Thud!

Koom Valley was the battle where dwarfs and trolls ambushed each other, and in Ankh-Morpork the old grudge has never quite cooled. With the anniversary approaching and a prominent dwarf found dead, Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch has a murder to solve and a city on the edge of open war. He also has a vampire recruit he never asked for, and an unbreakable appointment: home by six every evening to read Where's My Cow? to his young son.

Pratchett is at his sharpest here, using a whodunnit to think hard about prejudice, history and the stories peoples tell about each other, while still finding room for jokes on every page. It is the seventh book following the Watch, and a fine one for anyone who likes their fantasy funny, humane and quietly angry.