Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch is exactly the kind of book that makes me wish there were more hours in the day so I could devour it in one sitting. If you’re a fan of urban fantasy, wit, and well-crafted world-building, this one has it all—and then some.

Set in Aaronovitch’s ever-expanding world, the story continues to deliver that unique blend of sharp dialogue, magical intrigue, and just the right amount of humor. The main character’s voice is as fresh and self-aware as ever, and the way he navigates the increasingly complicated layers of magic and mystery is just as compelling as the first time I picked up one of his books.

What I love most about Aaronovitch’s writing is how effortlessly he blends the fantastical with the everyday. There’s something both grounded and thrilling about his characters—ordinary people, in extraordinary circumstances, trying to figure it all out while cracking jokes and making bad decisions. It feels real, even when the magic gets absolutely bonkers.

In Stone and Sky, the stakes are high, but the tension is never overwhelming. It’s a fun read that pulls you in with ease, and before you know it, you’re fully invested in the mystery, the characters, and the little twists that Aaronovitch throws your way. The plot moves at a great pace, with plenty of surprises, and the magical system continues to be one of the most creative parts of the series.

I won’t spoil too much, but I will say that the ending left me wanting more—though in the best possible way. This series isn’t just about magic or mysteries; it’s about characters that you come to care about, flaws and all. And I can’t wait to see where Aaronovitch takes us next.

Stone and Sky is the latest installment in Ben Aaronovitch's The Rivers of London series, bringing back Peter Grant (with his whole family) and Abigail Kamara (with Indigo in tow too) as the main characters. For those who have enjoyed Aaronovitch's recent novellas and short stories, Stone and Sky continues to build out more of this fantastical version of the world. For those who have enjoyed the earlier characters from the series, the newest book marks a comfortable return. Highly enjoyed!

Peter Grant is back again, and this time he’s headed to sunny Scotland…Aberdeen specifically. What is meant to be a nice holiday with the family turns into a collection of weird bollocks happenings—a magical black panther hunt (the animal, not the organization), a murdered merman, and shifty local “fishermen” abound. But the real villain may truly be Big Oil, a mundane but insidious culprit that even normal policing can’t bring to heel. Luckily, Peter’s brought along a host of help, including Nightingale’s newest apprentice, the canny Abigail-who-talks-to-foxes.

Stone & Sky is rather evenly split between Peter and Abigail’s perspectives, which was a smart move because so much was happening throughout Aberdeenshire. I attended university in Aberdeen, so it was a true pleasure seeing it so well-represented in one of my favorite urban fantasy series! The mystery is twisty, the characters colorful, and there’s even some romance in Abigail’s future! But as Peter is often reminded, they do things differently in Scotland, so be prepared for all sorts of hijinks and obstacles in pursuit of keeping the Queen’s peace.

Thanks to DAW for providing me an ARC of Stone & Sky through Netgalley. I will be posting my review on Goodreads about two weeks before the release date. My review is, as always, truthful and unbiased, and I hope it helps introduce readers to new books they will love!

I am a big fan of this series, and have been waiting quite a while to read this next installment. Massive relief- I really liked it. At first, I was unsure about the story taking place so far away from London, London is almost a character in this series. The Rivers of London are definitely characters, hence the name of the series. Once I got over the strangeness of the locale, I really enjoyed it.
Most of the gang has come along for the ride, so if you have a favorite minor character, you will meet up with them again. My only criticism is that we probably did not need Mum and Dad and the Irregulars, they contribute little to the plot, and made the narrative feel a bit overstuffed character-wise. I have to admit, however, that it was really nice to see them again… like I said, a minor criticism.
The plotting and pacing are both really good, with Ben’s distinctive and pitch-perfect blend of real and fantastic; you totally believe that there is a magical police force headquartered in London. The writing is as witty as ever, I laughed out loud quite a few times.
All of the characters have matured and grown into their roles, the story takes place approximately two years after last installment. It is told in both Peter’s and Abigail’s voices, using a sort of parallel narrative structure, which worked really well.
Lots of nice surprises, genuine stakes, bad guys a perfect mix of banal and evil. It is everything I love about Ben Aaronovitch’s writing.
One caution, do not start reading the series with this one-it is not going to work as a stand-alone for you. Go to the beginning, if you like it, then you can look forward to this one.

