Tag: Crime

Three Upcoming Events for Ben Aaronovitch!

Posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2021

Just a very quick post with three dates for your diaries. Over the next couple of week, Ben Aaronovitch will be taking part in three events to mark the tenth anniversary of RIVERS OF LONDON! The first novel in his best-selling, acclaimed Peter Grant series, here’s the synopsis (in case you’ve missed it somehow)…

My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit – we do paperwork so real coppers don’t have to – and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluble, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I’m a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden… and there’s something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.

The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it’s falling to me to bring order out of chaos – or die trying.

The first event is in just two days (July 29th), as part of the Cymera Online Book Festival. Ben will be joined by fellow Gollancz author Adam Simcox to talk all things supernatural crime and mystery! Full details can be found here (where you can also buy tickets).

On August 5th, Ben will be hosted by Highgate Library for Books and Beyond, discussing RIVERS OF LONDON, the series, and the latest book WHAT ABIGAIL DID THAT SUMMER. Tickets and details here.

And last, but by no means least, on August 10th Chatham Library will host Ben for another discussion to mark the tenth anniversary of RIVERS OF LONDON. It’s a free event, and as the poster below recommends, give them a call to reserve your seat(s)!

RIVERS OF LONDON and the other books in the series are published in the UK by Gollancz. The first novel was published in North America as MIDNIGHT RIOT, and the series is published by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-), and Subterranean Press (novellas). The series has also been published widely in translations (see Ben’s page for more details).

Ben Aaronovitch’s FALEŠNÁ HODNOTA due out in September!

Posted on Friday, July 23rd, 2021

On September 30th, Argo are due to publish the Czech edition of FALSE VALUE, the eighth novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s acclaimed, best-selling Rivers of London/Peter Grant series! Published as FALEŠNÁ HODNOTA, here’s the synopsis…

Nové dobrodružství Petera Granta… a zároveň nový rozjezd! Jsme stále v Londýně, ale Peter už nepracuje u metropolitní policie. Po uzavření případu Muže bez tváře a dalších peripetiích se Peter usazuje, připravuje se na otcovskou roli a zároveň čelí poněkud nejisté budoucnosti. Nastupuje do soukromého sektoru, do IT firmy Terrence Skinnera, kde věci nejsou takové, jaké se zdají být. V rámci zaměstnání se musí naučit splynout s civilisty, kteří jsou ještě větší geekové než on, byť nadále zůstává v kontaktu se starými známými, jež ho provázeli při dřívějších vyšetřováních, ať operují v Rozmaru nebo třeba v Americe. A i zde má samozřejmě slovo magie. Pracoviště skrývá tajemství, technologii, která je sice high-tech a zkoumá možnosti umělé inteligence, ale má kořeny u Ady Lovelaceové a Charlese Babbage.

V pořadí osmý román série Řeky Londýna má všechno, na co jsme byli zvyklí z dřívějších částí – humor i svérázný pohled na svět – a také něco navíc: třeba to, že firma, kde teď Peter působí, nese silný otisk světa Stopařova průvodce po galaxii!

Argo has published all of the other previous novels in Ben’s series in Czechia, as well as a couple of his novellas and comic series (the latter co-authored with Andrew Cartmel).

FALSE VALUE is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in North America by DAW Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

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.

FALSE VALUE has also been published in Germany, by DTV.

Here are just a few of the reviews the novel has received so far…

‘Aaronovitch showcases a superlative blend of whimsy and grit in the eighth Rivers of London urban fantasy… The suspenseful mystery at the novel’s core is laced with humor and charm. Jim Butcher meets Douglas Adams in this winning series installment.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

‘… sees Peter taking on new responsibilities both at work and at home and there’s a definite shift in tone towards the stranger side of magic and the broader implications of what a resurgence of strangeness means to the world at large. Aaronovitch is clearly having a blast building on the world he’s already created… The main character is a delight as always… The tone is light, witty, and action packed as always. Cinematic where has to be and detective chic in other places. And, as always, the description of London is so solid and real that you can practically feel the familiar layer of grime the city has… As always, Ben Aaronovitch takes the reader on an unforgettable ride into the fantastic.’ — Starburst (9/10)

