Broken Homes, by Ben Aaronovitch

The action moves south of the river when the magical investigators of the Metropolitan Police look into an apparent suicide at a London Tube station. Trainee wizard constable Peter Grant and his damaged colleague Lesley May go undercover in an iconic tower block, Skygarden, designed in the 60s by a revolutionary architect, who also may have had magical connections. Their old adversary the Faceless Man seems to be involved, but the team are puzzled as to his interest in Skygarden. Peter’s teenage cousin Abigail makes a few appearances in this tale, possibly flagging her trajectory in future books. Lesley forms an unlikely relationship with an unusual character from the previous book, underlining Peter’s cluelessness with women. The action is fast and it can be tricky to keep track of all the various elements and characters and how they are related – or not. Peter’s confidence and competence are growing, despite the doubts of his boss, but a major betrayal shocks them both and seriously undermines their chances of stopping their most dangerous enemy.