The Rivers of London series has become one of the most beloved urban fantasy series of the last decade.
Written by Ben Aaronovitch, the books follow Peter Grant, a Metropolitan Police officer who discovers that London’s hidden magical underworld is very real. What begins as a routine murder investigation quickly turns into something far stranger, introducing readers to ghosts, river gods, ancient magic, and a version of London that feels both familiar and completely unexpected.
Part police procedural, part fantasy novel, and part love letter to London, the series has built a devoted following among readers who enjoy clever mysteries, memorable characters, and a strong sense of place.
If you’re new to the series or looking to make sure you’re reading the books in the correct order, here’s everything you need to know.
Rivers of London series in Order
1. Rivers of London (2011)
Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. After taking a statement from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost, Peter comes to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny.
Suddenly, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.
2. Moon Over Soho (2011)
Body and Soul. The song. That’s what London constable and sorcerer’s apprentice Peter Grant first notices when he examines the corpse of Cyrus Wilkins, part-time jazz drummer and full-time accountant, who dropped dead of a heart attack while playing a gig at Soho’s 606 Club. The notes of the old jazz standard are rising from the body – a sure sign that something about the man’s death was not at all natural but instead supernatural.
Body and soul – they’re also what Peter will risk as he investigates a pattern of similar deaths in and around Soho. With the help of his superior officer, Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, and the assistance of beautiful jazz aficionado Simone Fitzwilliam, Peter will uncover a deadly magical menace – one that leads right to his own doorstep and to the squandered promise of a young jazz musician: a talented trumpet player named Richard “Lord” Grant – otherwise known as Peter’s dear old dad.
3. Whispers Under Ground (2012)
Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And it’s 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, Britain’s Last Wizard.
4. Broken Homes (2013)
A mutilated body in Crawley. Another killer on the loose. The prime suspect is one Robert Weil – an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man? Or just a common garden serial killer?
Before PC Peter Grant can get his head round the case, a town planner going under a tube train and a stolen grimoire are adding to his case-load. So far so London.
But then Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, on an housing estate designed by a nutter, built by charlatans and inhabited by the truly desperate. Is there a connection? And if there is, why oh why did it have to be South of the River?
5. Foxglove Summer (2014)
In the fifth of his bestselling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London – to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London, you can’t take the London out of the copper.
Travelling west with Beverley Brook, Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods. And what’s more, all the shops are closed by 4pm…
6. The Hanging Tree (2016)
Suspicious deaths are not usually the concern of PC Peter Grant or the Folly, even when they happen at an exclusive party in one of the most expensive apartment blocks in London. But Lady Ty’s daughter was there, and Peter owes Lady Ty a favour.
Plunged into the alien world of the super-rich, where the basements are bigger than the house and dangerous, arcane items are bought and sold on the open market, a sensible young copper would keep his head down and his nose clean. But this is Peter Grant we’re talking about.
He’s been given an unparalleled opportunity to alienate old friends and create new enemies at the point where the world of magic and that of privilege intersect. Assuming he survives the week . . .
7. Lies Sleeping (2018)
Martin Chorley – aka the Faceless Man – wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run. Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice.
But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long-term plan. A plan that has its roots in London’s two thousand bloody years of history, and could literally bring the city to its knees.
To save his beloved city Peter’s going to need help from his former best friend and colleague – Lesley May – who brutally betrayed him and everything he thought she believed in. And, far worse, he might even have to come to terms with the malevolent supernatural killer and agent of chaos known as Mr Punch…
8. False Value (2020)
Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Leaving his old police life behind, he takes a job with Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner’s new London start up: the Serious Cybernetics Corporation.
Drawn into the orbit of Old Street’s famous ‘silicon roundabout’, Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with the Met’s first trainee wizard in fifty years.
Because a secret is hiding somewhere in the building. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it technological – and twice as dangerous…
9. Amongst Our Weapons (2022)
The London Silver Vaults – for well over a century, the largest collection of silver for sale in the world. It has more locks than the Bank of England and more cameras than a celebrity punch-upNot somewhere you can murder someone and vanish without a trace – only that’s what happened.
The disappearing act, the reports of a blinding flash of light and memory loss amongst the witnesses all make this a case for Detective Constable Peter Grant and the Special Assessment Unit.
Alongside their boss DCI Thomas Nightingale, the SAU find themselves embroiled in a mystery that encompasses London’s tangled history, foreign lands and, most terrifying of all, the North!
And Peter must solve this case soon because back home his partner Beverley is expecting twins any day now. But what he doesn’t know is that he’s about to encounter something – and somebody – that nobody ever expects…
10. Winter’s Gifts (2023)
Detective Sergeant Peter Grant takes a much-needed holiday up in Scotland. And he’ll need one when this is over…
If more’s the merrier, then it’s ecstatic as his partner Beverley, their young twins, his mum, dad, his dad’s band and their dodgy manager all tag along. Even his boss, DCI Thomas Nightingale, takes in the coastal airs as he trains Peter’s cousin Abigail in the arcane arts.
And they’ll need them too, because Scotland’s Granite City has more than its fair share of history and mystery, myth … and murder.
When a body is found in a bus stop, fresh from the sea, the case smells fishy from the off.
Something may be stirring beyond the bay – but there’s something far stranger in the sky…
Do You Need to Read the Rivers of London Books in Order?
Yes. Unlike some long-running mystery series, the Rivers of London novels build heavily on previous events.
Relationships evolve across multiple books, storylines carry forward, and characters introduced early in the series often become increasingly important later on. While each novel contains its own central mystery, you’ll get far more from the series by reading in publication order.
Trust me on this one.
What About the Graphic Novels?
In addition to the main novels, the series also includes several graphic novels and novellas.
These expand the world and often follow side characters or events that take place between the main books.
They’re worth reading if you’re already invested in the series, but they’re not essential if you’re simply working your way through the primary novels.
For most readers, I’d recommend starting with the main books before diving into the additional material.
A Small London Connection
I had the opportunity to attend a signing for Amongst Our Weapons, the ninth book in the series.
One of the things that struck me was how enthusiastic the fanbase remains more than a decade after the first novel was published.
Which makes sense.
Few series capture modern London quite like Rivers of London.
The books manage to be funny, inventive, occasionally ridiculous, and surprisingly affectionate towards the city all at the same time.
Final Thoughts
If you enjoy fantasy, crime fiction, or books that make London feel a little stranger than it appears on the surface, the Rivers of London series is well worth picking up.
Just be warned.
Many readers start with the first book intending to see what all the fuss is about.
A few months later they’re ten books deep, explaining river goddesses and magical policing to confused friends.
There are certainly worse problems to have.