More magic at large in London ...

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Thanks to those of you who urged me to stick with this series after I expressed some niggles over 'Rivers Of London' – with 'Moon Over Soho' I can see that Aaronovitch is getting into his stride.
DC Peter Grant, officer of the Met and apprentice wizard, is called upon to deal with the suspicious number of Jazz musicians dropping down dead immediately after a performance. It's not just that an element of magic is suspected – there's also the fact that Peter's Dad, Richard 'Lord' Grant, had a promising career as a jazz trumpeter back in the day, so he's uniquely placed to do a bit of undercover research. Meanwhile Peter's boss, DCI Thomas Nightingale (last officially sanctioned British Wizard, in charge of the specialist section of the Met known as 'The Folly') wants him to concentrate on the disturbing increase in the number of men whose one-night stands are being cut short, literally, by the loss of their penises. Could there possibly be a connection?

It seems there's a practitioner of Black Magic at loose amongst the dives of Soho – though our hero Peter, a politically correct officer of dual heritage, is averse to the term, preferring 'ethically challenged magical practitioner':

'You realise that we're using “black” in its metaphorical sense here,' said Nightingale.
'It doesn't matter,' I said. 'Words change what they mean, don't they? Some people would call me a black magician.'
'You're not a magician,' he said. 'You're barely even an apprentice.'

Anyway, be that as it may, there's a lot to keep our hero busy in this adventure, including a curvy young – or possibly not so young – femme fatale with a voracious sexual appetite, a penchant for Valerie's Patisserie and an alluring whiff of honeysuckle about her. Careful, Peter, you idiot.

Poor DC Lesley May, whose face was stretched out of all recognition after being possessed by Mr Punch in 'Rivers of London' is still on the scene, bravely fighting her disfigurement ... and lest we forget that running through all this is the mighty River and its tributaries, Tyburn makes another bitchy appearance and our hero gets a dunking in Mama Thames' treacherous choppy waters whilst attempting to save upstream tributary Ash from emasculation.

I still think the editing is a bit sloppy – there are a few grammatical mistakes – and the ending was a bit disappointing, not as neat and satisfying as I'd like – but I shall definitely carry on with this series. Meanwhile my friends, 'may the blessings of the River be upon you.'



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