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.
