Die Flüsse von London

A cheeky wee re-read here. My 'to-be-read' pile is giving me a seriously disapproving look but I felt the need for some comfort reading. Re-reading favourites is definitely in that category.
Started and finished in the same night but to be fair, this is a book I have read a few times so that is to be expected.
When I think to review this book (and the series) the phrase that comes to mind is 'sense of place'. This is a story that is as much about a place (in its modern, mutlicultural incarnation) as it is about the people in the story. Which is not to say the characters aren't good, they are a delight, I am just not sure they are the star of the show.
The other thread that springs to mind is 'matter of factness'. Magic is just accepted with a shrug because, well, bad stuff is happening and that needs dealt with first. When I think about it this is a very astute reading of how something like this would probably go these days.
Anyways, this remains a favourite book and the review score reflects that. If you haven't started in on this series and you enjoy any of crime fiction, urban fantasy, fantasy or just a good story then you should be thinking about starting this.

I really enjoyed this book. In many ways it was similar to the Dresden novels, but also not. I can't quite articulate the differences besides the obvious: cop vs. PI, UK vs US.

I loved the world Aaronovitch is created and the way it works. The old Gods remind me of Gaiman, and the unclear understanding of the nature of ghosts is pretty cool. I also like the idea of vestigia, which I just learned is a standard word used in reference to magic: ""the imprint magic leaves on physical objects or places.""

Considering the build-up this seemed to wrap up pretty quickly, and the solution was supposed to entail significant risk, which is why it was avoided earlier in the novel, but that risk didn't seem to materialize during the climax. At least I didn't feel it. Also, I want to know more about Leslie's fate. Maybe in the next book.

I really appreciate that the novel wasn't Americanized. For the most part the British colloquialisms are left intact, which gave me some new turn of phrase to ponder. I'm not sure I'm remember it correctly, but I do think some measurements were translated to the Imperial standard from the metric, but generally the book was left as originally published.

I'll read the next one.