Whispers Under Ground (Rivers of London)

Engaging and a huge relief from the "tough girl falls for big bad guy" dreck that floods the market. The characters are believable. There's no sudden super talent to suddenly save the day, either. I'd recommend starting at the beginning of the series, but only because each book adds slowly to the bigger story. You might have to look up some of the slang if you're not familiar with the modern UK.

Another witty, londonophile urban fantasy from ben Aaronvitch. The stary was fun, the characters now have real depth, with very human development, and the future possibilitiesbeing laid out are enticing.

Lots of action. New characters introduced. Great twists which connect at the end. Impossible to know the ending until it is reached. Really enjoyed how the 'Underground' tunnels were the backdrop for the story.

I read these in somewhat reverse order, but nonetheless, I am hooked! I can hardly wait for the next book. I am especially hoping that it comes out as an audio book. I listened to books 1 and 2 and the narrator does such a wonderful job that, even if I read the print version, I think I will hear his voice in my head narrating.

Which is just what I was looking for. I picked up The Rivers of London at the train station in Vienna because it was one of the few books available in English - what a fun surprise! So, now I am reading Whispers Underground. If you are a stickler for grammer, Aaronovich isn't; I think he tries to write like he speaks. His stories are are great mix of CSI and hoodoo - captivating and funny.

I adore this series, sort of Harry Potter meets Sam Vimes. Smart, funny, full of fascinating details about London, especially its rivers, who appear as demi-gods in every book. Start at the beginning, though, with "Midnight Riot" if you want the full effect - "Whispers Underground" is number 3.

Very good read..Bryant and may meets the police procedural meets Neil Gaiman..reads a little likes Neverwhere and has some very nice touches and what appears to be a good insider knowledge of how the police work..with a handful of magic,demons and supernatural..

I highly recommend this author and these stories if you like urban magic mysteries. very clever universe and very entertaining heroes. i love how consequences play out and definitely recommend reading!

This is the third book I have read about the exploits of PC Peter Grant.
I highly recommend them!
Very entertaining. Difficult to put down.
Any excuse to read just one more chapter.
Just ordered Broken Homes yet another PC Grant saga!

Having only recently discovered the "Rivers of London" series, I've been tearing through them with a great deal of excitement and a greater deal of joy. This book is stuffed with wonderful characters, drawn from reality and thrust into an unreal situation.

Fans who enjoy Charles Stross' "Laundry Files" books will find a similar feel of bureaucratic strictures up against a chaotic system. It would take a wizard to navigate safely through the narrows here.

Fortunately. . .

I have recently been introduced to Ben Aaronovitch and his London series, but I am really enjoying it. I love the humor and the dialogue. The characters are memorable and pull you into the story. Every time I pick up one of these novels, I cannot wait to read more.

Ben Aaronovitch writes of contemporary London. The hero is likable & beleivable. The story line is gripping & difficult to put down, recommended for those who like fantasy & the supernatural. I shall never look at the London underground with the same eyes!

My daughter put me onto this series, and we are both hanging out for the next one. They are intelligent, witty, with a strong sense of 'place' (London, past and present). I do hope they keep coming for a long, long time.

The third in Aaronovitch's very funny urban fantasy series continues the adventures of Peter Grant and company in and under the city of London. Aaronovitch meshes modern art, ancient races, British policing, the odd demi-god and municipal plumbing in another episode of Peter Grant, Police Wizard (apprentice division). Highly recommended for its brisk pacing, fully-realized characters, intriguing bits of history, and the droll running commentary of the narration.

This series is an amusing look into what police procedure in the UK would be like if incidents with paranormal overtones required the use of magic in investigative technique. By no means is this work a challenge to literary greats, but it is a serviceable distraction for a rainy day.

I have read his books a bit out of sequence but still immensely enjoying, inventive and absolutely hilarious in places, especially descriptions of old and new police procedure. Whilst it is pure fantasy its also totally believable.

As good as his first book. It is different and interesting, especially if you like Jim Butcher. Aaronovitch has a great command of the language and it is very British with their great sense of humor. Fun reading!

Dear Mr. Aaronovitch,

Whenever you are in doubt as to the correct choice between "I" and "me" drop the name of the co-conspirator and see how it reads...

We were treated to numerous moments of "me ran" and "me agreed" and "me sound like an ignorant uneducated London slum dweller."

"Me and Nightingale decided..." should be "Nightingale and I decided..."

After a promising start, this book takes an incredibly long time to get anywhere. But what really bugged me were the little mistakes. Any Londoner knows a pony is NOT 500 pounds, that's a monkey. In addition I cannot get over the fact that the American publisher thought it necessary to Americanize these books. So I'm reading about humor, neighbor, color, honor etc. I honestly cannot think of one good reason to do such a thing. Not one.

This guy is a good writer, but the story was disjointed and confusing.
Too many unanswered questions re character and plot.
Maybe there was an earlier book that explained it all, but unless a book is labeled part 1, part 2, etc., then I expect the writer to flesh out story, character and plot line. What was the mask all about?

The body of an American student is found in Baker Street tube station, murdered by a piece of pottery heavily imbued with magical resonance, our hero PC Peter Grant is brought in to investigate. His meandering investigations take him into the underground tunnels and sewers and reunite him with his old partner Leslie, as well as introducing him to an FBI agent hired by the man's wealthy and influential father to investigate the murder.

I always struggle to keep up with the ins and outs of the narrative in these stories, maybe because I enjoy the scenery and the humour so much I kind of lose track of the plot? Anyway, I found it harder than usual this time, not helped by the fact that I kept picking this book up and then putting it down again - of course that's a bit a chicken and egg thing. By the end I found myself thinking "who is Zach?". Okay, I've just searched on my Kindle and now I find out that Zach is the dead man's tenant/ lodger and the connections now fall into place. Sorry, rambling here.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I was enjoying the sorties through the sewers and the fake houses that disguise railway lines so much that I wasn't paying attention to the plot and/or the plot didn't really grab me.

Nevertheless, Ben Aaronovitch is still a brilliant writer and Peter Grant is a fascinating character with witty insights into modern policing, I love, love, loved the unofficial motto of CO19, I look forward to reading the next book in this complex and funny series.

I've previously compared the Peter Grant series to Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden. The similarities are obvious, as both are about wizards solving crimes in big cities (London and Chicago, respectively). However, with the excellent Whispers Under Ground, Ben Aaronovitch seems to be making a case to be compared to Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins instead. Both are black detectives operating in a white world beset upon by multiple adversaries while trying to untangle a singular mystery in cities so unique that they are characters unto themselves. Also, while Dresden and Grant both have affinities for pop culture, Rawlins' and Grant's interests extend to art, history, music, and other minutiae that invoke deeper intellectual curiosity in both men.

Whispers Under Ground is, at its heart, a standard murder mystery. The son of an American senator is found murdered, and Peter Grant and his magical and mundane cohort are tasked with figuring out whodunit. Peter wades through magical London much like Easy travels through the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles: both are members of the communities and guides to the reader.

