Stone and Sky, by Ben Aaronovitch

Wizard and Detective Sergeant Peter Grant, his river goddess partner Beverly and their two-year old twins are meant to be on holiday, but find themselves accompanied on a trip to Scotland by his parents, his Dad’s jazz band and the Folly team for investigating weird bollocks. They are looking into reports of a large black panther, possibly supernatural, and find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation. The victim had gills and is connected to the water-based fae communities in and around Aberdeen. The disappearance of an academic who is researching extending the life of fossil fuel resources may also be connected. Luckily Peter gets to work with the usual pragmatic local copper, smoothing the path, but his apprentice cousin Abigail’s blooming romance could prove to be hindrance or help. These dark fantasy stories, grounded on a base of routine police work, are always a delight, although occasionally get a bit bogged down in descriptive detail. The alternating POV between Peter and Abigail adds to the tale, but gets a tad confusing at times.