‘… my favorite current series… delightful, compulsive and fresh — with a love of multicultural London evident on every page, wonderfully diverse characters, magic, mystery, and mayhem. Once you start, you will literally not be able to put them down.’ — Lavie Tidhar in Washington Post

‘Wonderfully blending technology and magic… Aaronovitch creates a fantastic blend of real-world London, harbouring a secret magical underground, delicately interwoven with an alternative history that touches on the origins of computer programming and the work of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage… a solid crime/detective novel that provides fans of the series with another entertaining adventure for Peter Grant complete with dark humour and explosive action.’ — SciFi Now

‘FALSE VALUE is a rousing episode in the Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series’ — Canberra Times

‘[A] great read… I enjoyed the new direction and dynamics introduced here. Big things are clearly coming for Peter Grant and I’m looking forward to seeing where the next book will take us.’ — Bibliosanctum

‘[A]nother unmissable instalment of the Rivers of London series’… FALSE VALUE is a welcome addition to the collection and long may they keep coming — Crime Review

‘Packed with treasures and little bits of history and illusion this latest adventure from Ben Aaronovitch sends Peter deep into the ‘silicon roundabout’… What I love about these stories is the way they are told. You could be listening directly to the author, no filters and straightforward dialogue by real people. Peter is great and Nightingale as the much older generation is the comforting hand on the shoulder…’ — SF Crowsnest

Ben Aaronovitch & Andrew Cartmel’s MONDAY, MONDAY starts today!

Posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2021

The ninth story-arc in Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel‘s Rivers of London comic series, MONDAY, MONDAY, begins today! Published by Titan Comics, it’s available with four covers in print and digital. Here’s the synopsis…

An unmissable brand-new era in the life of full-time cop and part-time wizard, Peter Grant.

A werewolf is on the loose and will stop at nothing to avoid capture! It’s up to Peter and his cohort of chums to hunt the deadly lycanthrope and bring him to justice!

Series art is by the supremely talented José Maria Beroy.

The Rivers of London comics are must-reads for fans of Ben’s Peter Grant/Rivers of London novels and novellas, as well as for fans of magic, crime, and urban fantasy as a whole!

The books are published by Gollancz in the UK; Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas) in North America. The series is also published widely in translation.

If you’d like to read more by Andrew Cartmel (of course you would!), then we recommend you check out his Vinyl Detective series, published by Titan Books in the UK and North America.

Deluxe Writers’ Edition of RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK out now!

Posted on Tuesday, July 6th, 2021

The (slightly delayed) Deluxe Writers’ Edition of the first RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK is out today! Published by Titan Comics, it is the first story-arc of Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel‘s comic series (set in the same world as Ben’s novels and novellas). With stunning artwork from Lee Sullivan and colours by Luis Guerrero, here’s the synopsis…

CSI meets Harry Potter in this fantastic SPECIAL EDITION graphic novel from Ben Aaronovitch, writer of the bestselling Rivers of London supernatural police procedural crime novel series! This Deluxe Writers’ Edition presents the full script of the graphic novel along with the unlettered, full-color artwork, allowing the reader to read the original script and see the artwork side-by-side.

Grant is part of a very special London police unit. Full-time cop and part time wizard he works on rather unusual crimes – those that involve magic and the general weirdness that permeates London’s dark underbelly.

His latest case begins with a perfectly innocent car on a homicidal killing spree – without a driver. But, before you know it, there’s a Bosnian refugee, the Most Haunted Car in England, a bunch of teenagers loaded on Ketamine and seemingly-harmless wooden bench with the darkest of pasts…

The comic series is still on-going: the eighth story-arc, THE FEY AND THE FURIOUS was recently completed.

The next story-arc in the series — MONDAY, MONDAY — starts tomorrow!

As mentioned at the top, the Rivers of London comic series is based on the characters and world of Ben’s critically-acclaimed, internationally bestselling Peter Grant series of novels and novellas — at the time of writing, there are eight novels and three novellas available.

