Oh boy, did I miss Peter Grant while I was taking my super fun journey through the last four heartwrenchers. It felt like I was waiting FOREVER for Whispers Under Ground to become available at the library.
Peter Grant is a delight. He is the perfect not-very-straight straight man for all the madness in this fantastic world of Ben Aaronovitch’s creation. I keep reminding myself as I read these books that for all of Grant’s self-deprecation and insistence that he’s a terrible cop with bad instincts, and for all that the non-magical higher-ups on the force hate him and the hell he brings down on them on the daily, and for all that his “master” and direct-report sighs heavily at the very thought of how far he still has to go, when you get right down to it, he’s a decent guy doing the best he can in an amazing set of circumstances. And the best he can really isn’t terrible!
The foundations that Aaronovitch has laid in creating this world are thorough and pay off again and again. There are laughter and tears. The feelings are honest, but on top of it all, the filter is fantastic.
A special note for this particular review that Peter Grant’s love for his partner is infectious and rewarding. In the earlier books, he spent a lot of the narrative talking about attracted he is to her, but doesn’t act on it because he doesn’t feel like he deserves her. And even though he’s the (unreliable) narrator telling us that he doesn’t deserve her, it’s also fairly clear that he’s right. As the stories continue, though, their friendship and partnership has deepened, and I am loving every piece of it.
More Peter Grant and magic of London!