Welcome to the long-awaited Rivers of London short story collection. Like most people I almost never read the introductions to books, so will try and keep this as short, sweet and as useful as possible.
In this volume you will find all the short stories that I’ve written so far that are set in the world of Rivers of London. Most of them were published in special limited hardback editions for Waterstones and the Australian/New Zealand market.
I started writing Rivers of London in 2008 in a desperate attempt to stave off bankruptcy. I really only have one talent and that’s writing but my script writing career had gone bung and you cannot live unassisted in London on what you earn working as a bookseller. When the idea of Peter Grant, policeman, apprentice wizard and story magnet, coalesced in my mind I knew it was a goer—experience taught me that much—what I didn’t know was that it was going to go so far. Several book deals later and I no longer have to hustle printed matter to survive—although I still find myself absentmindedly tidying up other people’s bookshelves.
The short stories came about because of the 2012 Olympics for reasons I will detail below.
I have provided each short story with a brief introduction of its own and an indication of where it falls in the chronological sequence. And to answer your next question—what is the correct chronological order of the books? I have listed the order below…
Action at a Distance (Graphic novel #7)
Rivers of London (strangely retitled Midnight Riot in the US)
Moon Over Soho
Whispers Under Ground
Broken Homes
Body Work (Graphic novel #1)
Foxglove Summer
What Abigail Did that Summer (Novella)
Night Witch (Graphic novel #2)
Black Mould (Graphic novel #3)
The Furthest Station (Novella)
The Hanging Tree
Detective Stories (Graphic novel #4)
Cry Fox (Graphic novel #5)
Water Weed (Graphic novel #6)
Lies Sleeping
The October Man (Novella)
The Fey and the Furious (Graphic novel #8)
False Value