If you’d like to learn a bit more about the new Deluxe Writers’ Edition of BODY WORK, check out this interview with the authors…

Audio Spotlight: Ben Aaronovitch’s EIN WEISSER SCHWAN IN TABERNACLE STREET

Posted on Friday, June 11th, 2021

In case you missed it, we wanted to raise awareness that Ben Aaronovitch‘s best-selling, critically-acclaimed Peter Grant series of novels and novellas are available in Germany as audiobooks. This includes the latest novel, FALSE VALUE, which is published in Germany as an audiobook by Jumbo Verlag. Narrated by Dietmar Wunder, here’s the synopsis for EIN WEISSER SCHWAN IN TABERNACLE STREET…

Peter Grant, unser Lieblings-Bobby und Zauberlehrling, ist suspendiert und zumindest für eine Weile kein Bobby mehr. Dafür wird er in Zukunft im Privatleben umso mehr gefordert sein, was ihn zu gleichen Teilen mit Panik und Begeisterung erfüllt. Um nicht untätig herumzusitzen und Nägel zu kaufen, heuert er bei der Serious Cybernetics Company an, dem neuesten Projekt des Internet-Genies Terrence Skinner. Und prompt holt die Magie ihn wieder ein. Denn in den Tiefen der SCC ist ein Geheimnis verborgen, eine geheime magische Technologie, die zurückreicht bis weit ins 19. Jahrhundert, das Zeitalter von Ada Lovelace und Charles Babbage. Und die brandgefährlich ist für die Welt.

Jumbo Verlag has published the audiobooks for all of Ben’s Peter Grant/Rivers of London books in Germany, to date. The German print and eBook editions are published by DTV.

Audible Germany has also been producing some full-cast audio dramas, the first four of which are out now: DIE FLÜSSE VON LONDON, SCHWARZER MOND ÜBER SOHO, EIN WISPERN UNTER BAKER STREET, and DER BÖSE ORT.

New UK Edition of Lavie Tidhar’s A MAN LIES DREAMING out now!

Posted on Thursday, April 15th, 2021

A new edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed, Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Award-winning novel, A MAN LIES DREAMING is out now in the UK! Published by Head of Zeus (via the AdAstra imprint), here’s the synopsis…

1939. In a grotty corner of London, in a flat above a shop, a private eye known as Wolf keeps his office. The city is in the throes of a very British Fascism, and Wolf is far from the life he left behind in Germany, before the Fall. Business hasn’t been good, so when a glamorous Jewish heiress comes through his door, he has no choice but to take on her case.

It’s a decision Wolf will soon regret.

For in another time and place, a man lies dreaming. Once a Yiddish pulp writer, but now imprisoned in a hell of humanity’s making, Shomer creates lurid tales of revenge in his sleep…

Prescient, darkly funny and wholly original, the award-winning A Man Lies Dreaming is a modern fable for our time.

The novel is also available in North America, published by JABberwocky (with a great cover by Sarah Anne Langton).

Here are just a few of the great reviews the novel has received since it was first published…

‘The best book I read last year is A MAN LIES DREAMING by Lavie Tidhar, a form of fictional historiography based on a’ what if ‘principle. I love that, if it is done well and intelligently… It sounds ridiculous and it has certainly been written down with a great sense of irony, but at the same time it is so cleverly constructed and such a spectacular conclusion unfolds that you are going to take it all very seriously.’ — Sting (yes, that one) to Volksrant

‘…savagely funny… A MAN LIES DREAMING, by the Israeli-born novelist Lavie Tidhar, has not been published with the fanfare bestowed on Martin Amis’s The Zone of Interest or Howard Jacobson’s J, but it is their equal for savage humour… Those who enjoy laughter in the dark will relish Tidhar’s parade of mordant ironies… This novel is weird, upsetting, unmissable.’ 5* — Telegraph

‘Comes crashing through the door of literature like Sam Spade with a .38 in his hand. This is a shocking book as well as a rather brilliant one, and it treats the topic of genocide with a kind of energetic unseriousness… Tidhar’s novel treats its grim theme not as a comedy, although there is plenty of caustic humour, but instead as a pulp-noir tale of seamy city streets, gumshoes and lowlifes… Tidhar gets the outre tone just right: outrageous sex and violence related in a briskly workmanlike style. And Tidhar’s Hitler is a striking reimagination of that endlessly reimagined individual: twisted with hatred, doing good almost by accident… Tidhar, who cut his teeth in the world of genre SF, understands how eloquent pulp can be… [OSAMA] won the World Fantasy award. I wouldn’t be surprised to see A MAN LIES DREAMING repeat that achievement… Like Tarantino, Tidhar may find that some people don’t take him seriously. But the joke’s on them. Seriousness is the least of it: A MAN LIES DREAMING is a twisted masterpiece.’ — Guardian