Almost everyone with a connection to the Folly has decided to join Dr Walid on holiday to Scotland. It seems an old friend from college sent him some samples from a dead sheep that might have been attacked by a large cat. So a camping holiday to do some hunting for Nightingale, Abigail to see magic outside a urban setting, Peter to have a beach holiday with his entire family, his Dad to play some jazz with his band, and his Mom to ride herd on everyone. Of course there is more than a mysterious large cat that appears and disappears in the area, turns out there was some sort of man killed and Peter is roped into that investigation. Everyone gets a turn on the page but the main focus is on Peter and Abigail each working on what appears to be different cases. This is a great story that really takes advantage of the setting in Scotland and maybe we can get more about magic around the entire island.

It’s been a long, long time since I read an Aaronovitch before listening. Something about how Kobna reads has just worked so much better for me than the cadence of the writing. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I even read The Hanging Tree–I’ve just listened to it unnumerable times. So when I opened Stone and Sky, I wasn’t sure what I would find. Turns out it was really, really good, albeit a little weird with an adult–and sexual–Abigail’s point of view and virtually no architecture. As I said, very weird. And light at only 300 pages. There’s a whole novella missing!

It appears we have leapt forward in time a couple of years. The twins are talking and Abigail is an adult. I had the strangest feeling that I missed a whole book in there, but I suppose I didn’t. The story is mostly told in Peter’s voice, with the occasional chapter from Abigail. The story starts when an old friend of Dr. Walhid’s in Scotland contacts him to tell him about some mysterious sheep deaths. Abigail and Nightingale plan to come investigate. Of course Peter thinks he needs to keep an eye on them, and Beverly thinks it would be a ducky vacation with the family. (Can you imagine my happy wiggles when I discovered it will be in Scotland?! I cannae wait for Kobna!!). Of course, things happen. Peter hooks up with local law enforcement for some police work–giving rise to more networking–and Abby reaches out to the local foxes.

I’m sure I have lots of bits to quote, but let’s be honest; it’s like an awful tease when I really just want to hear it read (July 3, it’s on the calendar). Watch for updates!



Many thanks to NetGalley and DAW for the advance copy. All opinions my own.

The Truly Other Summer Read

I have been a huge fan of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series for a long time, especially of the fantastically narrated audiobooks!

In Stone and Sky, Peter and the whole gang venture outside England, namely to Aberdeen for what they hope to be restful summer holidays with the twins, the parents, the foxes and the magical Met officers. In actuality, it turns out to be very much a working holiday, as a mysterious creature has been goring sheep and Dr Walid's old friend Dr Brian Robertson knows only an expert can help him determine what has been happening. Also, a man with gills robs a bisexual Frenchman's clothes and dies only shortly after. Not that any of there events could possibly be related..

I absolutely loved this read! While I really missed the narration and voice of the audiobooks, the dual POV is told so cleverly and with so much characters that I could hear it in my mind as I read. If you are not a native speaker, you might struggle a bit with the local dialect as written out in prose, but usually you'll get the gist. As always, Aaronovitch's characters are vivid, colourful and steeped in the local history and environment. He masterfully ties Aberdeenshire into his magical world and takes the reader on one hell of a trip to solve the mysterious goings on.

Since this is the tenth book in the series, some prior reading is definitely encouraged in order to be able to fully understand the allusions. I do think, however, that it is also okay to be read on its own - if you are willing to really buy the weird things that have been previously established.

Ben Aaronovitch not only ties Aberdeen's history, georgaphy and cultural landmaks (think grey houses and oil platforms) into the story, but also peppers the customary cultural references into the novel. They are a guaranteed laugh if you ask me!

While there is not always a lot happening in terms of active moments, the plot is moved forward consistently and tension remains high throughout with the jumps between Peter's and Abigail's POV chapters. The ending seems to slow down in terms of pace, only to then speed up again. It never loses its grip and I would class it as an absolute page turner of a novel!

Poor Peter. Maybe he should really go on holiday to Greece or Italy next time..

