Rivers of London books by Ben Aaronovitch

The newest Rivers of London book, Lies Sleeping, just came out and I promptly read it in about five minutes and then decided to go back and reread the whole series. For those of you who haven't heard of it, they're urban fantasy set in London and featuring one Peter Grant, constable, who inadvertently takes a witness statement from a ghost and ends up being the next apprentice to Thomas Nightingale, police officer and one of the last remaining British magicians.

The stories are very much from the view of the police procedural, and there's a lot of chatter about acronyms and processy stuff along with Peter's training in more magical matters. Peter is snarky and nerdy about a range of things, and it's his viewpoint voice that carries the books along in a rush of jokes and interior observations. His world is emphatically multicultural and seeing how the city and its thrum of people slide in and out of the (sometimes only barely hidden) world of magic is so much wonderful fun. The books are filled with characters from all walks of life, whether it's Dr. Walid the Scottish pathologist or Sahra Guleed, fellow police officer who may or may not be in training to be the World's Greatest Swordswoman. Meanwhile, Peter's journey and his relationships move and grow and change. (Peter probably needs to get a therapist and stop stuffing his feelings down under jokes because some really epic stuff has happened to him.)

Start with Midnight Riot (American title) and if you like it, be happy because there are many more books, plus novelettes, the occasional short story posted to the author's blog, and a series of graphic novels you can keep going with.