Rivers of London: Detective Stories

Rivers of London Graphic Novels #4

by Ben Aaronovitch, Lee Sullivan (Illustrator), Luis Guerrero (Colorist)

Four self-contained magical crimes, ripped from the streets of supernatural London.

From the million-selling Rivers of London novel and graphic novel series by writer Ben Aaronovitch comes this unmissable next chapter in the saga, as PC Peter Grant faces his gruelling Detective exam, forcing him to relive the strangest cases of his career!

From foling an aspiring god to confronting a Virtual Flasher, Peter's police history has been anything but conventional; whether that's chasing down 'Falcon' crimes with the aid of modern technology, or confronting timeless villainy with his magical skill-set. Does Peter have what it takes... or will DI Chopra judge him unsuitable for a badge?

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Urban Fantasy, Comics, Mystery, Crime, Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2017

About the author

Ben Aaronovitch's career started with a bang writing for Doctor Who, subsided in the middle and then, as is traditional, a third act resurgence with the bestselling Rivers of London series.

Born and raised in London he says that he'll leave his home when they prise his city out of his cold dead fingers.

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ben Aaronovitch is a talented writer. And a very, very slow one. I try not to complain, because at least his books are dense enough that they tolerate re-reads and re-listens. But eventually, I miss the world of the Folly and turn to the graphic novels. Detective Stories is one of the more satisfying novels to date, at least in terms of story complexity and Ben's voice. Structured around Peter's application for an advanced position as Detective Constable, he reviews four cases with Detective Chopra, including a couple from when he and Leslie were partners. There's one that involves a ghost and a seance that was really well done, and gave the artists a chance to play with their 50s-60s styles.



Acting as intermission are a couple one-page stories (I hesitate to use that word, as they are more like 'setting, thing, action, consequence' than stories) that are less successful.



The graphic continues the structure of setting apart Peter's sarcastic/informative inner voice with actual dialogue. There's a lot of acronyms, which is only fair, as the entire premise is one of inter-department discussion, but the additional asterisks of explanation are a bit distracting. As usual, the end pages have a cover compilation. This one also includes a brief history of the Metropolitian Police, which was interesting. But. But. But. I like actual words and all that around a story, so can't we just get a short story where Peter thinks about these things while chasing ghosts?




Four stars for the narrative/ plot, a weak three for the structure. In the history of the graphic novels, I'd say it's one of the top two. Call it three and a half, rounding down because it's an effing graphic instead of a book.





Blog review with larger pics at https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2018/...

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool as the under side of the pillow.

Peter Grant, our favorite apprentice wizard / police constable is being interviewed for a higher rank and so Ben Aaronovitch, the coolest under the pillow practitioner this side of nevernever, uses this setting as a vehicle to tell some shorter stories in the Rivers of London mythos and generally have some more fun while we wait for him to publish his next novel.

And the wait is made easier by some well drawn artwork by collaborators Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero, and Mack Chater.

As in the previous graphic novels volumes, we are also entertained with some short sketches.

Good times.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I will apologise in that this is a little bit late but I think the cold I have just shifted had something to say about that.

Okay so what to say about the next in the Rivers of London graphic novel series? Well for starters as the series of books increases there is finally an nice and simply reading sequence which shows where the various novels and graphics fit in with each other and to be honest as simply as it appears its a great help especially when I am encouraging my friends (those I have yet to scare off that is) in to reading this series and not getting them overwhelmed with the books.

This book however is not as strong I think at least as the others - I think really though it maybe a plan by the writers.

Let me explain - the series of graphic novels so far have been stand alone stories which have been contained and completed within that edition. This book however rather is a series of shorter stories which apart from a few threads have very little in common. So you would think that a slim book which has its pages subdivided even further is not good thing.

Sort of- however what you quickly realise is that Peter Grant is going through the final stages of his DCI review - nothing new here its been brewing for a while and is in the write up to the book. So in fact rather than a cheap (or at least page filling) series of complications you have in fact the stories that go to form his review and suddenly you have a glimpse in to the progression and evolution of Peter Grant.

Now when you stop and think about it - rather than a raging rampaging storyline you have a clever and in some cases subtle back filling story giving extra depth and character - something that action or at least fast paced book sometimes over look.

