At the opening of Paul Cornell's LONDON FALLING, a long- term undercover investigation leads to the arrest of organized crime kingpin Rob Toshack. Just as he is about to confess, Toshack dies under mysterious circumstances in a police interrogation room. It appears that Toshack spontaneously exploded. Once obvious causes like poison are ruled out, Quill, Costain, Sefton, and Ross are told that they will be part of a new unit. Their first order of business is to investigate Toshack's death. In the course of their investigation, they find Toshack's mysterious associate, a witch who has a penchant for sacrificing children and murdering players from opposing teams to avenge her favorite football club.

During their search of the witch's home, the unit inadvertently stumbles across something that gives them the Sight. Suddenly, they are seeing dark forces at work in the city that no one else can see. The characters' police training and procedures clash with the supernatural elements that they are fighting. Tension builds as the characters' individual backstories and the current plot come together. London serves as a perfect backdrop for this gritty urban fantasy story, and the ending leaves plenty of room for the series to expand with the sequel.

The story's opening chapters are difficult to follow. The characters are introduced very quickly at the beginning of the story, and it is often difficult to understand who is who because the narrative rapidly shifts among them. The story seems like one that would play better for a television audience, which makes sense given Cornell's experience as a television writer. Readers who stick with it will soon find that the action later in the story is well worth the wait. Overall, LONDON FALLING is a promising start to a dark urban fantasy series, but some readers may find it difficult to stick with it long enough to see the payoff.

Book Summary

Police officers Quill, Costain, Sefton, and Ross know the worst of London—or they think they do. While investigating a mobster's mysterious death, they come into contact with a strange artifact and accidentally develop the Sight. Suddenly they can see the true evil haunting London’s streets.

Armed with police instincts and procedures, the four officers take on the otherworldly creatures secretly prowling London. Football lore and the tragic history of a Tudor queen become entwined in their pursuit of an age-old witch with a penchant for child sacrifice. But when London’s monsters become aware of their meddling, the officers must decide what they are willing to sacrifice to clean up their city.