A review by somewheregirl7
Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

4.0

Peter Grant is a junior constable when he stumbles into the middle of a grisly murder spree. If only he hadn't seen the ghost that night everything might have been different. Now he's been reassigned to Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale of the London Metro Police - in a department that consists of only the two of them and can best be described as the department of weird shit. Ghosts, magic, elementals, vampires, Nightingale has dealt with them all and now Peter has to deal with them too as he races to find a supernatural killer intent on making London his public stage.

The characters and language of this book are excellent. The descriptions are the absolute best and Aaronovitch has a way with language that just makes me grin. The plot drags a bit toward the end but then speeds up. Overall I think the book could have been edited down a bit, but those are minor quibbles. There are too many other fantastic aspects not to give this book a go. I really appreciate that magic is actually hard work in Aaronovitch's universe and his characters and supernaturals conform to physical laws. Everything is so probable and well handled that you could almost believe the story possible, which is the best kind of urban fantasy. The language is gritty at times but it fits with the story. A good read and I'll definitely be looking for more from this author.