‘Wild, noir-infused alternative history from genre-bender Tidhar… A wholly original Holocaust story: as outlandish as it is poignant.’ — Kirkus (Starred Review)

‘No one can accuse Lavie Tidhar of being risk-averse… Tidhar reveals – as he did earlier in OSAMA and to some extent in THE VIOLENT CENTURY – that he’s really less interested in the mechanistic ‘‘what-ifs’’ of conventional alternate history than he is in the interpenetration of real and in­vented histories, or perhaps more grandiosely in the interpenetration of art and life – even the often-demeaned art of sensational fiction or (as in the case of THE VIOLENT CENTURY) comic books. This is what makes him such an interesting writer, and what makes A MAN LIES DREAMING quite a bit more complex than it at first appears… the novel is not without a fair amount of humor, and that might well be the boldest risk Tidhar is taking here…’ — Locus

‘How does one write the Holocaust? This high-wire act of a book is his attempt. Does it work as pulp? Yes. It’s nasty, clever, waspish and witty. It finds room for guest appearances from Leni Riefenstahl, Ian Fleming and Evelyn Waugh and quotations from everyone from Chandler to Ukip…  You turn the pages avidly. You read it for the pulp story. And you read it for the frame that surrounds it. And you can’t stop reading.‘ — Herald Scotland

Next Week: New UK Edition of Lavie Tidhar’s A MAN LIES DREAMING!

Posted on Friday, April 9th, 2021

We’re very happy to report that a new UK edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Award-winning novel, A MAN LIES DREAMING is due out next week! To be published by Head of Zeus on April 15th, here’s the synopsis…

1939. In a grotty corner of London, in a flat above a shop, a private eye known as Wolf keeps his office. The city is in the throes of a very British Fascism, and Wolf is far from the life he left behind in Germany, before the Fall. Business hasn’t been good, so when a glamorous Jewish heiress comes through his door, he has no choice but to take on her case.

It’s a decision Wolf will soon regret.

For in another time and place, a man lies dreaming. Once a Yiddish pulp writer, but now imprisoned in a hell of humanity’s making, Shomer creates lurid tales of revenge in his sleep…

Prescient, darkly funny and wholly original, the award-winning A Man Lies Dreaming is a modern fable for our time.

The novel is also available in North America, published by JABberwocky (with a great cover by Sarah Anne Langton).

Here are just a few of the great reviews the novel has received since it was first published…

‘Wild, noir-infused alternative history from genre-bender Tidhar… A wholly original Holocaust story: as outlandish as it is poignant.’ — Kirkus (Starred Review)

‘…savagely funny… A MAN LIES DREAMING, by the Israeli-born novelist Lavie Tidhar, has not been published with the fanfare bestowed on Martin Amis’s The Zone of Interest or Howard Jacobson’s J, but it is their equal for savage humour… Those who enjoy laughter in the dark will relish Tidhar’s parade of mordant ironies… This novel is weird, upsetting, unmissable.’ 5* — Telegraph

‘No one can accuse Lavie Tidhar of being risk-averse… Tidhar reveals – as he did earlier in OSAMA and to some extent in THE VIOLENT CENTURY – that he’s really less interested in the mechanistic ‘‘what-ifs’’ of conventional alternate history than he is in the interpenetration of real and in­vented histories, or perhaps more grandiosely in the interpenetration of art and life – even the often-demeaned art of sensational fiction or (as in the case of THE VIOLENT CENTURY) comic books. This is what makes him such an interesting writer, and what makes A MAN LIES DREAMING quite a bit more complex than it at first appears… the novel is not without a fair amount of humor, and that might well be the boldest risk Tidhar is taking here…’ — Locus

‘The best book I read last year is A MAN LIES DREAMING by Lavie Tidhar, a form of fictional historiography based on a’ what if ‘principle. I love that, if it is done well and intelligently… It sounds ridiculous and it has certainly been written down with a great sense of irony, but at the same time it is so cleverly constructed and such a spectacular conclusion unfolds that you are going to take it all very seriously.’ — Sting (yes, that one) to Volksrant

‘How does one write the Holocaust? This high-wire act of a book is his attempt. Does it work as pulp? Yes. It’s nasty, clever, waspish and witty. It finds room for guest appearances from Leni Riefenstahl, Ian Fleming and Evelyn Waugh and quotations from everyone from Chandler to Ukip…  You turn the pages avidly. You read it for the pulp story. And you read it for the frame that surrounds it. And you can’t stop reading.‘ — Herald Scotland

Simon R. Green’s THE BEST THING YOU CAN STEAL out Tomorrow in North America!

