Tuesday 1 March 2016

Review: Whispers Underground

Whispers Underground Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked Whispers Under Ground, the third PC Grant novel after Rivers of London. Peter starts out with a visit to a girl from his parent's neighbourhood, who saw a ghost and knows that Peter can do magic and stuff - so she called him. That has nothing to do with the actual story, though, which starts the following night with the discovery of a dead man at Baker Street station. Peter got called onto the case because something seemed off, but it is "only" the murder weapon that seems to be imbued with magic. At the same time, the people from the Folly are also busy trying to find the Faceless Man, an "ethically challenged" magician hiding and working in London.

The story around the Faceless Man is definitely set out to continue for some time, and didn't play a major role here. Nevertheless, it was nicely interwoven with the story. Just like Abigail, the girl from the neighbourhood, who kind of closed the circle of the book.
The cast is generally still increasing, it seems. The rivers from the first book still always appear somehow, Abigail was already introduced in the last one (Moon Over Soho), and Peter again got to know a few new characters from the "magical London" who, at least I suspect that, might turn up again. It seems that the magical world is a small world indeed.

My only qualm - no, disappointment - with the book was the final reveal of the murderer and his motive. It seemed so... dumb, dull, something like that. And it most certainly wasn't what the blurb on my copy said: "whispers of vengeance from beyond the grave". I wonder who made that up.

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