It’s nice how Kari and I can remain friends despite having exact opposite responses to the words “Cockney wizard detective”.
This is the fifth in a series of books that commenced a few years back with Rivers of London. There, the protagonist, PC Peter Grant, has just finished his training when he is assigned to the branch of the London Metropolitan Police Force that deals with supernatural crimes, and apprenticed to Detective Inspector Thomas Nightingale in order to be trained as a wizard.
It might sound like the X-Files, but in fact the words “supernatural crimes” are where the comparison ends. There’s no Scully, no spirit of scepticism: a running joke is that every officer above a certain rank in the Met is aware of the existence of magic, but doesn’t want to know about it, and certainly doesn’t want his or her investigation tainted by any evidence that might suggest such a thing. Moreover, the books are uniquely English in flavour, drawing on English tradition, superstition, and culture, and bringing to life aspects of the different spirits with which various locations in London are imbued. Rivers of London is concerned with the spirit of colour, disorder and riot in and surrounding Covent Garden, particularly its history. The second in the series, Moon Over Soho, involves a plot centred on the jazz scene as it developed in the post-war years in Soho. And so on.
This most recent addition to the series is centred on the disappearance of two pre-teen girls, and the mythology surrounding the notion of the changeling, something I’ve been vaguely interested in since I learned about it at too young an age and became mildly freaked out. It’s good, and I’d certainly rather read it again that do any number of other things in my life (the unwashed dishes in this room being a case in point). However, it’s not the best. The bulk of the book takes place in Herefordshire, which is unfortunate; while I’m sure it’s as atmospheric as anywhere else in England, it’s not what Peter would call his “manor”, and the location doesn’t come to life in the way that it did in the previous novels. Also, unlike in the previous novels, since Peter is away from home there is no sub-plot about his ongoing training and the development of his wizarding skills, which is an enjoyable aspect of the other books.
I understand why all these things were necessary. Book 4 ended with a major life-changing decision for one of the major characters, and moving the action away from London was a way of diffusing the fall-out from that event and giving the narrative some space to build up tension for when it all comes back to bite them in the arse. But it’s like when Voldemort comes back at the end of Goblet of Fire, but then Dumbledore doesn’t get in contact with Harry all summer and he’s just lying around wondering when disaster will strike. I’m ready to get back into the action of the main arc, not dither around in the sodding West Midlands.
Don’t let this review put you off, though! These books are hugely enjoyable and a massive treat; I sometimes have to stop myself from going back and starting all over again once I finish them, because I know there will be a day when I’ve read them one too many times and I want it to be far away from now. If, unlike SOME PEOPLE, those words I mentioned at the beginning sound like a fun-filled couple of hours to you, do yourself a favour and have a read.