Posted on Monday, April 5th, 2021

Simon R. Green‘s THE BEST THING YOU CAN STEAL is out tomorrow in North America, published by Severn House! Released in the UK back in January, it’s the first novel in the author’s new Gideon Sable series. Here’s the synopsis…

Welcome to London, but not as you know it. A place where magics and horror run free, wonders and miracles are everyday things, and the dark streets are full of very shadowy people…

Gideon Sable is a thief and a con man. He specializes in stealing the kind of things that can’t normally be stolen. Like a ghost’s clothes, or a photo from a country that never existed. Now, Gideon’s planning a heist, to steal the only thing that matters from the worst man in the world. So he’s going to need a crew who can do the impossible…

Severn House also publishes Green’s acclaimed Ishmael Jones Mysteries in the UK and North America. All nine novels are out now!

Zeno represents Simon R. Green in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Andrew Cartmel’s THE RUN-OUT GROOVE out now in Czech!

Posted on Tuesday, March 30th, 2021

The second novel in Andrew Cartmel‘s acclaimed Vinyl Detective series, is available in Czechia! Published by Kalibr/Euromedia as VŠECHNY KOČKY MILUJÍ VALERIANU, here’s the synopsis…

Bydlí se dvěma kočkami, prvotřídním gramofonem, velkou sbírkou jazzových nahrávek a na živobytí pro sebe i obě ochočené šelmy si vydělává jako „vinylový detektiv“. Nenechte se zmýlit, o vzrušení a nebezpečí není v jeho profesi nouze! Občas jde i o život…

Když se mu na prahu objeví nesourodá dvojice v podobě bratra tragicky zesnulé zpěvačky Valeriany a mladé senzacechtivé novinářky, roztáčí se kolotoč intrik, poštovních koček, podezřelých úmrtí včetně jedné hlídací husy a život ohrožujících halucinogenních zážitků. Zemřela Valeriana skutečně přirozenou smrtí rockových muzikantů, tedy sebevraždou po požití štědré dávky drog? A nahrála na svůj ztracený poslední singl tajný vzkaz nebo temnou mši, jak se šeptá v kruzích milovníků vinylu? Odhalí jeho nalezení, co se stalo se zmizelým zpěvaččiným synem?

Ocitli se snad náš hrdina se svou vynalézavou přítelkyní Nevadou opět přímo v hledáčku zločinců, kteří se nezastaví před ničím?

Euromedia has also published the first book in the series, as POSLEDNÍ DESKA.

The Vinyl Detective series is published in the UK and North America by Titan Books: WRITTEN IN DEAD WAX, THE RUN-OUT GROOVE, VICTORY DISC, FLIP BACK, and LOW ACTION. The first two books in the series have also been published in Germany, by Suhrkamp.

Here’s the English-language synopsis for THE RUN-OUT GROOVE…

His first adventure consisted of the search for a rare record; his second begins with the discovery of one. When a mint copy of the final album by “Valerian” — England’s great lost rock band of the 1960s — surfaces in a charity shop, all hell breaks loose.

Finding this record triggers a chain of events culminating in our hero learning the true fate of the singer Valerian, who died under equivocal circumstances just after — or was it just before? — the abduction of her two-year-old son.

Along the way, the Vinyl Detective finds himself marked for death, at the wrong end of a shotgun, and unknowingly dosed with LSD as a prelude to being burned alive. And then there’s the grave robbing…

But he does find out what happened to the missing child, and it wasn’t what anyone expected — or wanted — to hear.