The book isn't perfect. There's an unfortunate proliferation of very similar characters (mostly Irishmen with bland first names and surnames) that keeping them straight gets to be a chore, but overall this was a really solid read.

Highly recommended.

The cover blurb for "Whispers Underground" calls this fantasy series "The perfect blend of CSI and Harry Potter." Actually, the magical elements are much more grown-up--no vomit-flavored jelly beans or flying brooms. Instead, I'm reminded of the 'pong' that Jonathan Gash's rogue antiques dealer, Lovejoy feels when he comes across a genuine antique. Constable Peter Grant, who is also an apprentice magician, gets a similar 'pong' when he discovers the murder weapon, a sliver of pottery dinner plate. The victim is an American, who was studying art in London until his premature demise in the Baker Street tube.

As you might guess from the title, much of the action takes place under London in the huge Victorian labyrinth of sewers, transportation tubes, storm drains, and forgotten air raid shelters. It you aren't claustrophobic before reading "Whispers Underground" you will be after being buried alive with Aaronovitch's cop/magician hero. In one of the underground chase scenes, Peter and two of his fellow cops are caught up by the rapid current through a storm drain:

"Between duckings I glimpsed a patch of gray. I opened my mouth to yell 'Daylight' and then wished I hadn't when I got a mouthful of diluted sewage....My foot hit something underwater hard enough to pitch me over, and the world's first ever Anglo-American Olympic sewer luge team broke up."

As you can see from the above, this 3rd entry in the Peter Grant series carries on with the tongue-in-cheek first-person narrative style that made "Midnight Riot" and "Moon Over Soho" so un-put-downable. All of our favorite characters appear, including Nightingale, the unflappable senior magician, various river goddesses, and Leslie, the constable who lost her face in a previous episode. It would help to read these books in order, to familiarize yourself with the series' long-running villain, the Faceless Man, and the relationships between characters only get more and more complicated as the adventure moves on. Lots of loose ends guarantee further episodes, and I for one, can't wait until they are published.

Stars: 4.5 out of 5

Whispers Underground is the third book in the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch.

Peter Grant is back and better than ever! When the body of an American exchange student is found on the Underground tracks near Baker Street Station, Peter is forced to explore a bit more of the London’s underground tunnels and sewer systems than he really wants to. But the place where the victim was found has a very strong vestigia, which means that the young man had been killed by magic. And with Nightingale busy chasing after the evil wizard called The Faceless Man, who had almost killed Peter in the previous book, it falls to Peter and Lesley to investigate this particular murder.

Needless to say, I loved this book. Ben Aaronovitch has a knack for sprinkling his stories with just the right amount of intrigue and tension to keep his readers turning the pages. At the same time, he manages to insert little historical trivia and tidbits about magic and science, but in a way that never feels boring or info dumpish.

But the strongest aspect of these books is the characters. Peter Grant is as funny and likable as ever, and Nightingale is still awesome and mysterious. Thou we are starting to see a more human side of him as well, which makes me like him even more, and pity him a little as well. For over fifty years, he had lived his life with the guilt of being one of the few survivors of a war that saw most of the English wizards eliminated. He lived with the conviction that magic was slowly dying out and that he had become obsolete, like the dinosaurs. And all of a sudden he discovers that all this time there had been another wizard operating in London, recruiting apprentices and doing rather questionable experiments, all this right under his nose and he didn’t notice anything.

Oh, and Lesley is back! She is still horribly disfigured and has to wear a mask in public, but she is now a full-time member of the Folly and Nightingale’s second apprentice. I’m glad that she gets a bigger role in these books, because I find her interesting and engaging. She's been handed the short end of the stick, but she doesn't mop around and wallow in her misery. She presses on instead and tries to master the other gift she has discovered - magic. And, unsurprisingly, she is better at it than Peter, because she is determined and persistent.

We are also introduced to a few new characters that might or might not have a bigger role in the next books.

All in all, it’s an excellent installment in the series, and I actually like this story better than Moon over Soho, maybe because I’m not very versed in the musical / jazz scene, but a murder underground – that’s right up my alley.

I don’t think you necessarily need to have read the previous two books to understand the plot of Whispers Underground, but I would strongly recommend reading them first anyway. If nothing else, it will give you two more exciting stories to discover.

My conclusion is – wonderful book. I’m glad I bought it and I already acquired Broken Homes, book 4 in the series, so be on the lookout for a review once I’m done with it.

Even better than the first two books.

Hopefully if you're reading this review, you have already finished the first two books. If so, fear not, this book is even better than the first two. Notably it is easier to follow, and if you are like me, you will be a little worried about the synopsis's mention of the FBI agent. I'm not sure why she is even mentioned, as she is at best a minor character, at worst completely pointless. The point is, she does not detract from the book.

As I mentioned this book is easier to follow than the previous two. I also noticed something special about this book and the series. Each book sets out to build the world, while at the same time building a mystery up. The mystery is equal parts whodunit and police procedural. During all of this the narrator in the form of Peter Grant is just amazing with his random distractions and off topic musings. Funny, hilarious, enjoyable.

I highly recommend this book and series to pretty much anyone. Please do yourself a favor and pick it up.

P.S. If you are wondering why I don't give it a 5 star, while incredibly enjoyable it doesn't check the boxes, namely making me think about it constantly when I'm not reading it, that make me give books 5 stars.

Whispers Underground is the third book in Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series. By this point the primary characters and setting are well established as indeed are some of the secondary characters. You certainly could jump in with this book, but it doesn't really make sense to because there are some continuing background plot threads.

By and large what we're getting here is more of what made the last two books so much fun to read. It's urban fantasy set in London with a generally light tone and some police work trappings. But it's not a procedural and it will go dark when the occasion demands.

The previous volume left some major questions on the table, but Whisper's Underground only touches on them briefly instead giving us an interesting but stand alone mystery. And it's an odd one. Part of what I like about this series is it doesn't use the same old monsters that everyone else is using. You're going to get something different and unique.

As always our focal character is Peter Grant and the handling of his ethnic background is well done. It's never a focus, but elements bubble to the surface from time to time. It's nice to have Lesley May back in an active role in the series too and again the experiences she's been through are not dodged nor over-emphasised. Aaronovitch has a firm grasp on these characters.

Because of the serial nature of these books there are a lot of elements in play here, but they're well juggled and attention remains firmly on the plot and the action, which is properly resolved by the end of the book. Yes there are unanswered questions, but you come away feeling like you've read a complete story.

I would definitely put this in the page turner category. It's not high art or revelatory literature but if you enjoy some escapist Urban Fantasy this should be a very satisfying read.

