Whispers Under Ground – Ben Aaronovitch

Title – Whispers Under Ground

Author – Ben Aaronovitch

Published – 2012

Genre – Fantasy crime fiction

This is the third in the series by Aaronovitch featuring the Police (now Detective) Constable and apprentice magician Peter Grant. I read the second book in the series (Moon Over Soho) in 2014 and leaving a gap of six years has been a bit of a mistake because some of the longer story arc which continues through the series was a bit of a mystery to me – although this didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book.

Our hero, DC Peter Grant, is called to attend the discovery of a body of a young man at the end of the platform at Baker Street underground station. He’s been included in the team investigating the death because there may be ‘something off’ about it and his special skills may come into play. Grant gets his own role in the investigation, alongside the lovely Lesley, which involves a lot of exploration of the underground tunnels and sewers. The victim was the son of a US Senator so they’re also joined by an FBI agent, although this is not a particularly amicable partnership.

This book has a lot more police investigation in it and less time based at The Folly and Grant’s magical studies than earlier books and only some brief appearances by some of the River folk.

Another enjoyable read in the series.

Moon Over Soho – Ben Aaronovitch

Title – Rivers of London

Author – Ben Aaronovitch

Published – 2011

Genre – Fantasy crime fiction

This is the second in the series by Aaronovitch featuring the Police Constable and apprentice magician Peter Grant. The first thing I would say is if you haven’t read Rivers of London (book 1) then do so!

When jazz musician Cyrus Wilkinson suddenly  dies and there is a hint of magic about the corpse, Peter is handed the case. His first step in the investigation introduces him to the whirlwind that is Simone, the dead man’s lover and someone who is soon to be a huge distraction for Peter. Suspecting that the jazz element of Wilkinson’s life is particularly relevant to his demise, Peter uncovers a string of similar deaths amongst musicians. This leads us to find out a bit more about Peter’s background, especially his relationship with his jazz musician father.

This book shares the same mix of action and humour as its predecessor, and as you would expect from the second in a series it allows the characters to develop further. (It also has more adult themes.) The story takes place just a short time after the end of Rivers of London and there are a lot of aspects of the story, especially the characters’ personal lives, which are carried on – so I say again – read book 1 first.

To be honest, in coming to write the review I can remember a lot of aspects of the book – it’s packed with huge array of different elements, but I also struggle to remember how they all fit together. It’s a busy plot with lots of different threads, and of course the magic aspects add another dimension which is absent from more conventional police procedurals. An enjoyable book – but pay attention!

Rivers of London – Ben Aaronovitch

Title – Rivers of London

Author – Ben Aaronovitch

Published – 2011

Genre – Fantasy crime fiction

This is the first in the series of fantasy crime fiction set in London and featuring newly qualified Police Constable Peter Grant as the main protagonist.

Left to guard a crime scene Grant is approached by a ghost who was a witness to the incident – opening Grant’s eyes to a world he never realised existed. The story starts off quite slowly as we’re introduced to the characters and the magical background and there are some nice touches as Grant begins to learn magic for himself. The series of gruesome attacks continues apace and the investigation builds to a huge climax – although I have to say that there were times when I wasn’t sure I was completely following all of the action.

There is a decent mystery for Grant to solve which has its origins in the past and this allows Aaronovitch to touch on quite a lot of London history on something of a whistle-stop tour. As well as the plot featuring an evil presence which is taking over Londoners and making them act in unexpectedly violent ways, there is also a thread concerning rival factions controlling the River Thames. The ‘rivers’ theme allows Aaronovitch to explore more of the myths around London and its river.

Grant is an engaging main character, and I do particularly enjoy books written in the first person. His character works well with that of his new boss, Inspector Nightingale, a dapper policeman to whom Grant is apprenticed. They live in the Folly with the mysterious Molly making a charmingly quaint household. I don’t often read this type of fantasy fiction but became completely engrossed in it – if I’d seen magic on my walk through Westminster in a morning I wouldn’t have been surprised!

The book is written with a wry sense of humour which means Grant doesn’t take his situation too seriously even when it seems pretty perilous. There were a few moments that were, if not ‘laugh out loud funny’, at least ‘snigger audibly on the train amusing’. Fortunately the humour lacked some of the corniness of series like Thursday Next.

The way Aaronovitch uses London as the location is brilliant – anyone who lives or works here will know exactly where they are and it was particularly gratifying to see my office’s local pub making an appearance. The link to some of the myths and history of London were interesting and I had to resist the urge to interrupt my reading to find out more.

This was a very enjoyable read – crime fiction with magic, mayhem and myths! You can see another point of review on Notes of Life.