Whispers Under Ground: Ben Aaronovitch

Introduction at Goodreads:

It begins with a dead body at the far end of Baker Street tube station, all that remains of American exchange student James Gallagher—and the victim’s wealthy, politically powerful family is understandably eager to get to the bottom of the gruesome murder. The trouble is, the bottom—if it exists at all—is deeper and more unnatural than anyone suspects . . . except, that is, for London constable and sorcerer’s apprentice Peter Grant. With Inspector Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, tied up in the hunt for the rogue magician known as “the Faceless Man,” it’s up to Peter to plumb the haunted depths of the oldest, largest, and—as of now—deadliest subway system in the world.

It has been a pleasure to read each of the first three books from the Rivers of London series. I agree with this reviewer:

This is really a 4.8 star book. Not quite perfection, but much better than "really liked it." Firstly, I must say that Aaronovitch checked off my "do not rehash for those too lazy to read the earlier books" box. I loathe spending important book time with awkward monologues re-telling the plots of earlier books.

I too gave this four stars on Goodreads, and I did not want to bump it up to five stars. But it is very far above most other four star books. I use the rating system on Goodreads for my own use, to remember how I felt about it, but I feel like enjoyment of a book is very subjective and often depends on frame of mind or the weather. I sometimes re-evaluate my rating (usually in the week or so after reading the book).

So, why did I like it so much?

This book is definitely on the light and humorous side, although not laugh out loud funny. Although it may be for readers in the UK, who may get a lot more of the humor than I do. Yet, humorous though it is, it is not lacking in disgusting corpses or action-packed investigations. And the two elements balance each other out.

Lesley, another Police Constable, is back again. She featured a lot in the first book, but had a lower profile in the second book. I am glad to have her back. She is a strong female character, which is important, because Peter can be a little "sexist" or, at the least, clueless about the opposite sex.

I noted in the review of the second book in the series that there was more sex in that book than I was comfortable with. It just wasn't necessary. This one has very little of that... and both books were equally entertaining. I think this one is less violent too, though as I have said, lots of action. Feels like a thriller with fantasy elements. And we even have visitors from the USA taking part in the investigation.

But, the absolutely best thing about these books is how they are told, through Peter, our apprentice wizard. I start reading Peter's first person account, and I am completely entertained and entranced until I am done with the book.

The books are police procedurals, with autopsies and crime scene analysis, and the usual following up on leads. Here is Peter's description:

This is police work: you go from point A to point B, where you learn something that forces you to schlep back to point A again to ask questions that you didn't know to ask the first time. If you’re really unlucky you do both directions in the worst snow since written records began and with Zachary Palmer offering you driving advice while you do it.

Later, they have moved on to another area of London. The descriptions of London landmarks is another plus in this series. The author and Peter both clearly love the city:

Onward to Point C - in this case Southwark, the traditional home of bearbaiting, whorehouses, Elizabethan theatre and now the Tate Modern. Built as an oil fired power station by the same geezer who designed the famous red telephone box, it was one of the last monumental redbrick buildings before the modernists switched their worship to the concrete altar of brutalism. The power station closed in the 1980s and it was left empty in the hope that it would fall down on its own. When it became clear that the bastard thing was built to last, they decided to use it to house the Tate’s modern art collection.

There is a quote on the Rivers of London book cover by Diana Gabaldon: "what if Harry Potter grew up and joined the fuzz?" I don't see the similarity between the books myself (I have read the first six Harry Potter books), and I find that description misleading. It would make me avoid the series. Of course, the quote is about Harry Potter grown up, but I really think Harry Potter as an adult would be much different from Peter. Oh well, my point is really that this quote should not keep anyone from trying these books.

I have also seen comparisons between the Rivers of London series and the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher. Based on reviews, I had rejected that series. Not that the reviews were bad, but that the elements of the stories did not appeal. I think I should reassess that decision, and give the first book in the series a try.

In parting, I would say that these books are best read in order. As noted above, the author does not waste the reader's time on rehashing the back story. But, several reviewers said that the first book they read was this one, and they liked the book just fine. So, you can probably go either way. As many reviews say, once you read this book there are spoilers for the first two. But you could probably enjoy reading any of them as stand-alone books.

This is my third submission for Once Upon a Time VIII. My reviews for the first two books are  here. and here.