Quantum entanglement is just pixie dust with the word quantum thrown in. That, at least, is Constable Peter Grant's explanation of magic. Whether magic is caused by quantum entanglement or pixie dust, Grant is slowly learning to master it, a hobby that serves him well in his career with London's Metropolitan Police. He is assigned to the Folly, the hush-hush department (known more formally as the Specialist Assessment Unit) charged with investigating cases when "things get weird." Things get weird when an American named James Gallagher is stabbed to death with a sharp bit of pottery in London's Underground -- weird in part because it isn't clear how Gallagher got into the tunnel (his staggering exit at one of the platforms is captured on CCTV).

Something odd is taking place beneath the surface of London and it's up to Grant to connect the underground madness to Gallagher's death. The mystery takes Grant (together with boss Nightingale and apprentice Lesley) on a tour of the Underground's tunnels and London's sewers. A variety of magical types turn up to provide assistance or trouble (or both), including river goddesses, an Earthbender, and a half-fairy (on his father's side). And then there are the mysterious dwellers below London's surface....

Grant is sort of a neophyte magician so the novel is relatively light on magic -- a good thing, from my perspective. I'm more partial to detective work and/or humor than spell-casting and ghost-busting. The familiar elements of a police procedural give the novel its shape and keep it moving forward at a steady pace. Still, I recommend Whispers Under Ground not so much for its convoluted whodunit plot but for Ben Aaronovitch's humor. Aaronovitch's take on law enforcement officers is consistently amusing and his good-hearted American-bashing (like his French-bashing) is priceless.

Whispers Under Ground is written with enough attitude to keep the story interesting even when it lags, as it does from time to time. Unlike the London Underground, the plot doesn't consistently stay on track. Grant's burial by the Earthbender, for instance, leads to an extended scene of no clear relevance. It is one of a few passages that add nothing to the narrative. Still, Aaronovitch's snappy prose held my attention even when the story didn't.

Aaronovitch makes occasional references to events that occurred in earlier novels in the series. Having not read the earlier installments, those references baffled me. I don't think it's necessary to read the earlier novels to understand this one, but doing so would provide helpful context. Fortunately, although I sometimes felt like an outsider who didn't understand the novel's in-jokes, Aaronovitch coaxed a smile or a snicker on nearly every page, and that sufficed to earn my mild recommendation of this offbeat novel.

The third book in the Rivers of London series finds PC Peter Grant investigating the death of an art student--who is also the son of a US senator. Peter goes underground to find the killer--and finds much more. Author Ben Aaronovich continues to show his characters growing and changing. I am looking forward to more and more of Leslie, who continues to be a terrific police officer, even while she deals with her magic-induced injury. The conclusion asks questions about society and freedom to live apart and I hope Aaronovich revisits this theme.

This book was, apparently, the third in a series. Having read it out of turn, the mystery stands on its own, but some of the side points were left unexplained -- the fact that the author did not re-explain every interesting point is something I definitely would have appreciated, had I read the first two books. In this one, it left me wondering, but did not interrupt the story.

Semi-rookie Peter Grant investigates crimes in London when "other" explanations are required. His partner Lesley wears a mask because, as she explains at the beginning of the book, her face fell off. I imagine this whole story is encompassed in book 2, but in book 3, it merely adds to the overall ambience of the book. Nightingale is their boss and they live at the Folly with Molly, who I assume is their ghost housekeeper (again, probably detailed in a prior book).

The mystery in this book is fun and Aaronovitch spends time going through the hoops of crime investigation. It's an entertaining read for a saturday afternoon or a plane ride (where I did most of my reading).

On the cover is a portion of a review that claims that this book is the perfect mix of Harry Potter and CSI. As a Harry Potter fan, I beg to differ. This book is more like the Dresden Files, without the same level of darkness or angry wry humor, and with more investigation and cop-speak. I can only assume the Harry Potter reference on the cover is due to a few Harry Potter references throughout the book itself, and the fact that there are wizards and "fae." Perhaps if I had read books 1 and 2 I might understand the comparison more -- being brought through a new world and learning of magical creatures as the main character does is part of the magic of Harry Potter. Harry Grant spends more effort not being shocked because cops are supposed to know more than the public and, necessarily, an element of wonder is absent.

Overall, I enjoyed Aaronovitch's sense of humor (quite a lot at times), and I appreciated the distinctly london feel and dialect. I would recommend the book, particularly to someone who is interested in a detective solving crimes involving the supernatural.

London Police Constable Peter Grant returns for the third volume of this urban fantasy series with a well connected American murder victim that has a trace of magic attached to him. The complex plot weaves together a born again Christian FBI agent who does not like the idea of magic, some very special pottery, a teenaged girl who is catching on to the whole magic thing all too quickly, an underground world and the larger story arc of the deadly rogue magician- all told in the funny, snarky voice of Grant. This volume gets back to the frantic pace that the first in the series had.

I did find myself getting lost at times because of the large number of characters, unable to remember if this or that person was FBI, London police, or counter terrorism. Thankfully the main characters have had three books to flesh out their parts and there is no forgetting them! Character is one of the things that shines in this series; no one is a caricature and everyone is well drawn. London itself is so thoroughly described, history and all, that the city almost becomes a character in its own right. The other strong suite is the humor; a dry, witty way of describing things and great banter between the main characters. I hope this series goes on for many books!

The 2012 Olympic Games in London just came to a close, and sadly, most of us didn't get to go. So, why not take this opportunity to read some fantasy set in present day London? It's almost as good as being there!

No, really: the Peter Grant novels by Ben Aaronovitch are a great way to feel like you're actually visiting the city by the Thames. Whispers under Ground, the third novel in the series, was released right at the start of this Olympiad, and it's just as much fun as the first two books Rivers of London (which for some reason was retitled as Midnight Riot in the US) and Moon over Soho. These books are definitely worth a look if you're in the mood for some fun contemporary fantasy with large doses of humor and police procedural thrown in the mix.

At the start of the series, main character and narrator Peter Grant is a constable-in-training in London's venerable police force. It looks like he's in line for an exciting career of boring desk work, but that all changes when he draws the luckless duty of guarding a crime scene overnight because, to his eternal surprise, he is approached by the only witness to the crime... who also happens to be a ghost. Peter is swiftly recruited into a secret part of the police force that focuses on the supernatural and magical, and apprenticed to the mysterious Thomas Nightingale, the leader and only other active member in this centuries-old department.

Rather than becoming a desk jockey, Peter ends up as the newest member in a long line of wizards who secretly assist the London police force. He begins to study magic, which in these books has a methodical, even scientific underpinning going back to centuries of research. During his studies, he also helps Nightingale investigate the many magic-related mysteries and crimes that apparently take place in present day London.

The result of all of this is a series that crosses several sub-genres: definitely urban fantasy, but also elements of police procedural, a tiny bit of horror, and a generous helping of humor. The police procedural aspect is surprisingly pronounced: Ben Aaronovitch has obviously done his research and writes convincingly and in great detail about the inner workings of the London Police Department. The horror isn't a defining part of these books, but they do contain a few scenes that are shockingly dark and really drive home how meaningful the central mystery of each novel is.