Here are just a few of the reviews THE RUN-OUT GROOVE has received…

‘Part of the fun of the series is the obsessiveness of record collectors, the contradictions between the mundane places in which they hunt their treasures — charity shops, church bazaars — and the sophisticated sound systems they have set up to play what they find… the Vinyl Detective is proving to be a very amenable companion to have on a treasure hunt. This is one vinyl nerd you won’t mind spending time with.’ — Kirkus

‘… entertaining second record-spinning mystery… Cartmel treats music and records seriously, plays his strange characters for laughs, and provides a bit of danger and some unexpected twists in this affectionate nod to the vagaries of rock stardom.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘THE RUN-OUT GROOVE does a fantastic job of making its fictional history of music so fascinating and authentic that you’ll forget it isn’t all true… This a follow-up every bit the equal of its highly memorable predecessor, presenting a mystery you’ll be eager to solve and characters whose company you won’t want to leave. Written with infectious charm, the Vinyl Detective has more than proven he’s no one-hit-wonder.’ (9/10) — Alternative Magazine Online

‘Polished, fast-paced and a ton of fun, this is a fantastic read that is easy to get lost in… more polished… keeps the story rolling forward at an incredible speed – and also makes it very hard to put down… Cartmel has created an intoxicating mix of adventure, humour and mystery to lose yourself in… a truly engaging and enjoyable read. THE RUN-OUT GROOVE surpasses even the opening novel in the series for polish and fun.’ — The Crime Review

In related news, Andrew was recently interviewed for The Eternal Village-Cast. You can listen to that, below…

Deluxe Writers’ Edition of RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK on the way!

Posted on Tuesday, March 16th, 2021

Today, we have great news for fans of the Peter Grant novels and Rivers of London comics: a Deluxe Writers’ Edition of the first story-arc, BODY WORK is due to be published by Titan Comics in June! The comic series — written by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel — has been extremely popular with fans of the novels and comics generally. Here’s the synopsis…

CSI meets Harry Potter in this fantastic SPECIAL EDITION graphic novel from Ben Aaronovitch, writer of the bestselling Rivers of London supernatural police procedural crime novel series! This Deluxe Writers’ Edition presents the full script of the graphic novel along with the unlettered, full-color artwork, allowing the reader to read the original script and see the artwork side-by-side.

Grant is part of a very special London police unit. Full-time cop and part time wizard he works on rather unusual crimes – those that involve magic and the general weirdness that permeates London’s dark underbelly.

His latest case begins with a perfectly innocent car on a homicidal killing spree – without a driver. But, before you know it, there’s a Bosnian refugee, the Most Haunted Car in England, a bunch of teenagers loaded on Ketamine and seemingly-harmless wooden bench with the darkest of pasts…

The story is rendered beautifully with art by Lee Sullivan and colours by Luis Guerrero. The comic series is still on-going: the eighth story-arc, THE FEY AND THE FURIOUS was recently completed.

The Rivers of London comic series is based on characters and the world of Ben’s critically-acclaimed, internationally bestselling Peter Grant series of novels and novellas.

Simon R. Green’s THE BEST THING YOU CAN STEAL out now in the UK!

Posted on Friday, January 29th, 2021

Simon R. Green‘s THE BEST THING YOU CAN STEAL is out today in the UK! The first novel in the author’s new Gideon Sable series, it’s published by Severn House. Here’s the synopsis…

Welcome to London, but not as you know it. A place where magics and horror run free, wonders and miracles are everyday things, and the dark streets are full of very shadowy people…

Gideon Sable is a thief and a con man. He specializes in stealing the kind of things that can’t normally be stolen. Like a ghost’s clothes, or a photo from a country that never existed. Now, Gideon’s planning a heist, to steal the only thing that matters from the worst man in the world. So he’s going to need a crew who can do the impossible…

The novel is also due to be published in North America by Severn House, on April 6th. Severn House also publishes Green’s acclaimed Ishmael Jones Mysteries in the UK and North America.

Zeno represents Simon R. Green in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Coming Soon: Simon R. Green’s THE BEST THING YOU CAN STEAL!

