves, dwarves, fairies, centaurs and rock trolls.
A secret gateway between the human and magical worlds has been accessed by the magical creatures for centuries, only now an army of demons in the magical world has discovered it and intend to invade - Manchester in the first instance.
It's up to Nick Paris, partner Bonetti, his magical helpers and Cassandra - an enigmatic witch expert - to prevent it.

I loved it - thoroughly recommended, even if, like me, this is a major departure from the more 'usual' mystery/thriller read. Go On - Have A Laugh.

I am a big fan of Aaronovitch, so was intrigued as to how another book about policemen and magic could be different. Delighted to say it is. It shares with Aaronovitch great characters, excellent sidekicks and plausible magical creatures. However it approaches the magic in a different way, from the viewpoint of sceptic rather than practitioner and is set in Manchester rather than London. It is great fun and well worth a read. Thankyou to Canelo and Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC.

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.

There’s something about that English countryside that seems to attract flying saucers 🛸, tardises, Hogwarths, and now an inter dimensional bridge between the magical world and ours. It’s perhaps something about the prim and proper British that perhaps juxtaposes well with magical worlds. Through that bridge are bounding by the bushel fairies, taking crows, elves, dwarves,trolls, centaurs, and demons. And to do battle with the fell hordes of demonic evil beings is Inspector Paris and a handful of enlightened creatures. And, Paris scarcely believed in magic. But, he’s got no choice but to save his world from certain destruction.

Don’t take this one for high fantasy or epic fantasy and you’ll do okay. It’s half farcical and half fantasy adventure. Look, the princess is a giant smelly rock troll. Hiding a giant demon from a curious public can be downright nasty. And centaurs and demons doing battle can waste to half of Birmingham. It’s filled with quips and asides and stuff like that.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.