Maybe those few gruesome scenes are more shocking because, for the most part, Ben Aaronovitch writes some of the funniest prose in current fantasy. These books are extremely entertaining, mainly because narrator Peter Grant has a hilarious voice and a sly sense of humor I really appreciate. In Whispers Under Ground we learn that Grant has an interest in architecture, which explains why he's paid so much attention to London's famous and infamous buildings throughout the series. Take for example this quote from series opener Rivers of London/Midnight Riot:

"City of Westminster Magistrates' Court is around the back of Victoria Station on the Horseferry Road. It's a bland box of a building built in the 1970s; it was considered to be so lacking in architectural merit that there was talk of listing it so that it could be preserved for posterity as an awful warning. Inside, the waiting areas maintained the unique combination of cramped busyness and barren inhumanity that was the glory of British architecture in the second half of the twentieth century."

The entire series is full of this type of quirkily effective prose and dry humor, making it a pure pleasure to read. They're the kind of books that often make you grin and, occasionally, laugh out loud. Here's another example from the newest novel, Whispers Under Ground:

"The media response to unusual weather is as ritualized and predictable as the stages of grief. First comes denial: "I can't believe there's so much snow." Then anger: "Why can't I drive my car, why are the trains not running?" Then blame: "Why haven't the local authorities sanded the roads, where are the snowplows, and how come the Canadians can deal with this and we can't?" This last stage goes on the longest and tends to trail off into a mumbled grumbling background moan, enlivened by occasional ILLEGALS ATE MY SNOWPLOW headlines from the Daily Mail, which continues until the weather clears up."

Peter Grant is the most well-defined character in these novels, mainly because Ben Aaronovitch deftly balances Peter's various struggles throughout the book. On the one hand, he's trying to master his magic and investigate the strange, random murders occurring in London, but he's also a bachelor in the city, dealing with the various young women he encounters, including an attractive colleague who plays an increasingly important role in the series, as well as the female personification of a Thames tributary. (Did I mention that, in this fantasy universe, each river has its own god? And that they occasionally play important roles in the novels?) Because Peter comes from a mixed-race family (his mother is West African) these novels also give an interesting look at what life's like for a vaguely Arabic-looking young man like Peter in modern day London--especially when he's out of uniform.

The other characters rarely reach the same level of depth as Peter, but several of them do grow in complexity as the series progresses. Especially Peter's colleague Leslie continues to develop from novel to novel, but we also get more and more looks at Peter's family (his father, a musician, features prominently in the jazz-focused Moon Over Soho) and at other members of the police department. Still, this probably won't be a series you'll want to read for the deep character studies. These books are fast reads, full of humor, mystery and magic, and it's best not to take everything too seriously and just go along for the ride.

I'm usually not a big fan of urban fantasy, but this series is so much fun that I always look forward to the next installment. If you're looking for a fast-moving, entertaining urban fantasy that'll make you feel like you're visiting London vicariously this summer, pick up series opener Midnight Riot/Rivers of London. And if you've already read the first two books, you'll probably be glad to hear that the newest installment Whispers Under Ground is just as good.

When the body of American student James Gallagher is found at the end of a London tunnel, it’s up to apprentice sorcerer and Constable Peter Grant to sort what’s what. That’s not easy when Gallagher turns out to be the son of a Senator and the FBI send their own investigator to monitor the local’s progress.

Because this is a case for the department formerly known as the Specialist Assessment Department. James Gallagher was stabbed to death by a piece of enchanted pottery of a kind Peter has never seen before. Not only that, but they can’t figure out how James came to be in the tunnel, for it is only his exit that is captured on CCTV.

This is book number three from Aaronovitch, but the first one I’ve read. I spent most of this book hoping they’d explain how Lesley lost her face. He didn’t. This is a fun story, complete with murders, mystery, and magic. Our hero, Peter Grant, comes from a family of West African descent. A refreshing difference from other magical purveyors – and he doesn’t hide what he does from his family either, which gives us a bit of interesting interaction with those close to him that is so normal.

This is book three of what is turning into one of my favorite series. Now this work can be read as a stand-alone but the story will be greatly enhanced if the reader starts with the first two novels in the series,Midnight Riot and Moon Over Soho.

A body is found in a pool of blood in London's underground. The body is that of a young man; an art student and an exchange student from America who happens to have a very powerful family. The young man has been stabbed with a pottery shard. There is no reason for him to have been where he was at the time of the murder. There is no real motive, but as we soon discover, there is a touch of magic about the murder weapon and our young police rookie, Peter Grant, who happens to be a wizard in training, is called in on the case.

Much of the actual action in this book takes place in the sewers of London which adds a complete different dimension. For those of you interested in London sewers (And who isn't?), I might suggest the novel, The Great Stink

The author has included his regular characters that we have met in the two previous novels and added a few more to keep the mix going and going well. Peter of course is still learning his new trades and bits and pieces from previous cases flit in and out of this current offering. In this case a female FBI agent is assigned to the case as an observer and to give what "help" she can. Of course her knowledge and belief in magic and sorcery is a bit limited and indeed, quite rejected.

The books in this series are police procedurals set in London, England and the surrounding area. Of course the "procedures" are rather enhanced as there is also a strong element of magic. As with the other books, the author has done a wonderful job of mixing pure science with pure magic and caused the mix to be absolutely seamless throughout the book. The author's knowledge of the history of London causes the book to be a mini history lesson in addition to having an element of an action adventure book. This is all quite a fascinating mix and makes for a very good story.

It should be noted that the book contains a lot of police jargon and most certainly contains a lot of English slang terms. This for me was a positive experience. The English language as spoken by the British is a very colorful language and an absolute delight to the ear. It will take most readers a very shot time to catch the meaning of the words being used here and of course if all else fails...hey, we have google. I was also very pleased as to the way this author handled the dialog in this and previous work. He has written the dialect as to how we actually speak rather than how we write. I found this to be absolutely refreshing. Now he has not used local accents; only changed the grammar to match actual speech.

The one comment I would have, and it is not really a negative one, is that I question whether or not it was a good idea to compare this work to the Harry Potter novels. Yes, there is magic and there are wizards, ancient gods and mythological "creatures," but the similarity ends there. These are adult books and should not be confused for a YA fantasy.

Excellent work and I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

4.5 stars. Another excellent entry in the series, this one with the welcome addition (or re-addition) of Leslie May. The primary case is interesting and introduces us to even more of London's mysterious annals. The secondary, overarching case (that of the faceless wizard, where he comes from, and what he's planning) sees little progress -- but that just leaves more for the subsequent books. I enjoy the growth of the characters, as their relationships solidify and their work with magic improves. Smartly entertaining and a wonderful way to spend a few hours.

The appeal of this series lies in the sardonic humor of the first person narrator, Constable Peter Grant. His pungent, cynical commentary on police work, balanced by his basic decent humanity, gives the novels a distinctive and engaging voice.