Posted on Monday, November 9th, 2020

Next year, Severn House are due to publish Simon R. Green‘s THE BEST THING YOU CAN STEAL! The first novel in the Gideon Sable series, it’s due to be published on January 29th (UK) and April 6th (North America). Here’s the synopsis…

Welcome to London, but not as you know it. A place where magics and horror run free, wonders and miracles are everyday things, and the dark streets are full of very shadowy people…

Gideon Sable is a thief and a con man. He specializes in stealing the kind of things that can’t normally be stolen. Like a ghost’s clothes, or a photo from a country that never existed. Now, Gideon’s planning a heist, to steal the only thing that matters from the worst man in the world. So he’s going to need a crew who can do the impossible…

Severn House also publishes Green’s acclaimed Ishmael Jones Mysteries in the UK and North America.

Zeno represents Simon R. Green in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Ishmael Jones Investigates THE HOUSE ON WIDOWS HILL in Two Weeks!

Posted on Monday, September 21st, 2020

THE HOUSE ON WIDOWS HILL, Simon R. Green‘s ninth Ishmael Jones novel is out in two weeks in North America! Already available in the UK, it will be published by Severn House, on October 6th. Here’s the synopsis…

Ishmael Jones investigates a haunted house… but is haunted by his own past in the latest of this quirky paranormal mystery series.

Harrow House has remained empty for years. Now, on behalf of an anonymous prospective buyer, Ishmael and Penny are spending a night there in order to investigate the rumours of strange lights, mysterious voices, unexplained disappearances, and establish whether the house is really haunted. What really happened at Harrow House all those years ago?

Severn House publishes all of Green’s acclaimed Ishmael Jones novels in the North America and in the UK: THE DARK SIDE OF THE ROAD, DEAD MAN WALKING, VERY IMPORTANT CORPSES, DEATH SHALL COME, INTO THE THINNEST OF AIR, MURDER IN THE DARK, TILL SUDDEN DEATH DO US PART, and NIGHT TRAIN TO MURDER.

Here are just a few of the great reviews the series has received so far…

‘[A] brisk, breezy first in a new mystery series… Convincing supernatural twists [and] witty chapter titles… readers will be anxious for a sequel.’ — Publishers Weekly on THE DARK SIDE OF THE ROAD

‘Genre-blending author Green introduces another wisecracking protagonist, Ishmael Jones…Fans of the British TV series Torchwood will enjoy the irreverent, otherworldly protagonist.’ — Booklist on THE DARK SIDE OF THE ROAD

‘I really enjoyed the book. If anything it was over too soon. The author captures the English Country Manor Murder Mystery feel very well, as he sets up pretty much everybody as a suspect…I look forward to finding out more in future volumes.’ — British Fantasy Society on THE DARK SIDE OF THE ROAD

‘Not to be taken too seriously, this meld of SF and traditional hard-boiled spy fiction hints at plenty of further adventures.’ — Publishers Weekly on DEAD MAN WALKING

‘This sequel to the wonderful THE DARK SIDE OF THE ROAD takes the basic structure of a traditional English country house mystery and mixes it with a bit of supernatural horror and suspense. Richard Kadrey and E.E. Knight fans will particularly relish Green’s genre-blending novel.’ — Library Journal on DEAD MAN WALKING

‘Ishmael is a wonderful character, an extraterrestrial living among humans, and the series (this is the third installment) is a clever mixture of thriller and SF-horror genres. Green is best known for the Deathstalker space operas, but give this one a few more installments to develop, and it could well become Green’s masterwork.’ — Booklist (Starred Review) on VERY IMPORTANT CORPSES

‘I recommend VERY IMPORTANT CORPSES if you are looking for a fun, scary, and entertaining read before bedtime.’ — Fantasy Book Review

‘Fans of the series will be delighted to reconnect with the quick-witted detective and to learn a little bit more about his early days on the planet.’ — Booklist on TILL SUDDEN DEATH DO US PART

‘Fun, fast-paced, light fare that passes almost as quickly as that fatal train ride.’ — Kirkus on NIGHT TRAIN TO MURDER

‘[An] entertaining romp.’ — Publishers Weekly on NIGHT TRAIN TO MURDER

Zeno represents Simon R. Green in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Lavie Tidhar’s THE CANDY MAFIA Out Now in North America!

Posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2020

THE CANDY MAFIA, Lavie Tidhar‘s first novel for younger readers, is out today in North America! Published by Peachtree and illustrated by Daniel Duncan, here’s the synopsis…

In a city where candy is a crime and sugar is scandalous, Nelle Faulker is a 12-year-old private detective looking for her next client.

