Rivers of London (Peter Grant #1) by Ben Aaronovitch

Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Kobna Holbrook-Smith
Performance: 🌑🌑🌑🌑🌓
Story: 🌑🌑🌑🌑

London is definitely on my bucket list and this book just gave me a tour with a paranormal flavor. 

Peter Grant is a probationary constable itching to get into action but it seems his supervisor might be assigning him to desk work. However a murder and a chance meeting with a ghost changed his assignment from desk work to apprentice wizard for DCI Thomas Nightingale. Comparisons to Harry Potter are inevitable and the irony is not lost. 

So magic is real,’ I said. ‘Which makes you a … what?’

‘A wizard.’

‘Like Harry Potter?’

Nightingale sighed. ‘No,’ he said, ‘not like Harry Potter.’

‘In what way?’

‘I’m not a fictional character,’ said Nightingale.

However, unlike Harry Potter, the magic is interwoven with science. Peter makes use of the scientific method and applied some scientific principles when doing his magic. It makes sense since the founder of English magic was Sir Isaac Newton who wrote Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Artes Magicis.  He also made experiments and asked pertinent questions such as where the magic comes from, why does it affect electronic gadgets and so on. This adds realism to the magic bit. I would have done the same thing myself. In addition to science, Peter also uses music analogies, his father being a Jazz musician. Magic, music and science, it makes for an interesting magic system.

‘Ready to go again?’ asked Nightingale. ‘Try and focus on the sensation as I do it – you should feel something.’

‘Something?’ I asked.

‘Magic is like music,’ said Nightingale. ‘Everyone hears it differently. The technical term we use is forma, but that’s no more helpful than “something”, is it?’

In this world, gods and goddess walk the earth. During the course of his investigations, Peter meets the rivers of London. There seems to be some conflict between Mama Thames and Father Thames and Peter needs to settle it. Some of these rivers could be really touchy.  

I’d found a seventeenth-century map of the rivers of London. ‘That would be the Fleet and the Tyburn?’ I asked.

‘You can call her Tyburn if you want to spend the rest of the day dangling from a noose,’ said Beverley. ‘If you ever meet her, you better make sure you call her Lady Ty. Not that you ever want to meet her. Not that she ever wants to meet you.’

There are a lot of things I love about this book. First, I heard that UK books published in the US are sometimes dumb down. This book retains a certain Britishness that I usually go for in my readings. As a non-native English speaker, it's fun to learn British slang and idioms. Not only the language but I picked up tidbits of information about London and old plays. Knowing that the song 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow' was from a gruesome tragicomedy appeals to my morbid side. The story itself was full of police procedural things which would have been dull had it not for Peter's commentaries. Peter Grant's 'voice' is witty and I love how he dropped pop-culture references along side the classics. Nightingale, Peter's friend Lesley May, Molly, Beverly and even Toby the dog, all of these characters pop out of the pages or in the case of audiobook, brought to life vividly by Kobna Holbrook-Smith. 

Rivers of London is the first book of the series. It's has a great ensemble cast and incredible world-building. The story was described as smart by other reviewers and I couldn't agree more. The author, Ben Aaronovitch shares his love for London from the point of view of somebody who lives and breaths the streets.  I can't wait to go on another tour of the city with PC Peter Grant. 

SOUNDTRACK

Somebody Got Murdered

The Clash
Sandinista

Someone lights a cigarette
While riding in a car
Some ol' guy takes a swig
And passes back the jar
But where they were last night
No-one can remember
Somebody got murdered
Goodbye, for keeps, forever

Somebody got murdered
Somebody's dead forever

And you're minding your own business
Carrying spare change
You wouldn't cosh a barber
You're hungry all the same
I been very tempted
To grab it from the till
I been very hungry
But not enough to kill

Somebody got murdered
His name cannot be found
A small stain on the pavement
They'll scrub it off the ground
As the daily crown disperses
No-one says that much
Somebody got murdered
And it' left me with a touch

Somebody got murdered
Somebody's dead forever
Sounds like murder!
Those shouts!
Are they drunk down below?

It's late, and my watch stopped
Some time ago
Sounds like murder!
Those screams!
Are they drunk down below?

https://www.azlyrics.com