Rivers of London is the first book in a series of Novels by Ben Aaronovitch where a London Met officer named Peter Grant's life changes for the bizarre, after what should have been a regular encounter with the career advisor at work. Instead, Grant becomes one of the chief detectives in a most unusual case, involving ghosts, magic, victorian drama, spirits of the river and people's faces falling off. So as not to spoil the plot, I'll only say that this story is a gripping, amusing and exciting tale, aimed at young adults - the writing style is similar to that of Tom Holt - almost comedic in parts, meets detective story something akin to the wittier episodes of Castle. The characters are all memorable and interesting, and following Grant's tutelage into the basics of all things magical is not only intriguing but believable. He's very much an amateur wizard in training. There are two main story arcs within the novel, that intertwine well with a successful impact on the pace of the storytelling; the first is the tale of the gruesome fantastical serial killer causing people's faces to leave their heads, and the second that of the political, territorial disputes between the sprites and controllers of London's waterways.
The character descriptions, especially those of the female characters (all of whom seem to have heaving, ample breasts) and the description of Grant's upbringing and early career as a half cast African police officer are employed well and believably throughout,
The story culminates in a riotous outbreak in the streets of London, and our hero detective feverishly tries to solve the case, capture the offending spirit and save his friends. I found myself glued to the pages, despite the sometimes annoyingly long chapters (I like to finish an entire chapter before putting a book down to take a break) and found the conclusion satisfying, but leading up to the next tale in the series, which I'm looking forward to immensely, successfully.
For fans of Tom Holt, fantasy, magic and science fiction; detective stories, humorous writing and generally good storytelling.
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