Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

I put off reading the second book as long as I could as I figured it would be a complete let down after I enjoyed Rivers Of London so much; now I am kicking myself because this book is every bit as good - if not actually more so.  The beauty of these books for me is the "voice" of Peter Grant - his narration is sublime and pulls me right in to the story and I think I could be half in love with him.  I think it helps that my sense of humour mirrors his, so a tendency to the dark and profanity strewn then.

The world building is exceptionally well done with real places being given a supernatural overcoat.  From the Jazz Clubs of Soho, where PC Grant has to face his father's past, to Dr Moreau's club (honestly I laughed like a drain when they called it that - mainly because it was already floating through my head and there is nothing like sharing the same headspace with an author as you read).  Although I don't know London at all, except though the medium of TV (especially Alan Cumming's wonderful Urban series which spent a whole episode in Soho) it all feels so real that the little pieces of the "weird stuff" that are allowed to permeate them has an unsettling ring of authenticity.

The weird and not so wonderful denizens of London are starkly set against the realities of Police work and I enjoy those bits almost as much as the oddities.  Even better are Peter's relationships with his fellow officers, his Master, Thomas Nightingale and the women in his life.  The fact that Peter is not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve and get involved with someone who we can immediately see is "dubious" to say the least is quite refreshing and even the physicality of their relationship is deal with in such a matter of fact way that I didn't find offputting.  I have an issue with "intimate" scenes on the page but somehow the author manages to bypass my inherent revulsion of those.

I am in severe danger of becoming a complete and utter fan girl for this series and I recommending it to everyone who I work with that has even a passing interest in reading Fantasy books.  Honestly, so far this series is one of the best things I have read in years (and that includes Book Three that I have already demolished).