This for me therefore is more proof that for all the chaos and magic there are still some very clever and subtle storylines still be had and I can see there are plenty stories to be told. Which I for one am very pleased to see and cannot wait to get stuck in to.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another decent (but not outstanding) Rivers of London collection that should please (but not thrill) fans of the novels. This collection consists of four self-contained short stories linked together by a cute framing device.

[RG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series bur this has to be the strongest offering from the graphic novels do far. Multiple short detective stories from Peters past. Told from Peters view explaining how things got solved etc. Just way too short!!

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume collects four short stories in policing, under the overall frame of Peter’s assessment to become a full detective constable.

The stories are uneven. The first one is pretty lame. The second one, while its plot makes little sense (how is smuggling an extra painting INTO an art gallery a crime?) , is really enjoyable because Lesley fully participates as Peter’s partner, and their banter is a treasure. Oberon’s artwork is very nice eye-candy. ;) The third is the best story-wise: it has a ghost witness/victim, and a nice twist. The fourth installment goes back to the time when Peter and Lesley were doing their probation time as patrol officers. This is special due to Lesley’s face still being visible, and a great display of her uncanny ability as a thief-taker: the observational skills, presence of mind and confidence that makes her one of the best. The cases are tiny, but the rapport is great.

Between issues there are also one-page comics with a short pun, which I greatly enjoyed. They are in all of the other volumes as well. My favorite one is where the boat-owner requests an “English” officer when Gulleed shows up for the interview. Nightingale arrives, which pleases the man... until he finds his boat...

These are really fun diversions when I have trouble concentrating on something meatier. They are available on Hoopla. Thankfully now I can read graphic novels on Hoopla because my library upped the limit to 10 borrows per month. With only five before, there was no way I would have gotten to read a decent comic book series, as I was using them for audiobooks. I guess Covid is good for something...

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most recent offering in the Rivers of London graphic novels series.

This one is four separate stories linked by the device of Peter Grant doing his final interview to ascertain whether he is suitable to be promoted to Detective Constable. The interviewer, Detective Inspector Chopra, has a little bit of trouble with the magical aspects of Peter's job:

Chopra: I thought they were...
Peter: Exaggerating?
Chopra: Taking the piss.

We get to learn some interesting snippets from Peter's past, get to see Lesley BEFORE she lost her face, and see Jaget Kumar, Kimberley Reynolds, Abigail Kamara, and Frank Caffey drawn for the first time. It's interesting to me that they pretty much look like I had imagined them.

I am now eagerly awaiting the compendium version of the latest in the graphic novels series "Cry Fox".

The Rivers of London series just keeps getting better and better.

[Wing Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found these quite technical and fun.

World: Standard art. But the world building here is good. It's not huge and grand but it fills in the gaps nicely and also gives little character moments that make me smile. The bulk of the story is actual world building with a large chunk in actual police work which I very much enjoyed.

Story: Small little single issue tales that tie together for Peter's exam. These little tales are paced well and offer insight on the MET and also gives little character moments like why Leslie is so important and Peter's feelings towards her. It's good.

Characters: Not the main focus but there are moments throughout. All little all beautifully written and full of the personal voice that this series is known for.

Good little one shots.

Onward to the next book!

[Alyson Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, fantastic read with all my favourite characters and the usual load of twisted sense of humour. Just love ALL of this authors work, and the graphic novels compliment the books beautifully.

[Alex Sarll]

Four short stories from Peter Grant's career in policing, with the framing device of his detective's exam (conducted by an understandably confused non-magical copper). They're all far more substantial than most single issues manage these days; granted, the opening story is a bit on the Pat Mills side (apparently high-powered suits can be a bit heartless in their quest for power - why did nobody mention this sooner?) but even that has structure, process, development. The case of the mysterious Goya sketch and the Slough noir are both excellent, the latter in particular pulling off a perfect landing. And finally there's a really early one from his pre-Folly days, which you could consider as the technothriller adapted for the low-stakes British bobby.
But in some ways the real oomph comes from the extratextual factor of the publication order - these are unseen episodes from the early life of the Folly, meaning they predate (and in places prefigure) a certain character's heel turn. And seeing the team back together in the old days has exactly the same bittersweet impact as the recent Wicked & Divine Christmas special. Ah, the past. Even the fictional past of fictional people.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little filler till the next novel comes out.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enttäuschend
Die zerstückelt Erzählweise der Geschichte(n) gefiel mir gar nicht.
Kein Fokus auf irgendwas und zwischendrin immer wieder ein graphic-joke?
Völlig unnötig
Ich bin froh, dafür kein Geld ausgegeben zu haben.

