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1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
If you thought magic was confined to one country—think again.
Trier: famous for wine, Romans, and being Germany's oldest city.
When a man is found dead with his body impossibly covered in a fungal rot, the local authorities know they are out of their depth. But fortunately this is Germany, where there are procedures for everything.
Enter Tobias Winter, an investigator for the Abteilung KDA, the branch of the German Federal Criminal Police which handles the supernatural. His aim is to get in, deal with the problem, and get out with the minimum of fuss, personal danger, and paperwork.

Together with frighteningly enthusiastic local cop, Vanessa Sommer, he quickly links the first victim to a group of ordinary middle aged men whose novel approach to their mid-life crisis may have reawakened a bloody conflict from a previous century.

As the rot spreads, literally, and the suspect list extends to people born before Frederick the Great, Tobias and Vanessa will need to find allies in some unexpected places.
And to solve the case they'll have to unearth the secret magical history of a city that goes back two thousand years. Presuming that history doesn't kill them first.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 18, 2019
      In this enjoyable spin-off from the Rivers of London urban fantasy series, Aaronovitch successfully transfers his blend of the supernatural and humor from England to the Continent as he introduces Tobias Winter, a German police officer who practices magic. Winter is teamed with Vanessa Sommer, an expert in wine-related crime, after his boss learns of a “suspicious death with unusual biological characteristics” in Trier. The body of an unidentified man had been found in a culvert, covered in what appeared to be gray fur but was actually a fungal infection that had suffocated him. Sommer is able to identify the fatal fungus as noble rot, used to intentionally infect wine grapes by some vintners, including Jacqueline Stracker, whose vineyard is located on a slope above where the corpse was discovered. Winter and Sommer’s interview of Stracker leads to suspicions that Kelly, goddess of the River Kyll, is somehow involved. Supernatural mystery fans who enjoy more whimsical takes on the paranormal will hope for more of Winter and Sommer. Agent: John Berlyne, Zeno Agency.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Sam Peter Jackson capably delivers as he portrays a no-nonsense German wizard in this addition to the Rivers of London series. When a man turns up dead in a vineyard under mysterious circumstances, the locals know to call in Tobias Winter, seasoned policeman and experienced wizard. Jackson's melodic and authentic-sounding German accent pulls the listener into a story grounded in the history of the Moselle wine region. Toby is witty and acerbic without sounding cruel. Jackson does an equally effective job voicing Toby's partner, an enthusiastic, young local cop, Detective Vanessa Sommer, as well as a wide variety of local wine buffs and two river goddesses. This production serves as an excellent complement to the series or a delightful stand-alone. N.M. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

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