Ben Aaronovitch's spellbinding novel 'Rivers of London'

At the start, ‘Rivers of London’ appears to be your classic murder mystery novel. A few murders and a couple of random, unexplained events all leading to, one would expect, a clever and perfectly logical explanation which expertly ties all the clues. However, it soon becomes clear that ‘Rivers of London’ is far from your average, run of the mill detective novel, popular with jetsetters and holiday makers and frequently found in airport bookshops.

Whilst it does offer all the elements of your beloved detective novel, Ben Aaronovitch’s ‘Rivers of London’ is a beautifully crafted murder mystery novel, with delightful action packed adventure, making use of all the usual plot devices; car chases, work place romances but with a major twist. PC Peter Grant is not your average police constable. Fresh out of training, he is assigned to the METs department for dealing with all things mystical and so the story evolves from your stockpile crime novel into a fantastical quest to uncover a supernatural villain, encountering ghosts, vampires and river spirits along the way.

It seemed that the final conclusion to the novel was slightly rushed, all the supernatural elements coming together in a bit of a frenzy. I think I’ll put this down to my overexcitement though. I couldn’t wait to find out how exactly the resolution would come about. Every time I picked up the book I found myself reading it

compulsively, reading into the early hours of the morning to find out the fate of the lovable PC Peter Grant.

So if you’re looking for an action packed detective novel to read on the beach this summer, I’d really recommend this one. It’s a bit different; its originality makes it a really good book which you can savour, instead of one which you’ll want to leave in the hotel at the end of your stay. And for the faster readers out there, there are two more books in the series, ‘Moon over Soho’ and ‘Whispers Underground’, to keep you going all holiday.