[AndrewP · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far I think this is my favorite of the Rivers of London graphic novels. It's covers 4 of Peter Grant's minor cases with an overall theme of him trying to explain 'Falcon involvement' to a reviewing officer. What I really liked about this one is how Aaronovitch writes Peter's inner voice. Sometimes it's hard to tell if he's really trying to explain modern PC Police terms, or just taking the piss:)
Example:
"We go back to basics and put some frighteners on some snouts."
translates to
"We adopted a proactive intelligence-gathering policy utilising appropriate stakeholders in the community and pre-established covert human intelligence sources."

This would do The Sweeny proud:)

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite of The Rivers of London graphic novels so far.
I enjoyed the set-up of case review toward Peter Grant's promotion to detective, highlighting Peter's good qualities and good work. There was also a nice poignancy to it as he remembers what it was like to work with Lesley before she went to the dark side.
I'd wandered off from the books for a while and found that this was a helpful memory refresher on some points before I begin reading the next novel.
As usual, the art is brilliant.
Given that I felt the need to remark on the nudity in the previous volume, I feel obligated to mention that there's some near-nudity of the male variety here. Although the contexts are different from the sequences in Black Mould...and quite possibly I'm being reverse-sexist/hypocritical.

[Sadie Slater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rivers of London: Detective Stories is the latest combined volume of the spin-off comics from Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London books. This one contains four short, self-contained casefics, recounted by Peter as part of the assessment process for his promotion to Detective Constable. The stories themselves are fairly slight, but they're entertaining enough and typically packed with geeky in-jokes (I was particularly delighted by the law firm "Bock, Loupe and Stag"), and also provides some interesting insights into some other characters from the series.

[Marjolein (UrlPhantomhive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

The Rivers of London/Peter Grant is one of my favorite ongoing series and one of the things I like about it is the many different ways the stories are being told (novels, shorts, comics and there is also a free audio-exclusive). Also, it is British.

Detective stories includes four short stories of Peter's Falcon cases as he recalls them while being interviewed for a detective exam. I liked them a lot as they make the wait for the next novel more bearable.

[ALPHAreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think technically I should have read this one before my audiobook listen of Book 8 ‘False Value,’ but oh well! It just sets up Peter’s undercover work a bit more seamlessly, and the background to Loupe & Stag.

This was a great little story, just the right mix of magical mayhem and human misery.

Something with all of Aaronovitch’s writing that I love, is his London trivia and equally his London shade (like about Broadgate, which Peter says; “The architects were aiming for a homage to Britain’s industrial heritage, but hit late-career Michael Bay instead.” OOMPH!)

Also, what a time to be reading this amidst world events when a museum curator character says; “There have always been war crimes. It’s only a question of who punishes first; man or god.”

Precisely.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a love/hate relationship with comics formats. I often want to like whichever one I've picked up to read - I try! - than I end up doing. This is one of those examples. I needed to read this to fill in a gap from the traditional novel I was reading in this series - Lies Sleeping. The characters I had imagined in the previous six books and one novella I had read didn't match up to the illustrations in the comic books (this wasn't a graphic novel in my opinion, it was separately published comic books now contained in one e-volume). It wasn't terrible, but it didn't really add anything to what is otherwise a tremendously fun romp of a series.

[Christa Schönmann Abbühl · Rating 4 out of 5]

While listening to the newest Rivers of London novel and enjoying myself so much that I want to make it last longer, I remembered that I still had not read some of the graphic novels. So I paused and read this one. I had such fun. Although it took me a while to understand where the stories fit in chronologically. It was strange for me to see Lesley as a partner again.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
Using an interview to determine Peter's fitness for a promotion to detective as a framework for the stories in this collection, we see Peter relate the details and outcomes of a variety of incidents he had been involved in from the time he was in probation to recent cases.

Though this is a pretty light set of episodes, it does make reference to some events from the books, and shows a little of Peter’s evolution from beat cop to an investigating officer of The Folly.

[Claudia_Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rivers of London: Detective Stories is a graphic novel from the Rivers of London or Peter Grant series written by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel and penciled by Lee Sullivan. This installment takes place in-between The Hanging Tree and Lies Sleeping and is best read after the sixth book. Rivers of London: Detective Stories collects all four issues of the 2017 series.

