REVIEW: Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch (DC Peter Grant #2)

Series: DC Peter Grant

Book Number: 2

Read this book for: dry humour, accurate police procedures, supernatural/magical/fantasy elements, action, London and its history

Quick Review: A bridging book in this fantastic series but still a fun and intriguing story.

***

DC Peter Grant – young constable and apprentice wizard – has his hands full with a few strange happenings, from a mysterious creature preying on unsuspecting men to the mysterious death of a part-time jazz musician that bears a strange magical signature. When he discovers a pattern of strangely high mortality rates of Soho jazz musicians, he begins to believe something sinister is at work. He never dreams he might be putting his own family in danger…

MOON OVER SOHO is the second of Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant novels, following the opening RIVERS OF LONDON (also published as MIDNIGHT RIOT). If you are interested in starting this series, this is absolutely one you have to start at the beginning. Not only do you have references in subsequent novels to prior events, but there is also very little that is explained repeatedly, nor are characters re-introduced. However, reading the entire series will not take long, as the novels are fairly quick, fun reads.

In fact, these books are so closely linked together that one of the opening incidents of the plot of this novel actually takes place at the very end of RIVERS OF LONDON. If you don’t remember it, it would be worth picking up the last chapter again, because otherwise it is a bit hard to follow.

Actually, there are about three different investigations in this novel, but they tend to blend together a bit confusingly. I found myself occasionally just following along but not entirely sure which investigation Peter was working on. However, the investigations themselves are interesting, if not particularly detailed. They blend together satisfyingly, and the end resolves nicely, while setting up for the rest of the series.

While MOON OVER SOHO is very much a bridging book, it is still entertaining on its own, and well worth the read for the setup for the rest of the series.