Whispers Under Ground

A gripping new outing for PC Grant in the SUNDAY TIMES-bestselling series from Ben Aaronovitch.

Doctor Who Screenwriter Ben Aaronovitch's superbly entertaining supernatural crime series has, with its witty one-liners and wonderfully erudite take on London, won a legion of fans in double quick time.

Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And its just as well - he's already had run ins with the deadly supernatural children of the Thames and a terrifying killer in Soho. Progression in the Police Force is less easy. Especially when you work in a department of two. A department that doesn't even officially exist. A department that if you did describe it to most people would get you laughed at. And then there's his love life. The last person he fell for ended up seriously dead. It wasn't his fault, but still.

Now something horrible is happening in the labyrinth of tunnels that make up the tube system that honeycombs the ancient foundations of London. And delays on the Northern line is the very least of it. Time to call in the Met's Economic and Specialist Crime Unit 9, aka 'The Folly'. Time to call in PC Peter Grant, Britains Last Wizard.

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Fantasy Mystery Urban Fantasy Occult Detective

Release date: June 16, 2012

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Ben Aaronovitch

Ben Aaronovitch doesn’t just write about magic—he sneaks it into the cracks of the real world and dares you to notice. Best known for the Rivers of London series, he’s turned modern-day London into a city where ancient rivers have names, ghosts make house calls, and the Metropolitan Police has a little-known branch that deals in the supernatural. What sets Aaronovitch apart in the urban fantasy genre isn’t just his imaginative flair—it’s the way he grounds the fantastical in the humdrum details of city life, with a wry humor that feels both deeply British and unmistakably personal.

Before his name was on the cover of bestsellers, Aaronovitch was already conjuring stories for the screen. In the late 1980s, he wrote two cult-favorite episodes of Doctor Who, including “Remembrance of the Daleks,” a fan-loved installment that brought political edge and layered storytelling to the sci-fi classic. That same sharp sense of narrative—a mix of skepticism, wit, and wonder—would eventually shape his fiction.

Born and raised in London, Aaronovitch grew up surrounded by debate and ideas. His father, Sam Aaronovitch, was a prominent economist and political thinker, and the household was anything but quiet. This background—intellectually charged, politically aware, and rooted in the city—bleeds into his writing. The Rivers of London books, beginning with the novel of the same name in 2011, follow police constable-turned-apprentice-wizard Peter Grant as he navigates both magical threats and institutional bureaucracy. The books blend crime procedural with fantasy, layered with social commentary, dry humor, and a love letter to the city that raised him.

Aaronovitch’s London isn’t idealized; it’s sprawling, contradictory, and alive. He once said, “If you want to understand a city, look at what it throws away.” That sort of curiosity—the urge to explore not just the landmarks but the shadows—is what fuels his work. Whether Peter Grant is chasing rogue spirits through Soho or negotiating with river gods on the Thames, the stories remain rooted in a city that feels as unpredictable as the magic within it.

As the Rivers of London universe expanded to include novellas, graphic novels (co-written with Andrew Cartmel), and even roleplaying games, Aaronovitch has maintained a voice that’s both distinctive and evolving. His books appeal to fans of fantasy, crime fiction, and character-driven storytelling, and his readers span the globe. Despite the success, he remains charmingly attached to the everyday—a man who still signs books in London bookshops and jokes on social media about typos and tea.

Aaronovitch doesn’t just build worlds—he rewires the one you think you already know. And in his version of London, it’s best to assume the strange noise in your attic isn’t just the pipes.

Rivers of London

At first glance, it’s a murder on a rainy London night. A rookie cop on patrol. A crime scene like any other. But then the witness turns out to be a ghost—and suddenly, everything ordinary fractures.

This is the entry point into Rivers of London, a genre-defying urban fantasy series where the fog-choked streets of London hum with hidden currents of magic, myth, and mystery. Beneath the scaffolding and CCTV, gods dwell in riverbanks, ancient spells linger in dusty basements, and the supernatural isn't just real—it’s part of the paperwork.

Reviews and Comments

01/16/2014

Elke
278 books, 29 reviews

★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8 / 10

For me the third volume in the series is the best so far. It has got more of a story line, it doesn't seem to be so hectic like the first two. Perhaps Mr Aaronovitch didn't have to explain so much and could concentrate on the narration itself. I'll definitely continue with the fourth volume as I HAVE to know what happens next.

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