When notorious candy gangster Eddie de Menthe asks for her help to find a missing teddy bear, Nelle Faulkner is on the case. But as soon as the teddy turns up, Eddie himself goes missing! As a seemingly innocent investigation unravels into something more sinister, Nelle and her friends quickly find themselves swept up in a shady underworld of sweets smugglers, back alley deals, and storefront firebombs.

If Nelle has any hope of tracking down her missing client, first she’ll have to unmask the true faces behind the smuggling ring. Can Nelle and her friends find a way to take the cake? Or will they come to a sticky end…?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Bugsy Malone in this page-turning mystery from World Fantasy Award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. With moody spot illustrations by Daniel Duncan, readers will be sucked into the action-packed narrative as Nelle pulls the curtain back on the black market candy rings.

CANDY is published in the UK by Scholastic, and illustrated by Mark Beech. The novel has also been published in Germany, France, Czechia, Poland and Italy.

Back in May, Lavie also recorded a short video introducing THE CANDY MAFIA…

Here are just a few of the reviews the novel has received so far…

‘In his first book for younger readers, he creates perhaps his most chilling vision yet: a city where sweets are forbidden under a prohibition act… The tone is as hard-boiled as a cough drop. The jokes sizzle like Space Dust. CANDY is a treat, the kind of confection Roald Dahl and Raymond Chandler might have come up with after an all-night bonbon bender.’ — Financial Times

‘A perfectly pitched noir take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory… delightful premise… as with Tidhar’s earlier work, his playful approach to genre is in service to the story’s hidden depths. He uses the trappings of noir detective tales to tell a subversive children’s story about corruption, the exploitation of vulnerable communities, and the limits of justice. The end result is a novel that for all its joyous sense of fun still packs a surprising emotional and philosophical punch… The whole thing is tied together by Tidhar’s wonderful character work and his excellent prose… engages in some beautiful, chocolate and candy themed descriptions which perfectly capture the playground noir aesthetic. Tidhar’s characters are drawn with surprising depth and sympathy, with only a few key scenes and interactions he is able to penetrate to the core of loneliness and desperation for belonging that inspires so many of his candy thugs and bullies, giving them believable humanising moments. Most importantly, we never lose sight of the characters as children, which is necessary for the novel to carry off its conceit.’ — Fantasy Faction

‘Like a mini Miss Marple meets Maynards… this mouthful of mystery will leave every reader feeling like a child in a sweetshop; just craving to read more from Lavie!’ — Reader Teacher

‘Candy is one of those books that do not take children and teenagers for fools. The story is able to change shifts, thanks to lot of humour, to more serious subjects. Of course, we can enjoy it at any age. If possible, the book should be served in place of dessert.’ — Geektest (France)

‘Due to the wonderfully fluent writing style, the pleasantly short chapters and the rousing plot, I devoured the book in record time. For girls and boys from the age of 10, who like to read exciting, funny, imaginative detective stories, “Secret Agent Candy” is just perfect. I really hope that this is a start of a series and we will soon be able to solve their second, tricky case together with Nelle… Exciting, funny, bizarre and just awesome!’ — Die Bücherwelt von CorniHolmes (Germany)

‘CANDY is the case when a children’s book can actually be interesting at any age. Children will appreciate the plot and humour, adults – a lot of references scattered throughout the text and how unexpectedly and funny elements of the classic “cool” and noir detective story are refracted, if you put them in the context of a children’s literature. Fun, playful and exciting.’ — Fantalab (Russia)

‘… a breath of sweet fresh air…superb! Lavie Tidhar has written a detective story in film noir style based around the prohibition of candy. And it’s superb… what makes the book zing is Tidhar’s talent in sustaining his Chandler-esque child-friendly film noir style throughout. But in the end, despite all this fun, this is a children’s book with heart. The book explores doing the right thing, and overcoming bullies, and is engaging, warm and topical.’ — Minerva Reads

‘Witty, amusing and a loving variation on grown-up private eye tropes, this would make the perfect introduction to crime writing for kids and is very much tongue in cheek, and as such even more appealing to adult fans. Delightful.’ — Crime Time