The Furthest Station

The farthest station in question of this short novella refers to the last station on the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground, and the one located farthest from London. What’s piqued the interest of PC Grant and the Folly–officially known as the Metropolitan Police’s special assessment unit, which is essentially your Mulder and Scully: the people you bring in when the case involves something unsolved and what can only be classed as paranormal–are sightings of ghosts on the Underground.

Teaming up with Jaget Kumar of the British Transport Police along with Toby the ghost-hunting dog (one of Grant’s ongoing “experiments”) and his “wizard-in-training” teenage cousin, they meticulously work their way through the investigation, scouting as many of the Tube trains as they can during regular business hours when these ghosts have been sighted, drawing them in with magic. Grant makes a hypothesized deduction that there’s been a kidnapping. The question is of whom?

Often, these Subterranean Press novellas are really great because they give fans a new, albeit shorter, book to enjoy before the next full-length one is released. And, alternatively, if you’re new to Ben Aaronovich and his particular brand of British urban fantasy, The Furthest Station is the perfect introduction, as it features all the main characters, an engaging story, and allows the reader to get sucked into the series and encourages them to want to start at the beginning once they’re done.