I have been reading and loving the Rivers Of London series by this author. They are about a London policeman, Peter Grant, who is recruited to work for an unusual part of the police department, dealing with magic. In this universe, magic is a thing. Anyone can learn it, but it’s dangerous, as it can destroy your brain, which is why you’re safest to create a staff, fill it with magic and use it as a battery. I thought that a clever suggestion for why wizards use staffs. Oh, and rivers have gods and goddesses.
In this novel, set in the same universe, there is also a tiny - magic - part of the police department in Germany. While there are plenty of “special people” such as ones with horns, there are not many “practitioners” like Peter - or, in this case, Tobias Winter, a police detective called for in supernatural cases. In this case, he is called to the city of Trier, where there has been a strange, probably supernatural, murder. There are also human-form rivers, two of whom appear in this book, goddess of the river Kyll, Kelly, and a child goddess, Morgane. Kelly is helpful, but there are things she doesn’t want to talk about. There are strange things involving someone who tried to rape Frau Stracker, a local vintner whose family has been in the district for centuries, when she was twelve, and someone in Kelly’s past.
Can Tobias and his non-magical work partner, Vanessa, work it out? Of course they can, what kind of a mystery novel would end without the crime being solved? Well, there are a few, I just find them irritating. But this one is still thoroughly entertaining.
Peter Grant, of course, isn’t in this book, but he and his department, known as the Folly, are mentioned a number of times. Tobias is actually an admirer of Peter.
You could probably read this standalone, but I’d advise starting with the first novel, The Rivers Of London, which introduces this delightful universe. Be warned, though, once you start, you will probably want to binge on the lot.
