If you’re going to write about living in winter, learn about living in winter first. Literally millions of people do this every year, so it shouldn’t be hard to find someone with first-hand experience.

So, let me get one thing out of the way. Die schlafenden Geister des Lake Superior is a German translation of the novella Winter's Gifts, originally written in English by London author Ben Aaronovitch. It is the first book-length work in the Rivers of London series to be set in the USA. I am a US citizen and a native English speaker. So why did I read this book in German, and why am I writing my review in English? Another entertaining novella from the Rivers of London series, this time following FBI agent Kimberley Reynolds (who has been a side character in previous books). It wasn't quite as good as the normal Peter Grant-heavy full-length novels and is missing much of the humor that makes the Rivers of London books such amazing reads, but it was still an enjoyable story in its own right. Another great work-friendly gift is the Really Useful Mug. It's not your typical workplace mug – it offers a ton of fun facts that go great with a morning cup of coffee. It's microwave-safe and dishwasher-safe. What are the best winter gifts for my wife? I LOVE the Rivers of London series, so was excited about the latest installment. But I don't know if it's that there was not enough of my lovely Peter Grant, or that I don't really care about Kimberley's character, or that it was set in the US and had a rather weird mash-up of Native American lore. It could have been a smidgen of all of these things contributing. Seriously, this type of “I don’t need to know about winter to tell you all about winter” hubris is the reason the Franklin expedition failed.Things soon go from weird to worse, as neighbours report unsettling sightings, key evidence goes missing, and the snow keeps rising – cutting off the town, with no way in or out… I have been spoiled by the likes of Kobna Holdbrook Smith and Nigel Planer. They virtually disappear behind their voices, so I didn't expect much out of this reader. I have yet to hear a woman doing a decent male voice. But I can enjoy the books anyway. I'm just totally in love with Nigel and Kobna. But I have one word for this reader. "Parker." She slipped up once and said "parka." Maybe I listen to too much BBC and American accents have started to sound weird to me. But "parker"? In a book where it's cold and snowy, everyone is going to be putting one of these on and off all the time. It was jarring. All the men sounding like adolescents was a bit weird too. But the "parkers" were grating on me. This is supposed to be an Oklahoma accent? I know of only one place where the "r" is added where it doesn't belong and that's Massachusetts. We had a neighbor from "Maather's Vinyaad." But she also removed Rs. She called me "Maather" all my young life. Being a novella it was mercifully short.

I liked the plot. It used a clever mix of First Nation traditions and early US history to create unique threats and it had enough twists to keep me guessing about the source of the threat and what needed to be done about it. It didn't seem to me that there was enough to Kimberly Reynolds to lift the story up. Part of the problem is that she has no magical abilities of her own to call on so she can't do the things that Peter or even Abigail might do in London. We learn very little about her as an individual except that she avoids swearing and she is a practising Christian who has accepted Jesus Christ as her saviour. What we don't learn is how she squares her religious beliefs with her experiences with magic users. Unlike Peter Grant, she seems incurious about what magic is and how it works. Interacting with various Genus Loci at home and abroad has left her unfazed but I kept wondering why that was. It reminded me of an Avengers meme: Aaronovitch's choice to make Kimberly be a person raised as an Evangelical Christian who calls her mom "Momma" has always grated on me a bit, as it's a stereotype of Americans that's not my favorite. I will say that she got a lot more human here, and I think that might be his intent, but... still not my favorite.

Aaronovitch was also treading a chancy line with his portrayal of Native American (Ojibwe) spiritual life. He did a decent job (William takes Kimberly to task for asking about "legends" and he's like, "It's a religion. Is the bible about "legends" to you?") but there are so many ways it could have gone badly. She'll also love the Persian Rug Yoga Mat. Hot yoga is the perfect winter sport, and this mat will inject some more style into her yoga session. What are the best winter gifts for husbands?