Book: The October Man By Ben Aaronovitch (2019)

“Trier is famous for wine, Romans and for being Germany's oldest city. So when a man is found dead with, his body impossibly covered in a fungal rot, the local authorities know they are out of their depth. Fortunately this is Germany, where there are procedures for everything. Enter Investigator Tobias Winter, whose aim is to get in, deal with the problem, and get out with the minimum of fuss, personal danger and paperwork. With the help of frighteningly enthusiastic local cop, Vanessa Sommer, he's quick to link the first victim to a group of ordinary middle aged men - and to realize they may have accidentally reawakened a bloody conflict from a previous century. But the rot is still spreading, literally and with the suspect list extending to people born before Frederick the Great solving the case may mean unearthing the city's secret magical history. So long as that history doesn't kill them first.”

The October Man is lovely off-shoot to the Rivers of London series, were we meet Tobias Winter, who works for the Abteilung KDA (Complex and Diffuse Matters), a division within the Bundeskriminalamt (the Federal Crime Police) in Trier, a city on the banks of the Moselle. It lies in a valley in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxenbourg and within the important Moselle wine region. Much like the Folly, he investigates crimes of supernatural origin –or magic. Winter’s superior is only refrerred to as The Director (or Die Chefin), who was appointed by the KDA in 2005 by the new chancellor and is the only registered and qualified practitioner in post-unification Germany (before and during WWII, there were many). Oddly, the Director and Tobias are well aware of “the Nightingale” and his apprentice, Peter, but their British counterparts don’t know about them.

Anyways, much like the parent series, this novella has witty narration and enough snark to sometimes feel like its Peter Grant and not Tobias Winter talking. Still, Aaronvitch gives Tobias enough different quirks that you eventually settle down and realize they are two separate characters.  

The mystery of the murder is well constructed, and fans of deep procedural books, movies, and TV will appreciate how Tobias and Vanessa go about trying to solve it. It’s compelling enough to keep me reading, which I liked. Like any whodunits (even ones with magic and water Gods), it features a few twists and turns. However, I felt the ending was rushed and the motive for killer could’ve been better highlighted (like why the obsession to young Jackie to begin with). But the novella really reflects the work police must do during the investigation into a crime.

The local history of area and of Germany the writer relates does not affect the pacing, something the three novellas I’ve read so far have in common. Aaronovitch, like a lot of writers, can sometimes lose themselves in the weeds of world building. While a fun tale and Tobias grew on me, I don’t think he’s as engaging or as fun as Peter. But I would not be upset to either have the German version of the the Folly continue, or have the two eventually meet up. It could be fun.