It took me longer than usual to get my hands on a copy of Ben Aaronovitch's latest Rivers of London novel, Amongst Our Weapons, but, once I finally did, I was extremely glad.
As the tale opens, our hero, Peter Grant, is investigating the death of one David Moore who lies on the floor of a shop in the London Silver Vaults, a subterranean marketplace. Originally vaults for dealers in the precious metal to store their wares, it soon took the place of the above ground shops. Moore had come to one of the stalls seeking a ring engraved with strange symbols that his ex-wife had said she sold it at. But instead of the ring, Moore ended up with a hole where his heart should have been.
Ere long a second victim with a hole in his chest is discovered - Preston Carmichael. Carmichael had been in touch with Moore recently and soon a photo of the pair, along with several others, emerges. They were all members of a small coterie involved with a strange religious group at Manchester University in the 1990s who were given these strange silver rings and it seems they are being hunted down by a killer with wings and a halo and who wields a rather deadly spear.
Grant is on the case with his trainee Danni and they attempt to track down this avenging angel. Their investigation leads to a discovery involving the Spanish Inquisition. While they knew the Inquisition's weapons were fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, Grant and Co. did not expect them to have also used magic in their daily rounds of rooting out pretend Catholics on the Iberian Peninsula.
Amongst Our Weapons is the 9th novel in the Rivers of London series and it ranks amongst the best. Grant is no longer a novice under the tutelage of Nightingale and has his own neophyte to train. His lady, Beverly, a river goddess, is quite pregnant for most of the book and she gives birth to twins at the end. Not only does Grant become a father here, but he also gets some new job duties as his superior and mentor, Nightingale, announces his retirement.
Ooh! Almost forgot. Grant's former pal and co-trainee at The Folly, Leslie May, makes a return here. She turned to the dark side after being possessed by a real baddie and having her face disfigured. She's been a presence looming in the background, and occasionally in the foreground, for the entire series. Here she unwittingly sets events in motion and pops up a few times and ends up saving Grant's life. It was good to see her return and have a pivotal role but still retain a lot of mystery about her.
I really enjoyed Peter Grant here. He has matured but he's still a wiseacre. We get the expected doses of London history and a great murder mystery. Aaronovitch does it perfectly here as we don't really even have much of a clue about the nature of the killer until about two-thirds of the way through and it's not until even later that all is revealed about its identity. I much prefer the investigation into the mystery over simply running around London chasing an elusive but fully identified killer.
Aaronovitch let the mystery unfold at a measured pace that allowed for diversions from the police procedural into the history of London, The Folly itself, the Reconquista, et al. Beverly doesn't get many pages here but perhaps she'll become a working mom and have a more active role as in books past.
Amongst Our Weapons simply pushed all the right buttons for me.
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