When Scotland Yard officers have to bring Grant into their investigative teams, they mentally wince, because that means their case has a supernatural element. In Whispers Underground, Grant is assigned to the murder of a young American in the Baker Street tube station, because the weapon has an aura of magic about it. As he follows clues from the victim's recent history, Grant literally goes deeper underground to the sewers and mysterious tunnels below London. The action sharpens when magical beings vigorously defend their subterranean turf. Throughout the investigation, Grant works with well-delineated sidekicks, particularly Leslie, a constable who has new magic powers but suffers from a horribly disfigured face.

Grant's caustic wit, matched by sharp dialogue from his co-workers, draws readers into the verbal wordplay that makes the series so enjoyable. The police work has an air of authenticity, because Grant acknowledges the tricks used by cops and the real fears they experience as they face danger.

By revealing to the reader the magic beneath the surface of everyday London, author Ben Aaronovitch creates a complex, multifaceted picture of the city. The river goddesses, in particular, vividly remind us of the way water flow has shaped the history of London. The goddesses are sensuous, bold women who dominate their scenes.

Using the framework of a police investigation, Aaronovitch creates a fast-paced adventure. Through Constable Grant's eyes, the reader discovers a magical world beneath the workaday veneer of London. The witty style will make readers smile as they sit on the edge of their seats.

Whispers Underground is the third book in the Peter Grant series and is as good as the previous two. You can't really read this without having read the other two first though.
In this one apprentice wizard/police officer Grant is called in to help the murder squad when the body of the son of a US senator is found dead in the underground. The murder weapon has a magical aura so it's looking a little less than straightforward. Also running alongside the main story is the continuing search for the rogue wizard from the last books and the group of little crocodiles.

The humor, style and characters are the same as previous books. The pace is as quick as ever too. Lesley is involved far more, which is good, and there are more aspects of Londons other side revealed here. However, and this is a minor gripe, the occasional jumping of storyline that has happened previously is here too. Grant occasionally has a flash of inspiration and this is explained pages later. You feel kind of left out of the intervening pages on occasion. However, this is as fun to read as the previous books and not quite so difficult to keep up with the narrative at times.

This series is being quite addictive and the addition of a storyline strand that goes through all the books is a good one. If you liked the other two books then this one is just as good and you will enjoy it. If this is your first book of the series then you are best advised to start at the beginning, Rivers of London, to get the most out of it.

Not my favorite installment in this series, but it has to do more with the fact that I couldn't remember what happened in the previous two books, than with what was happening in this one. Still constable Peter Grant remains one of my favorite character ever.

Non il mio volume preferito della serie, ma piú per il fatto che i riferimenti a fatti avvenuti nei due libri precedenti venivano fatti in continuazione e io non me li ricordavo, piuttosto che per la trama in se stessa. Comunque il Constable Peter Grant rimane uno dei miei personaggi preferiti in assoluto.

Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector and registered wizard Thomas Nightingale assigns sorcerer apprentice London Constable Peter Grant to follow up on the lead of archivist Postmartin as to the whereabouts of two illegally trained evil magicians. Detective Inspector Miriam Stephanopoulos asks Grant to look at the murder of an unidentified male at the Baker Street Underground Station. He finds no vestigium but checks the nearby tube tunnel where he finds the murder weapon is a magical potsherd.

The victim is American exchange student James Gallagher, a son of a U.S. Senator demanding answers. Stephanopoulos' boss taunting cynical Soewell informs Grant he is now part of their murder investigation team since his Nightingale, who usually leads magical inquiries, is tied up with tracking the Faceless Man malevolent magician. FBI Agent Reynolds joins the team as does the other Folly member Constable Lesley May, who recently lost her face to a magical assault.

The third Peter Grant police procedural urban fantasy (see Midnight Riot and Moon Over Soho) is an exhilarating tale in which the actions and reactions of the cast starting with the "Hogwarts Express" make the Aaronovitch mythos seem real. The murder mystery is clever with ties to the Victorian age construction of the underground. Although the overarching premise widens with no forward progress, fans will enjoy the antics of the apprentice constable as he and his cohorts work the Whispers Under Ground whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I checked this book out, but I LOVE the book! Peter Grant is not your usual detective--he (and his partners) have unusual talents that I'm not sure Sherlock Holmes would approve of--but who cares!!!

One of the things I really like in this book is the sense that the reader has been dropped down into an on-going story, with tantalizing hints at what has to be a very interesting back story! The author makes no pretense that each book in the series can be read and enjoyed on its own....and I appreciate that very much! It's a wonderful technique--tension on every page--and makes me want to read the entire series.....after all, it's not every author who would drop the reader into a situation where one of the main characters wears a mask because "she doesn't have a face"---I've just got to find out more..............

This third in the series finds Peter Grant trekking underground to investigate a murder that smells of something magical. According to Nightingale and the River sisters there's nothing strange going on under London. And the River sisters would know considering their waterways criss cross the area in question. But Peter isn't so sure. All the clues lead directly to the tunnels and sewers that lie beneath the city. Meanwhile, the Folly officers have added one more to their ranks since Lesley has begun to show magical abilities and they're all on the hunt for a lead in the case of the faceless man.

Aaronovitch's series remains one of my favorite in the genre. I love the characters and I love the unique magic and supernatural things that keep popping up in Aaronovitch's London setting. The River sisters in particular are fascinating and allows the author to include all kinds of bizarre bits about London history and such. Really a fabulous series all around.

One of my other favourite authors (Lois McMaster Bujold) posted something about loving David Aaronovitch's books, so I decided to give them a try. I started with Rivers of London (PC Peter Grant) (US title: Midnight Riot), moved on to Moon Over Soho, and now am reading Whispers Under Ground.

Peter Grant and Lesley May are real, complex characters with backgrounds that are believable. Aaronovitch's upbringing in London makes his plots completely believable. The plot for Whispers Under Ground centers around the London Underground, with the usual cast of characters playing for screen time. I almost feel like there are too many characters, they are difficult to keep track of if you haven't read the first two books in the series, but make the effort, please! Anyways, I can't imagine which of the characters I would want the author to drop.

One important note: make an effort and get the UK versions of the books if you can. There are real differences, the US editions have been Americanized and it loses something in translation. I've listened to the audio book which follows the UK edition, and didn't realize just how much had been changed. This led to me quickly ordering the UK books.

Aaronovitch can't write quickly enough in my opinion. I can't wait for the next book to arrive in summer 2013.

I'm a big fan of this series, ever since stumbling across "Rivers of London/Midnight Riot". The combination of police procedural and apprentice magician is nicely done, and the world is well-thought-out and plausible, as is the magic system(s) (or what we know if it/them). Even the vampires are very different from other vamps I've read, though they do not appear in this volume.

The way a lot of seemingly unrelated events wind their ways together to become interrelated makes up much of the plot, and it's got a great sense of pacing. As in the others, London itself is effectively a character; this couldn't have happened in any other city. The Rivers make only token appearances, though.

