Fiction Reviews
Stone & Sky
(2025) Ben Aaronovitch, Orion, £20, hrdbk, ISBN 978-1-473-22671-5
The cover says this is the brand new Rivers of London novel but, just to let you down gently, it does not take place in London - this one is set in Aberdeen. The series’ name applies to all of the author’s stories featuring police investigations of a magical nature. Like all of the series that I have read so far, this one is well written and fun, humorous with an interesting story, and some more good magical ideas.
Detective Sergeant Peter Grant, along with his partner Beverley and their two-year-old twin daughters, are taking a break in Scotland and looking forward to a nice, quiet, family holiday. They are not going to get it, of course.
When Dr. Brian Robertson (of Aberdeenshire) discovered a dead sheep he noticed that the death was unusual and the bite marks were from a large creature he could not quite identify. He sent copies of the evidence to his old friend Dr. Abdul Haqq Walid, an expert in unusual things, who decided a field investigation would be a good way to enjoy a Scottish holiday. Dr. Walid works for the Special Assessment Unit (also known as the Folly), a little-known department (the one that deals with events involving magic) of the Metropolitan Police. DCI Thomas Nightingale (head of the Folly) thought it would be good to come along as well and bring his young apprentice Abigail for a spot of field training, so she in turn brought her friend Indigo, a talking fox. Peter and Beverley also decided to come along but just for a family holiday, and his parents thought they would come as well; his mother is intent that they will need a babysitter and she will get plenty of time with her granddaughters. His father, meanwhile, thinks it might be good to play some gigs in nearby Aberdeen so his old band, Lord Grant’s Irregulars, has pitched up as well. They might be getting on a bit but their jazz is still most definitely there, even though these days they like to finish at ten and be home with a cup of cocoa by eleven.
I should mention that being a member of the Folly, Peter is its first new wizard for many years, and Beverley is the Goddess of Beverley Brook, or to be more exact its genius loci (the spirit of a locality), and her mother is the Goddess of the River Thames.
Whilst the search for the strange creature gets started, Peter and his family are intent on simply having a holiday; plenty of time down on the beach with two energy-packed toddlers, who will most certainly be safe in the sea with their goddess of a mum. However, the Aberdeen police found a mugging victim at a bus stop and he has since died; following the medical examination Peter gets a call and finds that his assistance is required. It turns out that the victim had gills and Peter concludes he was a selkie, capable of living both above and below the waves, and clearly the investigation has taken a step in his specialist direction. He is not surprised to find himself visited by Bridget and Elric, who he realises are the genius loci of the rivers Dee and Don, and they are not happy that he is there investigating; as they tell him, ‘This isn’t London. The rules are different up here, and so are the allegiances.’. On the other hand, something very bad is going on and they want it stopped. Peter is in for another interesting case!
There are other players in the story, not the least an unusually aggressive seagull, a missing PhD student geologist, and FPXPLORE, an oil company with a drilling rig out in the North Sea.
Whilst Peter tells his story in person as he investigates the murder, so too does Abigail as she tracks down the unearthly creature which is attacking the local livestock. The combination of the two styles, the two personalities, is refreshing and, unsurprisingly, the two investigations come together.
As with all the other stories in this series, it stands well on its own; you do not need to have read any of the previous ones. It is light and entertaining, rather than a gripping page-turner, and the humour runs easily through it. The characters are interesting, the story works nicely, and it all makes for a very satisfying read.
Peter Tyers
See also Ian's review of Stone & Sky.
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