Reviewed By David M. Kinchen
‘Midnight Riot’: Magic plays a role in solving crimes at London’s Metropolitan Police
British cops are no more likely to believe in magic and paranormal activity than their counterparts in the U.S., Canada or elsewhere, but Police Constable Peter Grant, nearing the end of his two-year probationary period, is fortunate enough to avoid a paper-pushing job at the Met when Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale becomes his mentor in Ben Aaaronovitch‘s debut novel “Midnight Riot” (Del Rey Mass Market Original paperback, 320 pages, $7.99).
Nightingale investigates crimes involving magic, ghosts, urban paranormal activities and other manifestations of the uncanny and he’s looking for an apprentice. Harry Potter not being available, Nightingale turns to mixed-race (his mother is from the former British colony, now independent West African nation of Sierra Leone, his father is a jazz musician) young copper Peter Grant.
Nightingale learned of Peter’s fledgling paranormal abilities when he hears that the young constable had interviewed a ghost who witnessed a puzzling murder near the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Peter is saved from a life of paper cuts in the Case Progression Unit, which is largely devoted to data entry clerical work. He wants to be a detective, perhaps because he’s watched so many crime shows on the telly, but his supervising officer is an old-school cop who doesn’t think Peter fits the mold of a Metropolitan detective.
Peter Grant learns from the older man — he thinks Nightingale is in his late 40s, but he could be older, much older — how to create a “werelight” and begins to study the occult, while he assists his “Guv” in the investigation of a series of crimes that appear to mimic the grisly “Punch and Judy” tale.
Covent Garden, as any viewer of “My Fair Lady” knows, was once London’s vegetable and fruit market. In addition to the Royal Opera House on the east end of the piazza, there is still a covered market in the center and a house of worship called St. Paul’s Church on the west end. No, it’s not that St. Paul’s, the Cathedral designed by Inigo Jones in 1638; this more modest St. Paul’s attracts actors and musicians.
Once lodged in Nightingale’s Victorian house and introduced to his spookily attractive maid Molly — from her description she sounds a lot like a British version of Morticia Addams — Peter begins his studies in magic and urban paranormal activities, at the same time investigating with Nightingale and his fellow probationary constable Leslie May the wave of murders and assaults. He’s got a crush on the attractive blonde Leslie, who tries to keep the relationship strictly professional.
In addition to riding around in Nightingale’s 1967 Jaguar sedan, Peter meets the river spirits, Mother Thames, representing the tidal part of the river and her daughters, representing the ancient tributaries of the river, now mostly hidden under bricks and concrete. (The original title of “Midnight Riot”, published by Gollancz in England was “Rivers of London.” Del Rey is an imprint of Random House). In March, Del Rey will publish “Moon Over Soho.” An excerpt is included in “Midnight Riot.”
If you’re a fan of “True Blood,” “The Walking Dead,” or even “Dexter,” “Midnight Riot” will pique your interest. Aaronovitch, born in London in 1964, honed his skills as a screenwriter, including a stint with the legendary BBC-TV series “Doctor Who,” the longest-running TV science fiction series — it first aired in 1963 and is still going strong — so he’s a master of the art of entertaining those with shorter attention spans. I’m looking forward to the further adventures of Peter, Thomas Nightingale, Leslie May, Molly and Toby the dog in “Moon Over Soho.”
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