This is an excellent addition to the series, but I do recommend reading the others first- it'll make a lot more sense that way than if read on its own. I am eagerly awaiting #4!

First of all, I’m happy to see that Lesley is back in the story and working alongside Peter and Nightingale. This was another fun paranormal romp through London, below and above ground. The characters, the main ones and secondary ones, are all well-drawn and distinct from one another. I wonder if half-fey Zach Palmer will how up again in later books. I notice that Stephanopolous is rather quiet when Seawoll is around, but quite boisterous when she’s in charge. I’m starting book #4 right away!

I was looking forward to this book so much, I woke up at 4am to download it onto my kindle. Then I read the first chapter and was useless at work the next day. That is how much I like the Peter Grant stories. I love the eccentricity of the magical police officers and the fact that one of the main characters is the city of London itself.

Our gang at The Folly have to investigate the mysterious death of a young man found in an underground station. Of course, this death is not as simple as a straightforward murder, there is magic and all sorts afoot as Peter, Lesley and Nightingale go on a hunt around and under London to find the bonkers truth.

What I like about this, and this third story has really refined this, is the banter between Peter and his colleagues. They may be doing magic and discovering all sorts of strangeness but they are all down to earth and witty as hell. The only thing I would have liked is more at the end, I felt there was more information to be had from some more characters and a few loose ends that could be explored more. Well I guess that means I'll have to wait for the next one. Hurry up and write it please!

Well, Ben Aaronovitch did it. Again. To be specific, he is going better. Whispers under Ground is third case, story and adventure of PC Peter Grant, member of an rather special unit of London fu... finest i intended to say. Folly as it is called is officially on outer fringe of existence, what with its dealing with magic, monsters and other things and beings of err...outer fringe of existence. This time it all goes down....to London Underground. It starts with ghost, then murdered body turns up on Tube station platform. An Senator appears, FBI get involved and and unfinished business with Faceless Man still goes on. I must admit that i had, and still have, some reservation about previous book in this series: Moon over Soho, one of them being that PC Grant was being such a moron ;). Maybe it was all because some thing just ought to happen in Soho. Well, there are things which ought to happen on Underground and lots of them are just the job for Folly. Set an "urban fantasy" on and around Tube carries nowadays risk of being one of them all in a crowded train of ever growing crowd of fantastic, weird and otherwise conventionally unconventional stories drawing from history, legends a fantasies attached to London Underground. Aaronovitch pulled it off just well enough. His story and narrative uses Tube runs trough it as necessary, but does not, basically, depends on it. Good thing is that PC Grant is back in his usual cheeky, witty, wise-cracking form. Mystery/police procedural part of story sometimes seems to be sidetracked by overarching hunt for that main Bad Guy (that one lacking face) of series, but event that all important arrest is finally made, if not exactly just in time for Christmas. Case solved, but hunt for renegade magicians continues...as is obvious from simple fact that fourth book, Broken Homes, hit the bookstores shelves just recently. So PC Grant: Carry on and you folks: read on.

I loved this book - it was one of those books you can't put down and at the same time don't want to end, and begrudge turning every page. But in the end, it left me strangely unfulfilled: sort of literary chinese food. It somehow seemed a lot thinner than Rivers of London or Moon over Soho: it added a lot less to the world of Peter Grant, with so much remaining offscreen that the book seems like an extended interlude. I knew it wasn't the third and final book in a trilogy when I read it, but still, I think its better considered as a small part of the multi-volume Peter Grant saga, however long that turns out to be.

In short, none of the questions from the first two books are answered, and a couple of new ones arise. Lesley makes a welcome re-appearance, and there is a murder to solve...but the plot just seems too thin, and the other recurring characters are barely there at all. I assume that the book was rewritten significantly from the fact its publication was pushed back about 9 months, and that what was originally billed was a run-in with a US evangelical FBI agent (who could maybe use magic) seemed to turn into something else - where the FBI agent has a few scenes, and some pretty memorable ones, but by no means is she a major character.

Still, I did really enjoy spending time with PC Grant again, and as always the love of London (and its tube system) is palpable. I have enough goodwill (in this case) to trust that there is some useful scene-setting here for a bigger picture and future novels. Best-written, perhaps, but I don't think this is the best instalment in the Rivers of London series.

Ben Aaronovitch delivers the third of his books about Constable Peter Grant, who works in the generally derided paranormal department of the London police, but nonetheless goes about his work with a cheeky charm and a knack for getting in trouble.

"Whispers Underground" (Del Rey, $7.99, 303 pages) isn't quite as snappy as "Midnight Riot" and "Moon over Soho" but it's still a fun read, and despite the violence, a welcome change from the deeply depressing dystopic novels that usually land in my mailbox.

Definitely start with "Midnight Riot" if a quick pace, modern police work, actual magic (with Latin formulas that are hard to learn) and a mythic underpinning to a modern metropolis sound like a good mix.

Third in the PC Peter Grant urban fantasy detective mystery series and revolving around an apprentice wizard in today's London. This story takes place around Christmas.

My Take
It's business as usual, although Peter's mum thinks his being a witch is more respectable than being a cop, lol. It's just a dip in the overflowing bucket of hilarious and satirical humor in Whispers Under Ground, part of a series that is a combination of annoying police bureaucratese at which Peter pokes fun and the magic of this cynical copper. Must be Terry Pratchett's influence *more laughter*.

Yeah. Right. Reynolds tells Peter that the FBI investigates all crimes against Americans that occur overseas and Peter throws back the question of the crowbar and the Soho assault. Yep, a well-earned cynicism.

"…we police never like to use real words when we can use incomprehensible jargon instead."

In police circles, he's thought to be a train wreck what with burning down Covent Garden, driving the ambulance into the river, and the helicopters. Then there's that paper clip and Peter's thoughts about what it could do to the rest of the stationery, lol.

I am somewhat confused. In Moon Over Soho, 2, Aaronovitch says Peter is a detective constable, and now he's back to being a police constable.

I am so gonna love the trainspotting Abigail. When she turned eleven, she told her dad that if anyone came near her hair again, she was gonna call Social Services, lol. And it turns out she can see ghosts. The weaselly Zach is going to be an interesting addition; I suspect this con artist will be added to the core cast of characters.

Oh, yeah, the goblin market. Where all the punters despise the Old Bill, until that demon trap goes off…lol…yeah, "now you want the police".

If you love poking fun at Authority and most anything else in life, you have GOT to read PC Peter Grant. It's dang hard to put down!

The Story
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.

