Amongst Our Weapons (Rivers of London, #9)

by Ben Aaronovitch

The ninth novel of the bestselling Rivers of London urban fantasy series returns to the adventures of Peter Grant, detective and apprentice wizard, as he solves magical crimes in the city of London.

There is a world hidden underneath this great city.
 
The London Silver Vaults—for well over a century, the largest collection of silver for sale in the world. It has more locks than the Bank of England and more cameras than a paparazzi convention.
 
Not somewhere you can murder someone and vanish without a trace—only that’s what happened.
 
The disappearing act, the reports of a blinding flash of light, and memory loss amongst the witnesses all make this a case for Detective Constable Peter Grant and the Special Assessment Unit.
 
Alongside their boss DCI Thomas Nightingale, the SAU find themselves embroiled in a mystery that encompasses London’s tangled history, foreign lands and, most terrifying of all, the North!
 
And Peter must solve this case soon, because back home his partner Beverley is expecting twins any day now. But what he doesn’t know is that he’s about to encounter something—and somebody—that nobody ever expects…
 
Effortlessly original, endlessly inventive and hugely entertaining—step into the world of the much-loved, bestselling Rivers of London series.

• ISBN10: 0756414830
• ISBN13: 9780756414832
• Publish Date: 12 April 2022 (first published 7 April 2022)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: DAW Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780756414832

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Amongst Our Weapons is the ninth outing for Peter Grant and the residents of The Folly by Ben Aaronovitch. Released 12th April 2022 by DAW, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback is due out in second quarter 2023. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This series is a permanent feature on my must read list. The books are very very well written, taut, engaging, brilliantly plotted, and satisfying. This time Peter & co are looking into peculiar magical deaths which leave the victims with missing viscera (hearts, specifically), and no signs of vestigia/magic use on the part of those responsible. As always, readers get a look into his unusual life (he and his partner who happens to be a sort of demi-demi-goddess and who is currently expecting twins).

Aaronovitch is a gifted author with a razor wit and a prodigious talent for descriptive narrative. The dialogue is never clunky, the world building and magic systems are virtuoso, and the story is varied and engaging.

Since there are so many interwoven multi-book plot threads in this series, it wouldn't work very well as a standalone. I strongly recommend reading the series start to finish, they're wonderful. This one is very much in the same pattern as the other books in the series and for me, that was a definite benefit. Pure escapist fantasy mystery police procedurals are the bees' knees and this one is a great example.

Five stars for the series as a whole, four stars for this installment.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.