One of the best lines in Rivers of London is Inspector Nightingale’s answer to Peter’s question about wizards:
“No. Not like Harry Potter.”
“In what way?”
“I’m not a fictional character.”
Yes, magic is real; wizards are real; ghosts and vampires and revenants are real. Father Thames, the spirit of Thames upriver of London, is real as is his rival Mother Thames who handles everything from London to the sea.
My copy is titled Midnight Riot, apparently the UK version is named Rivers of London. Don’t worry, it’s the same book and it’s good.
Plot Quickie
Peter Grant is nearly through with probationary status in London’s police and is ready for assignment to something – hopefully something more exciting than the you-are-making-a-valuable-contribution-Case-Progression-Unit where he would shuffle papers when he wasn’t creating papers. Peter meets a ghost while checking the area where a man was murdered near Covent Garden. Peter doesn’t believe in ghosts but comes back a few nights later to ask the ghost a question; that is when he meets Inspector Thomas Nightingale, the only wizard currently employed by London’s finest and in fact the only wizard in London (or possibly the only one in the UK at all).
Nightingale recruits Peter (anything to avoid Case Progression) to help him since at the moment Nightingale is feeling a bit worried about the lack of magical manpower and other problems are poking up that need a wizard’s attention. We have a case of vampires, a brooding feud between the spirits of the Thames, and a spate of completely irrational, vicious attacks.
Peter works with his friend Leslie, a more successful copper of the standard variety, Nightingale, assorted detectives, Molly the vampiric housekeeper, the children of the warring Thames clans and assorted opera goers and tenors to solve the mystery of the attacks and return London to its more-or-less peaceful self.
Characters
Peter is great. Midnight Riot is written first person with Peter the narrator so we see everything through his eyes. Other people see Peter as easily distracted but from our viewpoint, riding along in his head, he makes perfect sense. Peter makes intuitive jumps and he is curious about things that seem peripheral to others but are in fact quite important.
Peter is resourceful, as witness by his method to bring peace between the Thames’ families and smart. He figures out who is harboring the spirit that is causing the distressing attacks and cruel murders and is able to time his final intervention to save the spirit’s host from bleeding to death.
We see Leslie through Peter’s eyes and her words and how she compares herself and Peter. She is a little less finely developed than Peter but interesting and I’m looking forward to meeting her again in the next book.
Inspector Nightingale and his peers in the more mundane side of the London constabulary are interesting too and poke up just often enough to keep us interested. Peter’s mum and father play bit roles and I’d enjoy knowing his unflappable mum.
Summary
Midnight Riot is the first in a series featuring our hero Peter Grant. I enjoyed the tight plotting and character development and am picking up two more books from our interlibrary loan system tomorrow!
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