The 10th novel in the UF series Rivers of London, finds our intrepid apprentice wizard Peter Grant having to juggle multiple responsibilities while ostensibly on vacation in Scotland with his family. Of course there's an unexplained potential "Falcon" mystery to solve what with ginormous black panthers, merman, and possibly even a dragon? involved. Not to mention having to wrangle two toddlers, a river goddess wife, and interact with the local constabulary. The story occurs through two parallel viewpoints, Peter's, and the younger Folly apprentice wizard in training Abigail. An easy enjoyable read and I already can't wait for the next installment!

Fun, action packed and lots of great characters. Loved this book and loved the strong female leads, talking foxes and other magical wonders. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I fell in love with the Rivers of London books at book one, at book 10, I don't love it any less. I had been worried about how Peter was going to show up in the series with the kids now, and I'm reassured by this novel. Continuing the adventures with Abigail and the foxes has been exciting. I honestly have no notes except, please write more soon, thank you so much.

Another delight from BA as the Rivers of London series continues, this time a family holiday in Scotland is the backdrop for supernatural murders.
Peter, Nightingale and Abigail face some very strange and vicious seagulls, mysterious foxes, secret experimental scientists and, of course, the local genii. Loving the developing relationships amongst the team and the inclusion of Scottish mythology. Lots of fantastic winks and nods to Lovecraft and my fave Star Trek characters - The Ferengi. Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant!

Full disclosure: I have done some editing for the Rivers of London RPG, but have no further association with Ben Aaronovitch; the only effect it has in this case is me spider-man pointing when I caught a reference to something from one of the RPG sourcebooks!

I haven't read most of the early Rivers of London books, but I went in assuming that I would be able to jump right into this one and was completely correct. Aaronovitch does a great job of gently introducing concepts, people, and creatures from earlier books quickly and effectively and completely naturally.

The mystery itself is a fun one: Peter, Beverley, Abigail and Indigo, and Nightingale have headed to Aberdeen when unnatural animals have begun to appear -- and when a strange half-fish person suddenly turns up murdered. There are just enough twists and Scottish herrings (sorry) to keep you guessing as the threads slowly wind tighter to show how it's all connected.

It's sharply written and incredibly funny. More than once I found myself screencapping bits of the dry sharp humor to reread later.

I also super appreciated how queer it was -- I've read a few of the recent novellas and know this is a trend (at least in the later books! Hopefully the earlier as well) but it was nice to have casually gay, bi, nonbinary characters throughout, as well as a major sapphic relationship with one of the major female characters.

I'm really excited to read the next book already. Great work all around, I genuinely can't think of a thing that I would have wanted to see done differently.

I thought the book before this was the last in this series and I am thrilled it was not! The magic and the hidden parts of the world the author draws you into is just incredible. I like that is rooted slightly in the myths around the areas the books are based in. I love the characters! You want these characters as your friend f to at least have an in depth conversation with. I will always pick up a book from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and DAW for the ARC - I am an absolute Rivers of London fanatic and this was a pleasant birthday surprise.
First off, I LOVED that we got to see more from Abigail's perspective. I recently read What Abigail Did Last Summer and was totally ready for more witty, intelligent commentary (and FOXES!).
Don't worry, Peter, Bev and the Nightingale are still a vital part of the story. Aaronovitch does a spectacular job of wounding two (at first) seemingly unrelated plot lines together, keeping me engaged with all sorts of interesting and funny new characters like Blinschell and Ione as well as familar names.
Speaking of Ione, I am a sucker for mermaids and wow 🫣 spoilers are on guys, Abi and Ione are so cute!!
Reading the technical notes and acknowledgments, I am always so impressed with the amount of research and effort Aaronovitch puts into these books. You can definitely tell, with all the specifics about both the local landscape and the oil industry.
Overall, this was a deeply satisfying read for Rivers of London fans. Another great installment in this series, featuring the characteristic witty and nerdy humor and references and a satisfying conclusion. There are a multitude of jumping points for the next book to build on as the gang heads back to London, with Abigail planning to return to visit Ione.

An amazing Scottish adventure with Peter and Abigail! Though I wish the chapter headings had marked whether it was from Peter or Abigail’s POV since it was difficult to tell without the foxes.