Review: Whispers Underground

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

(Note: I accidentally read this before reading Moon Over Soho, which is supposed to come before it. Oops. At first, I just thought Aaronovitch was dropping little bits about cases that fell between Midnight Riot and this deliberately for effect, to show that Grant is a little more experienced now. It took a while for me to put it together that I'd accidentally skipped a book. Oh well!)

Whispers Underground continues the adventures of Peter Grant and his supernatural adventures working for the British police services. The A plot here involves tracking down the murderer of an American living in London who was found after being stabbed on the tracks of the subway system. The B plot involves the team trying to track down improperly trained magicians who may be working with the faceless man (who, as noted above, I don't actually know anything much about, since he turned up in the second book, which I foolishly skipped).

Aaronovitch continues to impress me, here. Whispers Underground unravels like an onion, peeled back layer by layer as Grant and the other members of the Folly follow the clues and interview people. Aaronovitch does an excellent job weaving subtle clues and hints about what is coming through background characters or through conversations that, at first blush, seem mostly there to develop characters or provide flavor to the world. It's a clever way to use some of the world building elements to help push the story and solve the mystery.

More than clever, the book is fun. Aaronovitch's dialog is, at times, laugh out loud funny. The cast are genuinely funny, and Aaronovitch manages to avoid the trap of making all of the characters sound the same. While the younger characters do tend towards the glib, they still largely have unique voices.

I'm definitely glad to have continued with this series, and I look forward to moving backward to check out Moon Over Soho.



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