The Characters
Back-to-Police Constable (PC) Peter Grant is apprenticed to learn magic with Detective Inspector Thomas Nightingale, his boss, governor, and master. In Moon Over Soho , 2, PC Lesley May, Peter's magic-damaged colleague (see Midnight Riot , 1) has become Nightingale's second apprentice. All three live at the Folly, the London headquarters for their, ahem, "other stuff" division, the Specialist Crime Directorate 9, a.k.a., Specialist Assessment Unit. Molly is something other and acts as the Folly's housekeeper and cook. Toby is the little dog they inherited from a victim in Midnight Riot . Professor Postmartin is the magical archivist. Frank Caffrey is their fire brigade contact and an ex-Para who heads up the magical SWAT team, the Armed Response Unit.

Peter's family, some of 'em
Richard "Lord" Grant is his dad, a jazz musician making a comeback. His mum is Fula, a Sierra Leonean tribe from West Africa. Alfred Kamara is a cousin who lives in the same neighborhood, the Peckwater Estate. His thirteen-year-old daughter, Abigail, extracted a promise from Peter about learning magic. Aunty Jo is actually an old schoolfriend of his mum's.

"'Do you even have a background on mental health?'

I thought of my parents but I didn't think they counted so I said no."

London Metropolitan PD
The Scottish Dr. Abdul Haqq Walid is a world-renowned gastroenterologist and cryptopathologist keeping an eye on how much magic Lesley is doing. Detective Inspector Miriam Stephanopoulos knows about the magic, but doesn't want to know about the magic. Detective Chief Inspector Seawoll is back in charge of the Murder Team and is a hardliner about good old-fashioned policing. In other words, no magic. DC Sahra Guleed calls herself a Somali Muslim ninja. DC David Carey is also the family liaison. Detective Sergeant (DS) Bob will handle the security of the case. Simon Kittredge is Counter Terrorism Command (CTC), liaison to Special Agent Reynolds.

London Transport is…
…the railroad system including the Underground. Sergeant Jaget Kumar is a British Transport Police (BTP) officer who can officially maneuver around the live tracks. He also keeps track of the weird s***. David Lambert is a BTP patrolman.

The Rivers are all…
…gods and divided into Father Thames' family who live above Teddington Lock and Mama Thames' who live below the lock. The original Sir Tyburn is unhappy about the theft of his birthright. Mama Thames was a wanna-be nurse who jumped in the River Thames in 1957. Beverly Brooks, one of her daughters, is a hostage with Father Thames. Lady Tyburn is the rebellious, politically oriented daughter. Fleet is a stocky one and hosts a radio show. Ziggy is the captain dog of Fleet's dogs. Effra Thames, the goddess of the River Effra, Brixton Market, and the Peckham branch of the Black Beauticians Society, has a B.A. in History of Art and is hangin' with Oberon, a cowboy from New Jersey, at the goblin market. Olympia is fraternal twins with Chelsea, respectively the goddesses of Counter's Creek and the River Westbourne, and they're running an underground club.

James Gallagher is an American art student attending St. Martins College (his case will be named Operation Matchbox). Senator Gallagher is James' father. Zachary Palmer, a.k.a., Goblin Boy, is Gallagher's roommate — and an itinerant dodgy half-fairy. Eric Huber is Gallagher's tutor and studio manager. Sonya is the Italian cleaning lady tidying up the mess. Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds is with the FBI and was sent on a watching brief on behalf of James' father.

Shakespeare Tower, a residence designed by "the same Guernsey Gun Emplacement school of architecture" with a Grade II listing, is where Albert Woodville-Gentle, a retired, wheelchair-bound wizard, lives. Varenka is his Russian nurse.

Ryan Carroll is an artist who has an exhibit at the Tate Modern. Siobhán Burke is Ryan's alibi. Kevin Nolan and his smarter brother are Nolan and Sons, a produce vendor, using the old warehouse that was once the Unbreakable Empire Pottery Company.

Graham Beale is CEO of Beale Property Services. His great-great-grandfather, Eugene "Ten-Ton Digger" Beale, was an illiterate navvy from Kilkenny who founded the pottery along with Patrick Gallagher and Matthew Carroll in 1865.

The Quiet People, a.k.a.…
…the Whisperers, live dry and comfy. Stephen is Elizabeth's fiancé, technically, although it's Zach who's really interested; Matthew Ten-Tons is their leader; and, Elizabeth, Matthew's daughter, is more interested in James Gallagher.

The Little Crocodiles were…
…a student dining club illegally taught by Geoffrey Wheatcroft, a theology professor (and wizard) at Magdalen College in Oxford. The Faceless Man whom we met in Moon Over Soho was probably taught by Wheatcroft.

Vestigium is an imprint magic leaves on physical objects. Hypothaumaturgical degradation is what kills you if you do too much magic. Ettersberg was the last magical battle in World War II. Breaking their staffs is the euphemism for quitting wizardry and taking up a mundane life. Forma is how you think the magic into action. Lacuna is a hot spot of residual magic. A spell is a combination of forma . Demon traps are weaponized ghosts. Sir Isaac Newton was the founder of modern magic. Isaacs is a slang term for wizards.

A goblin market is a flea market for those who live in our world, and this one is located in Powis Square. A nazareth is an illegal venue where stolen goods are sold on by strangers to strangers. Hyacinth is a goth girl who deals in figurines and may well be cited "for wearing heavy black mascara in a built-up area". Robert Su is assistant to Madame Teng, a Chinese Taoist sorceress from Taiwan. Macky is a graffiti artist, and a ghost.

The Cover and Title
The cover is the same black-and-white aerial view of London, only this time, the broad red ribbons against the blue–deep lilac background are the London Underground with those wisps from the title forming exchanges as they trail down from the title. I do like the curvaceous title — a reflection of the roller-coaster aspect of the story.

The title refers to what Peter and company find, the source of those Whispers Under Ground.

The third in this entertaining series is an improvement on the second, while not quite hitting the heights of the highly recommended first.

The author writes with wit and charm and a clear love of London, and he is becoming far more confident with his characters, and, in fairness, his characters are becoming more confident too.

Peter Grant (apprentice wizard in the Met's semi-secret `weird' unit) is called to a murder on the London underground and ends up seconded to the murder squad to follow up the stranger leads. It doesn't help that the victim is from the US and an FBI agent is despatched to keep an eye on the investigation. As usual the delight here is the `other' side of London, those who live alongside normal people and although the perspective is not as interesting as the `living' rivers of the first book but there is still plenty to enjoy. Okay. maybe file under "urban Fantasy", but the author makes London very much a part of these novels with a character as complex as some of its inhabitants.

Another excursion into the even-weirder-than-you-think-it-is London of Peter Grant, the copper-magician created by Ben Aaronovitch. Whispers Under Ground picks up where Moon Over Soho left off, with the personnel of the Met's special special branch on the lookout for the twisted magician who - it appears - is the wellspring of most of the increasingly strange things popping up in London. Grant, Nightingale, Molly and the indispensable Toby (who I still hope to see converted into a reliable and SI-compatible measurer of magical activity - put the yap in front of the International Committee for Weights and Measures!) have been joined in The Folly by Grant's fellow-constable Lesley, still cruelly-disfigured by a magical attack but - as revealed at the end of Moon Over Soho - showing some sorcerous abilities herself.

