snoozing monsters
The new Rivers Of London novel is here but Ben
Aaronovitch’s lips are sealed. Well, more or less...
“i’m finding it hard not to tell people about it,” says Ben Aaronovitch about his new novel. “Most of my books are not normally very spoilery but this one is really spoilery, and I’m finding it hard to keep my mouth shut about it!”
Aaronovitch will at least admit that Lies Sleeping is the culmination of numerous plot threads from the previous six instalments in his Rivers Of London series, although he won’t specify “what plot lines come to a halt as that would give you a clue as to what’s going to happen in the book”.
Centring around the now DC Peter Grant’s final confrontation with his deadliest adversary, Martin Chorley, aka The Faceless Man, Lies Sleeping opens with a terrifying family siege, and never lets up from there. “It’s one of the most ridiculously fast-paced books I’ve ever written,” laughs Aaronovitch. “Even I was like, ‘Woah, slow down!’” While he admits, “I like titles with multiple meanings, and I’m particularly pleased with this one,” Aaronovitch refuses to elaborate on the significance of the book’s name. “It has several meanings, although I can’t tell you exactly what they are,” he says, pointing out that some hints can be garnered from the maps of London on the book’s cleverly designed cover. “Sometimes what we put on there is accurate and sometimes it’s not. We also throw in red herrings, and there are red herrings in the books as well.”
Along with the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, Aaronovitch visited the newly reopened London Mithraeum in the City of London as part of his extensive research. “It does play a role in the book,” he teases. “I like to think of it as the Temple of Bacchus because I prefer Bacchus to Mithras, who was a bit of a sour-faced mystery cult kind of guy, as like Bacchus I’m more into drinking wine personally.” SJ
Lies Sleeping is out on 15 November.