Books are a little bit like love; you always remember your first. Even though others may come along that are better, you still remember your first. So it is with urban fantasy for me. I’ve never been a big fan of the genre and I’ve became even less of a fan with the growing popularity of werewolves and vampires hiding behind every beautifully stylized full-color cover. I thought I’d try the genre again with Ben Aaronovitch’s Midnight Riot and found I’m not ready for another trip into the fairy world. That’s my loss because Midnight Riot is a pretty decent book. Assuming you like this sort of thing.

Peter Grant is a probationary constable for the Metropolitan Police who is just days away from receiving his first assignment and dreaming of working on the prestigious Murder Investigation Team. When he discovers he’s got a certain knack for things magical, Peter’s suddenly assigned to be an apprentice to the wizard, Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightengale.

The pace of Midnight Riot is quick and the narrative witty. The crimes are brutal and the feel for London is richly detailed throughout the book’s pages. The best part of the book for me was that the existence of magic in the world -- and a wizard working as a Detective Chief Inspector -- was accepted by the department and the practitioners weren’t ostracized and forced to spend their time defending themselves. My complaints with Midnight Riot are few. I wasn’t totally sold on the Peter Grant character because he struck me more like a preppie than a police officer and I didn’t feel as much excitement with the entire story as I would have liked. It also felt to me as if the timeline of the story was off. The most difficult thing for me with the book was that Aaronovitch used a lot of British slang that I wasn’t familiar with.

If you're a fan of urban fantasy and not still pining over your first love then you might want to give Midnight Riot a spin.