Our discussion of Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Coincidentally, other books we read in December included five Terry Pratchett titles! This was totally unplanned, but might say something about the need for humor during the holiday season… We really enjoyed Midnight Riot, book one of the Peter Grant series. A sampling of our comments are below:

• In England, the title is Rivers of London – we got Midnight Riot. There is also a graphic novel series.
• I’m glad I watched New Tricks and Scott & Bailey on the BBC to familiarize myself with the police jargon.
• There were a few mistakes that should have been caught by an editor.
• Did Leslie survive? Yes (from our friend that read all six books). How did her brain survive when everyone else’s brain shriveled?
• Perhaps her brain was used as a home base and magic was pulled from other people, keeping her intact.
• Molly – if she’s not a vampire, what kind of a magical creature is she? Stay tuned to the series for more details.  
• The book was laugh out-loud funny with great descriptions or non-descriptions. For example, the lady who was taking care of Toby “…did not have blue-rinsed hair…nor did she have fingerless mittens or too many cats, but there was something about her that suggested that both could be serious lifestyle choices in the future.”
• We’ve read a lot of paranormal detectives, but Grant was refreshing – maybe because of his scientific background like when he figured out why electronics turned to sand around magic.
• The world-building was good and the system of rivers was explained well enough that you didn’t need to know the geography of London to understand.
• I knew Punch and Judy were going to be involved early on when the line, “That’s the way to do it!” was used.
• How many people used to live in the Folly? When does Peter get access to the other libraries?

Please add any additional thoughts or comments you may have about Midnight Riot. We gave this title the codes BH, COP, MAG, GB & FEM with an average rating of 4.6.