Rivers of London: Detective Stories has Police Constable Peter Grant is taking his Detective examination and is having an interview with Detective Inspector Chopra to determine if Peter Grant is ready to become a Detective Constable in the Metropolitan Police. He reviews four different cases, which Police Constable Peter Grant led.

Unlike the previous graphic novels, River of London: Detective Stories contains four separate stories. The framework that connects the stories is an evaluation of Police Constable Peter Grant made by Detective Inspector Chopra.

"Magic Circle" has Peter Grant investigating a case of goat cruelty on top of a tower block. "Old Soldiers" deals with a break-in at Apseley House, leaving an extra Goya behind. "Cry Me a River" has a ghost wanting Peter Grant to solve a cold-case murder – his own. Finally, in "States of Mind" have Peter Grant's first case while being a Probationary Police Constable with Lesley May, his partner and fellow Probationary Police Constable, and deals with a flasher near Covent Garden.

Each story is told in flashback format as a Detective Inspector reviews closed files handled by Peter Grant to assess his competence. Each story is about events that do not result in a crime that can be prosecuted, which is rather odd. This unique twist confounds the supervising Detective Inspector.

Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, I rather enjoyed each story. Each short story was rather well written and was cleverly connected in the grander story about the possible promotion for Peter Grant. As always, Peter Grant continues to be a wonderful narrator with his generally likable demeanor. The combination of a police procedural with the hints of magic realism done in an urban fantasy setting is written rather well.

Lee Sullivan penciled the entire trade paperback and because he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, I enjoyed his penciling style. While I have a completely different image of each character, Sullivan interpretation of them are growing on me.

All in all, Rivers of London: Detective Stories is a well written graphic novel about Police Constable Peter Grant's investigation as he is being evaluated whether he is fit to become a Detective Inspector as one of his superiors reviews four of his cases. It is also a worthy and wonderful addition to the Rivers of London or Peter Grant universe – enriching it just a tad more.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another reviewer did an excellent job at summarizing this book: "Another decent Rivers of London collection that should please (but not thrill) fans of the novels. This collection consists of four self-contained short stories linked together by a cute framing device."

This is not a comic series that you can just pick up & read on its own. To have any idea of what's going on or who the characters are, it's important to have read the novels they are based on.

For those familiar w/ the novels, these are stories from Peter's earlier work with the Met, with his partner Leslie. It was nice to get some additional stories with them working together. I've enjoyed reading these mini-stories & think it's a nice way for Aaronovitch to explore more of his world & characters without bogging down the stories in his novels.

[Roo · Rating 3 out of 5]

My copy isn't playing

At first my copy had blank pages/screens, it was very confusing. I managed to get it working (I think I got it all but I'll go back and reread to be certain) and enjoyed what I read.

I much prefer the novels, these are over too fast. But all in all good fun.

ETA - I had lost a lot in the 1st read, one story flipped part way to the middle of the next. I've been through three times and now know what happened with Oberon at the studio. I think I got it all. It was when you're reading separate panels I had the problem. I tried full pages and managed to get more.

It was hard to tell if it was missing bits as it is short stories and this would have put me off reading more but I've already bought them. Did anyone else have this problem?

[Lilifane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich verschlinge die Graphic Novels zu der Rivers of London Reihe immer regelrecht.
Es ist einfach so schön immer wieder kurze Einblicke in den Alltag der Charaktere zu bekommen, während man auf eine neues Buch wartet. Die Geschichten sind immer mit sehr viel Liebe und sehr vielen Details geschrieben und gezeichnet und transportieren den gleichen Humor und die gleichen Gefühle wie die Romane.
Hier mochte ich die unterschiedlichen Fälle und ganz besonders wie sie in eine Hauptgeschichte eingebunden wurden.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possibly my favourite graphic novel yet - a look back over some of Peters cases through the years. It gives perspective but also we get to see Peter’s brand of police humour mixed with his sense of duty, which is one of my favourite things about the books.

[John of Canada · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.The usual,terrific artwork,interesting story.The bonus was a lot of history,especially the development of the Metropolitan Police Force.Henry Fielding was a magistrate as well as a novelist!

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of what I love about these books is the police procedural stuff, so obviously I really enjoyed these little case reviews. Plus bonus Leslie feels.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff as always. Could have done with more Nightingale, but this was still an enjoyable collection.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was all right, but not particularly compelling.