Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch

It’s extraordinary how this series doesn’t flag at all, with each book feeling entirely self-contained even as the overarching narrative races towards what promises to be a breathtaking denouement (no pressure, Ben Aaronovitch!) With most urban fantasy, Book 3 (if you’re lucky) is where the stresses of carrying a series would begin to show, in either lazy writing, or rote characterization or plot development. Astonishingly, the Peter Grant books avoid all these pitfalls, and only seem to be going from strength to strength as we continue to explore magical London with our charming cast.

My only quibble with this book, entirely not the fault of Mr Aaronovitch I’m sure, was that Agent Reynolds was portrayed in the blurb as someone ferociously anti-witchcraft, instead of your average skeptic. While I quite enjoyed how having her in the book allowed for some terrific cross-Atlantic humor, I did think it was weird that she was set up by the promotional materials to be some sort of small-town bigot.

And finally, my favorite quote from the book:

A murder inquiry can last week, months, or even years, and ultimately the victims don’t want you to be sympathetic. They want you to be competent–that’s what you owe them.