But of course they are distracted from their investigations by another bit of random strangeness: a murder in a busy Tube station, and in the week before Christmas, too. Since the victim is the son of a US Senator, things soon become more complicated, especially since no one is clear how he got in to the Tube system in the first place ...

Working it out leads Grant and his colleagues into the history of the Underground, the tunnels that don't appear on the maps, houses that aren't houses and how a supernatural pact 150 years ago is connected to a warehouse full of unbreakable earthenware. There are also magical land mines, geek taunts, a goblin market and the beginnings of the Folly's own version of the Baker Street Irregulars - as well as the heaviest snowstorm in years.

Aaronovitch has produced another entertaining and original book; one that again displays his great knowledge of and love for London and its many secrets. The humour - and in-depth knowledge of Met procedures - that have been a signature of the other Grant books is here, too, along with the sense of a greater mystery building in the background. There's clearly more to come - a fox is happy to share this insight - and that's a damn good thing.

[...]

I enjoy this unusual series a lot. I love that it's set in mysterious area of London. I love the author's imaginative take on police procedurals. I notice that paranormal/police procedurals are a "thing" right now, and this author does a great job with this sub-sub-genre.

This is a series book. It makes use of action from prior books without a good explanation.

For no good reason the prior failed college education of the viewpoint character changes. There is a massive hunt for the big bad, which just kind of chugs away and goes nowhere.

There is another main story of the challenge of the other main policewoman character, which also goes nowhere at all.

There is also a main mystery of this novel which is 'solved' out of left field.

This was good, but not real good. The prior books were real good.

Is it only me or does anybody else have a problem with one of the lead characters having their name changed without the author or editor noticing or caring. PC Leslie May becomes PC Lesley May in this third novel and i all but threw the book away in disgust.

I really like Ben Aaronovitch. His books are fun, filled with an interesting style of magic, and are very mystery based.

So it wasn't a big surprise that I couldn't put the third book in his urban fantasy series, Whispers Under Ground, down and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Aaronovitch does a fantastic job creating interesting characters that readers will want to not only read about but meet and have a pint with. None of the characters are perfect, know everything, or are even all powerful in magic. In fact most of the time Peter, the protagonist, is figuring it out as he goes along and makes a muck of things before he figures it out.

Of course, besides Aaronvich's take on magic, I really enjoy his writing style and the way he gives a mini history lesson on a subject in each book as background for the overall mystery. This may sound boring to some, but he does it wonderfully weaving in interesting facts into the overall story in a way that builds a much deeper connection between the reader and the world.

So if you don't like well written books, filled with relatable/interesting characters, a fascinating take on magic, and a captivating mystery, then this book probably isn't for you. But if you so happen to like to read an engrossing book that wont let you put it down, then this definitely is the book for you. Another win from the up and coming author Ben Aaronovitch.

[...]

Absolutely LOVED it. Aaronovich really weaves a wonderful thread, a story if an alternative reality which could very well happen in our normal life. Truly wonderful, as good as Harry Dresden, but better.

Unlike some series that become boring and repetitive, this supernatural police series just improves with age. Normally this type of fantasy fiction is so out of my wheel house that I wouldn't even pick it up, but a recommendation from a friend helped me discover this talented author.
This magical branch of the London Metropolitan Police, fights unusual acts of crime, with a very small force of special police officers. I love the humor interjected throughout and maybe that's why I enjoy them so much, or it could be the great writing.

I really like Ben Aaronovitch's writing, I think it's the dry humour that appeals as well as the unusual characters and subject matter. As soon as heard there was another Rivers of London novel out I bought it straight away. I don't think it quite has the pace of the previous 2 novels in the series, but still a good read and worth recommending.

Have just completed this book in a couple of hours which makes the 3 books 2 1/2 days. Really enjoyable, all the horror, comedy etc I have come to expect from these books. What is there left now? Ben has brought this one to an end that could well be the end, or is it? Possible to continue with Peter's training in future stories but it is also perfectly reasonable to finish here. However, on a purely selfish standpoint, I hope there are more to come. Please!

While you will have to suspend disbelief for a while, you will find in the third Peter Grant magical detective story a cast of appealing characters, whom you quickly start to care about, and a tale compelling enough to keep you turning the pages. A really fun read.

Nice style. I especially like the revelations right after the clue. I have enjoyed all my trips to England, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall, and had no trouble communicating. In this book there is so much slang that it made it difficult to read, mentally pausing about every 5th word to translate.

The body of an American student is found in Baker Street tube station, murdered by a piece of pottery heavily imbued with magical resonance, our hero PC Peter Grant is brought in to investigate. His meandering investigations take him into the underground tunnels and sewers and reunite him with his old partner Leslie, as well as introducing him to an FBI agent hired by the man's wealthy and influential father to investigate the murder.

I always struggle to keep up with the ins and outs of the narrative in these stories, maybe because I enjoy the scenery and the humour so much I kind of lose track of the plot? Anyway, I found it harder than usual this time, not helped by the fact that I kept picking this book up and then putting it down again - of course that's a bit a chicken and egg thing. By the end I found myself thinking "who is Zach?". Okay, I've just searched on my Kindle and now I find out that Zach is the dead man's tenant/ lodger and the connections now fall into place. Sorry, rambling here.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I was enjoying the sorties through the sewers and the fake houses that disguise railway lines so much that I wasn't paying attention to the plot and/or the plot didn't really grab me.

Nevertheless, Ben Aaronovitch is still a brilliant writer and Peter Grant is a fascinating character with witty insights into modern policing, I love, love, loved the unofficial motto of CO19, I look forward to reading the next book in this complex and funny series.

I loved this book - it was one of those books you can't put down and at the same time don't want to end, and begrudge turning every page. But in the end, it left me strangely unfulfilled: sort of literary chinese food. It somehow seemed a lot thinner than Rivers of London or Moon over Soho: it added a lot less to the world of Peter Grant, with so much remaining offscreen that the book seems like an extended interlude. I knew it wasn't the third and final book in a trilogy when I read it, but still, I think its better considered as a small part of the multi-volume Peter Grant saga, however long that turns out to be.

In short, none of the questions from the first two books are answered, and a couple of new ones arise. Lesley makes a welcome re-appearance, and there is a murder to solve...but the plot just seems too thin, and the other recurring characters are barely there at all. I assume that the book was rewritten significantly from the fact its publication was pushed back about 9 months, and that what was originally billed was a run-in with a US evangelical FBI agent (who could maybe use magic) seemed to turn into something else - where the FBI agent has a few scenes, and some pretty memorable ones, but by no means is she a major character.

Still, I did really enjoy spending time with PC Grant again, and as always the love of London (and its tube system) is palpable. I have enough goodwill (in this case) to trust that there is some useful scene-setting here for a bigger picture and future novels. Best-written, perhaps, but I don't think this is the best instalment in the Rivers of London series.