The second urban fantasy by bestselling Doctor Who writer, Paul Cornell.
An irresistible blend of guns, gangsters, cops and monsters Ben Aaronvitch
Summer in London: a city in turmoil. The vicious murder of a well-known MP is like a match to tinder but Detective Inspector James Quill and his team know that it’s not a run-of-the-mill homicide. Still coming to terms with their new-found second sight, they soon discover that what is invisible to others - the killer - is visible to them. Even if they have no idea who it is.
Then there are more deaths. The bodies of rich, white men are found in circumstances similar to those that set the streets of London awash with fear during the late 1800s: the Whitechapel murders. Even with their abilities to see the supernatural, accepting that Jack the Ripper is back from the dead is a tough ask for Quill’s team. As they try to get to grips with their abilities and a case that’s spiralling out of control, Quill realizes that they have to understand more about this shadowy London, a world of underground meetings, bizarre and fantastical auctions, and objects that are ‘get out of hell free’ cards. But the team’s unlikely guide, a bestselling author, can’t offer them much insight - and their other option, the Rat King, speaks only in riddles.
Relying on old-fashioned police work and improvising with their new skills only lands them in deeper water, and they soon realize that the investigation is going to hell - literally. And if they’re not careful, they may be going with it …
PRAISE FOR THE SERIES
The Shadow Police series is the quintessential British contemporary fantasy, full of grit and magic and wonderful things. Paul Cornell is a national treasure Adam Christopher
Start this book early in the day people, because you ain’t going to get no sleep until it’s done Ben Aaronovitch on London Falling
I think it is absolutely magnificent. I loved it … I’m not sure I’ve been that gripped by a novel in … well, decades Russell T. Davies on London Falling
A much grittier vision of a gothic, fantasy London, well balanced between its depiction of the city’s criminal underworld and a horrifying fantasy reality that for most of the novel lurks just at the edges of sight. Guardian
Realistic banter, original twists Daily Telegraph
Pacy, smart and revels in London mythology. … crikey it’s good fun Scotland on Sunday
