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Last week, I reviewed The Splendid and The Vile by Erik Larson, about the London Blitz from the perspective of Winston Churchill and the people close to him. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it in the audio version.
Book: Midnight Riot (published as Rivers of London in Britain) and Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
Genre: Supernatural mystery
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication date: 2011
Source: ebook borrowed from the library
Summary: A young constable, Peter Grant, fears he isn't good enough to meet his goal to be a detective for London's Metropolitan Police. And, then, he sees a ghost and things get really complicated. It turns out there is a tiny division of the police where a ghost-seeing ability is an asset, not a cause for a referral to a psychiatrist. Through the cases in Midnight Riot and Moon Over Soho, Peter learns about a lot of strange and unusual creatures, many of them much scarier than ghosts.
Midnight Riot and Moon Over Soho are the first of eight novels (plus some short stories and novellas) in this series set in modern-day London, with a twist.
Thoughts: My fascination with the rivers and lost rivers of London gave me a particular draw to Midnight Riot where we get to meet personifications of rivers and learn their personalities and powers.
Moon Over Soho had a surprising connection to the book I reviewed last week. I usually try to avoid similarities between audio books and ebooks that I read at the same time, but I accidentally found myself learning about the bombing of Café de Paris during the Blitz in a history ( The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson) and a mystery ( Moon Over Soho).
I enjoyed both of these books. And, I discovered, once again, that I'm not very good at reading mysteries. My mind just doesn't hold on to the details enough to keep the story straight, so I get to the end of the book, having enjoyed the journey but with no clear understanding of the destination.
I'll probably continue to read this series because the world and the characters are so interesting, but I'm going to take a break and read something that is easier for me - historical fiction.
Appeal: The amusing narrative voice and outlandish creatures make this an unusual addition to the police procedural genre. If you take that genre terribly seriously, this might not be for you. But if you like the idea of taking a bit of fun with it, you'll enjoy this series - especially if you like to take a romp about London while you read.
Other Reviews: Jean of Howling Frog Books reviewed Midnight Riot in 2019, which is how I found out about the series.
Have you read this book? What did you think?
About Joy Weese Moll
a librarian writing about books
