Midnight Riot

Rivers of London, Book 1

By: Ben Aaronovitch

Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Probationary constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London's Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he'll face is a paper cut. But Peter's prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter's ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny.

Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

©2011 Ben Aaronvitch (P)2012 Tantor

A police procedural with magic!

This has quickly become one of my favorite series. It is a nice blending of a police procedural with modern fantasy. It has a likable central character and an interesting magic system. Holdbrook-Smith is an excellent narrator. For non-British listeners, the setting of the London Met, the various accents, and the race/class issues are made much more enjoyable by Holdbrook-Smith. I would never have the richness of experience he gives the books because aside from Cockney and Posh, I would never be able to read in the nuanced accents he gives the various characters.

I have already burned through the first six, and am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

Nice Urban Fantasy Police Procedural

My introduction to the Peter Gant series comes by way of being a member of a Goodreads book club and this is one of the November 2017 reading selections. Midnight Riot is the American title name but the international title is Rivers of London, which is a better title and has a more fitting cover design seeing as the River Thames plays a prominent role in the book. The lead character a bi-racial police constable who also is an apprentice wizard uses science, police training, and magic to solve a rash of major London murder cases. The story has fast-paced action but also takes the time to provide background on Peter Grant and some other main characters. The Narrator Kobna Holdbrook-Smith who has a nice voice does a great job of distinguishing between the male and female voices; each character has a different voice. Some people do not like the breathiness of Kobna reading of Peter Grant’s speaking but I think it fit the pacing of Grant’s movement and stress most often. The story itself is interesting and even throws in a little history time travel. The author creates a realistic local urban London backdrop for the action throughout the book. Overall, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book since I had no familiarity with Ben Aaronovitch before this book. I will read the other books in the Peter Grant series now that I have found him.

A different kind of British humour.

Really the makings of a good start to something more. I enjoyed the dialog, and the descriptions of London, particularly those done as a stiff police report.

slightly better than average

If I could give 3.5 stars I would. Definitely not 4 stars. OK story, ok reader, but not great.
I believe it's the first of a series. I won't be looking for more in the series.

So satisfyingly delicious

I didn't even realize was thirsty until I drank from this dark well. A friend described the series to me and, intrigued, I gave it a go. My love of procedurals and supernatural made it a natural fit. Since all protagonists are black in my imagination (no matter the story) this book was like a dream come true. I drank down this audio book in 2.5 days.

Intriguing concept

It's hard to believe while listening that this is fiction. It almost sounds plausible. I'm lolling forward to the next one.

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is an amazing narrator.

Where does Midnight Riot rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's a decent book and a great audiobook. You'll want to devour the series after listening to it.

What did you like best about this story?

Probably the best part of the story is how Grant gets caught up in things.

What about Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s performance did you like?

I just love listening to his voice. I feel like I probably would have enjoyed the book regardless, but I bought all the books as quickly as I could after listening to Midnight Riot because of how wonderful a job he did.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, in fact I think I might start again now.

Fun

Great story, great narration. Just a good escape for me! Looking forward to the rest of the series.

A British Cozy with a twist

This is a comfortable combination of reader/writer, and spending time with people you like a lot. I had just finished a really good series, but it was dark and disturbing - more on the nightmare level and I needed a change of pace. This series is more a fun thrill ride. KH-S is perfect - like listening to someone tell you the story of his life with the sound and feel of London. I am working my way though the series in order and enjoying it all. The story is on the adult level with rough edges - not for children. A cozy fantasy police procedural - pleasant all the way around.

Like the Rivers of London

Ben Aaronovitch is a smart, funny writer and that's the kind of book he's written in Midnight Riot (also known as Rivers of London, see what I did there?) but the book is fully and entirely brought to live by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's narration.

The book follows a long tradition of normal people (for a given value) stumbling headlong into a world of magic, in this case, Peter Grant, a biracial London cop. It's not an adult Harry Potter, though. For all Grant's laugh out loud wit and the genuine funniness of the book, there's a darkness and a horror that threads skillfully through the pages and Holdbrook-Smith's acting chops make it feel as if those horrors are no more than a breath away. Like a good movie, I lost track of the fact that I was listening to someone read from a script and fell into the story itself, again aided by Holdbrook-Smith's facility with voices, so I forgot that this was a one man show.

Because Aaronovitch is a native Londoner and given Holdbrook-Smith's skill with different UK accents, there's a real sense of place and persona to the story; London is another member of the cast...sometimes literally.

My only "complaint" about the story--and it's a mild one at that--is that the pacing of the story felt uneven. So many things happened in the course of the story that it didn't feel like it followed an even and tangible arc of dramatic tension and the middle felt a bit flabby. However, Aaronovitch and Holdbrook-Smith work well together to make it a trip that feels, all the while, worth taking. Highly recommended and I'm so excited about reading the rest--also narrated by Holdbrook-Smith.