Book Log 2020 #42: Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Peter Grant is a constable with the Metropolitan police in London whose prospects are looking like he'll spend more time in the office than in the field. All of this changes, however, when in the course of an investigation he winds up interviewing a ghost. Turns out Peter has some magical abilities that he was unaware of, which completely changes the arc of his career.

Peter gets assigned to Thomas Nightingale, who is both a police officer (deputy chief inspector) and the last sanctioned wizard in England. Nightingale investigates crimes and other incidents with a magical component, and for the first time in roughly 70 years has an assistant to train and assist with investigations.

On top of his policing duties, and learning how to use magic, Peter also gets involved with a running feud between the gods and goddesses of the waterways in and around London (which is why the original title of this book, which also gives the series its name, is Rivers of London).

I'm not normally into fantasy, but I really enjoyed this book.  The fantastical and criminal elements of the story balanced well, and there's a fair bit of humor to boot. Looking forward to reading on in the series.