Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch

This post has been a LOOOONG time coming. Somehow, I drafted it and then lost it. Every time I revisited it, something came up. Anyway, sadly late is better than never, right?

This third in the series finds Peter Grant trekking underground to investigate a murder that smells of something magical. According to Nightingale and the River sisters there's nothing strange going on under London. And the River sisters would know considering their waterways criss cross the area in question. But Peter isn't so sure. All the clues lead directly to the tunnels and sewers that lie beneath the city. Meanwhile, the Folly officers have added one more to their ranks since Lesley has begun to show magical abilities and they're all on the hunt for a lead in the case of the faceless man.

I know I've said it before, but Ben Aaronovitch's series is one of my absolute favorites -- urban fantasy and otherwise. I love the characters and I love the kinds of magic and supernatural things popping up in his London setting. But what I love the best is the intertwining of London and British history! Aaronovitch sits alongside Mike Shevdon as tops on my list for this very reason.

I find the mysteries in this series are extremely well plotted. Again, the mix of real, police procedural and magic makes it a fun twist on the typical mystery. It's a fun blend for a lot of reasons but most of all because Grant's powers allow him to bend the rules of regular police work. I find the interaction between the Folly and the regular officers to be quite fun as well.

Aaronovitch has a truly unique series here and I can't recommend it highly enough. Given his history with TV, I would absolutely love to see an adaptation of this series. Peter Grant is for me what I know Harry Dresden is for fans of Jim Butcher's series (I've not jumped into those yet). I love Grant and Lesley and the River sisters and all of the other characters that pass through the series. I can only imagine how wonderful a show it would make. Till then, I'm happy with the books themselves :)

Word on the street is that there is a book four due out in the UK this year. No word yet on when it will be available here in the States, but it's showing as a June release overseas.