Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London crosses the Atlantic with Winter’s Gifts, the fourth novella in this hugely popular series. Not only is this the first time the series has ventured to America though, with FBI agent Kimberley Reynolds stepping into the spotlight for her own story, but it’s also the first time the series has really delved into the realm of the horror story. It’s a classic horror setup – a small town in Wisconsin, snow blanketing the ground and cutting off access, a missing man, locals hiding secrets, and a lone FBI agent trying to piece together a mystery which might involve a lost 19th century expedition, while dealing with the inimical weather and a lurking darkness (which inevitably steps out of the shadows soon enough).
Like with Tobias in The October Man, it’s initially a little strange to be reading about someone other than Peter Grant (who makes a brief, distant cameo), but Kimberley brings her own strong voice which really suits this sort of story. It’s fun to learn more about her relationships with family (always a key theme in an Aaronovitch story) and faith, and get a sense of her humour and her approach to the job, while the fact she has no magic of her own leans further into the horror vibes – no supernatural solutions for Kimberley, just brains and nerve. It’s a horror story in context of the series, more a magical creature feature than anything outright scary, but Aaronovitch taps into the history of the region to find a remarkably dark origin for the mystery (along the way hinting at the racial and cultural complexities involved in policing when Native tribes are involved).
If it (understandably) doesn’t quite have the full familiar joy of the main range novels – Peter is such a strong character that it’s always tempting to just want more of him – Winter’s Gifts nevertheless manages to ably demonstrate (much like The October Man) that there’s more to this series than just British wizardry. Indeed there’s plenty of scope for exploring magic in different places and different forms, and this sort of supernatural horror(ish) story fits in perfectly with the series as a whole and works well in the shorter novella format. With her gentle humour, sharp observation skills and amusing intolerance for bad language, agent Reynolds joins the ranks of Tobias and Abigail as thoroughly entertaining viewpoint characters who offer an interesting new perspective on this world, adding depth and variety to a series which continues to entertain and satisfy.
See also: all the other Rivers of London reviews on Track of Words
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