Book Review: Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

This book was published as "Rivers of London" in the UK, hence the cover from Amazon has a different title.

Constable-in-training Peter Grant is ready to lose the hyphenated bits of his title and join the London Metropolitan Police Force. He's worried that he'll get stuck in some boring paperwork division. He and fellow trainee Leslie (for whom he has mild lustful intentions) are on guard duty at a murder scene when Peter interviews an eyewitness to the crime. That witness turns out to be a ghost, something he's reluctant to reveal to his superiors. They find out and he's put in a secret division of the police--the magical and uncanny investigation department. He has one supervisor, DCI Thomas Nightingale, an experienced magician who teaches Peter the basics of magic as they work their side of the murder investigation. They also have to deal with a territorial dispute between two rivals--Mother Thames and Father Thames. She has the south end of the river (including most of London); he has the north end but has been encroaching. She's mad and wants the police to get things sorted. Peter has to liaison with some water nymphs who naturally also inspire lustful intentions, though Peter is warned not to get personally involved with magical beings. It's a strange start for his law enforcement career.

The book is an interesting mashup of urban fantasy and police procedural. The characters are aware of their setting, often making comments or jokes referencing Harry Potter or the Twilight series. The story is told first-person by Grant, justifying the exposition through his novice status and the comedy through his wry worldview. The humor is plentiful and lightens up the fairly graphic murders. The descriptions of London are quite vivid too. The reader has a good sense of walking around in various neighborhoods that have their own charms and squalor. Aaronovitch also does a good job showing the mundane nature of a lot of police work--waiting around or having to search through a lot of CCTV footage for what's needed. I found the book satisfying on many levels.

Recommended. 

The book is the subject of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast #269.