Whispers Underground by Ben Aaranovitch

Previously published in Dawn’s Books & Authors. 

A large effort was made to rebrand and popularise London tourist merchandise in preparation for the onslaught of visitors for the 2012 Olympics this year. Beyond the ubiquitous Union Jack t-shirts, mugs and umbrellas, toy red double-deckers and that loony Cyclopean official mascot, a very conscious effort was made by bookstores to display wares featuring the city itself. Prominent were British writer Ben Aaronovitch’s books, a running series of urban paranormal mysteries set in and around London.

Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho and most recently, Whispers Under Ground all feature Peter Grant, a young constable with indeterminate policing skills who, upon the discovery of his mysterious ability to detect supernatural forces at play on crime scenes, is transferred to a little talked about department known only as The Folly, which is run by one seemingly ageless Inspector Thomas Nightingale. As PC Grant’s “guvnor”, Nightingale is to train him in the ways of The Folly, while Grant attempts to simultaneously keep abreast of standard London Metropolitan police procedurals. In Whispers Under Ground, Grant is involved in another case that has some magical properties — though in this third installment of the series, there is a great deal of standard police drama as well.

A US senator’s son has been found murdered in the tunnels of the London Underground and since there may be mysterious magical circumstances connected to his death, The Folly is involved in the case, as is an FBI agent of course, leading to many hilarious moments between the FBI agent and any number of typical English bobbies.

As with the earlier books in this series, Aaronovitch has no problems adding new characters to his cast while developing his regular ones steadily, particularly Leslie, the bright young police detective who is badly disfigured in the first book of the series and sadly not very present in the second. She is now brought into The Folly as a secondary apprentice, a welcome addition to the crime solving unit. With a little less magic and a little more policing in this

installment, Lesley’s expertise as a police detective is useful to the plot. Her tragic circumstances adds pathos just as her camaraderie and wit add to the great rapport she and Peter share. There’s a great deal of humour constant in the narrative, particularly in the dialogue — there isn’t a single possibility for a joke or a clever comeback that’s passed up. Even the supernatural beings happily make fun of themselves: “my dad was a fairy”, says one character, “and by that I don’t mean he dressed well and enjoyed musical theatre”.

Yes, Grant may be called a trainee wizard, so let’s just mention that other famous trainee wizard, the only trainee wizard who has been taken seriously in publishing in the last decade or so — Harry Potter. But that’s where the similarity ends. Grant is no child and Whispers Under Ground is not U-rated fare. Aaronovitch’s books sport plenty of adult content: sex, alcohol, violence and some very adult frights. There are no wands at play here — Aaronovitch’s handing of the mystical elements of the crimes investigated by The Folly is mature, and most importantly, a fresh, very adult take in a market currently inundated by YA magic and fantasy.

Peter Grant himself is refreshing — he is likeable, very human and candid, a far cry from the often complicated protagonists of contemporary fiction who cannot always be trusted with the narrative they have sole power over. Peter’s voice is true and truthful to his surroundings and his background as a young man native to London. He’s no born hero, but often, “like young men from the dawn of time [he] decided to choose the risk of death over certain humiliation.”

The book easily references both pop culture and mythology when it comes to characters out of the ordinary and it makes perfect sense for London to be the setting for Grant’s investigations. It seems almost obvious that London should be home to any number of supernatural beings and see so much of this sort of paranormal action — it is a city with ancient roots now thoroughly modernised, home to people from all over the world who have brought with them scores of belief systems, gods and mythologies, all ripe to be used for this sort of fiction. Those familiar with or fond of London or even the idea of London will be pleased by how connected the narrative is to the city, how much the city is a part of every facet of the story.

Whispers Under Ground may well be the third in a series of books but it is its own compact mystery, beginning and ending within this single book. There are threads of earlier, larger arcs that are continued here, but they are easy enough to pick up on and tie together even for a reader unfamiliar with Aaronovitch’s earlier books. Newer story arcs are also begun in Whispers Under Ground and there remains much to be revealed about the major players in the series, which will continue next year.