This is an interesting story which chronicles the first case of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. It takes place in 1973. Arthur Bryant and John May had been partners some time ago and they are now reunited as the PCU is given it's first quarters away from the Metropolitan Police as well as a small group of assistants who will comprise the unit. Before the paint dries on the walls they are knee deep in peculiar murders and the press as well as the Met are clamoring for answers. The Met seems to hope the unit will fail and the press is beginning to them a foolish gesture.The game is afoot when an apparent maniac dressed in Victorian clothes goes into a museum and defaces a painting of that era. Before he can be captured he blows up in a subway in an unusual manner. This is preceded by the bizarre murder of the family lawyer by a exotic snake bite. More deaths follow and Bryant and May are always one step behind. They are aided though by an intrepid young girl Jerry, who is intent on helping because she discovered two of the victims.Bryant is an unusual mixture of an old dog who can't learn new tricks and a almost genius recollection of the past. May, slightly younger is the more classic detective. It could be said that May looks to the future and Bryant doesn't want to lose the past and his mind seems to stay there.The mystery is complex involving Victorian megalomaniacs as well and a gang of assassins some of who are reluctant. The plotting is intricate and intriguing, the pace is moderate and the story very enjoyable.
Here is another Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) mystery. This time, elderly detectives Bryant and May look back upon a case they worked in 1973. A bizarre attack on a rather unimportant painting gets their attention -- but it's the murders that follow compel them to work the case. These aren't any ordinary murders: one by one, members of the Whitstable family, old money and upper-class, are being picked off. The methods of killing are bizarre, and evidence points to different suspects each time. What could be happening?As with the two previous entries in the PCU mysteries, this is a whole lot of fun. Not being British, I occasionally found myself searching the web for references to people and places mentioned in the book, for context. I also found myself learning quite a bit about England's system of guilds. So, I'm reading a good yarn and learning something along the way.Without giving anything away, I will say that this particular case takes a bizarre, not-quite-supernatural turn that reminded me, of all things, of the final season of Alias. It stretched my suspension of disbelief to the limit. This took me a little bit out of the story, perhaps, and thus this was slightly less effective than the first two PCU mysteries. But I liked it without quite believing it -- the way I'd like watching a good X-Files episode.If you haven't yet had the pleasure of getting to know Bryant and May, start with their first mystery, Full Dark House, and go from there.
What do You think about Seventy-Seven Clocks (2005)?
Oh I like these books. This while not my favorite of the ones I've read was still engrossing. A suprisingly dense book--the paperback seemed slim when I started it, but it's 450 pages--and I marathon read like 300 of those in a setting. I was so baffled who the killer was, who was doing this (picking off the descendents of a Victorian watchmaker) that I wanted to keep going but it was so late and there were so many pages left.Really much credit for the bulk of the book--it didn't feel superfluous and too many mysteries have a rushed and/or padded feel to them. These definitely do not. I like how chronologically they skip around too--this one is set in the early 70s, and many of the people who are in the other books (his witch friend, his painter buddy) make appearances. I don't think it's necessary to read these books in order either which is nice. And yes, the ending. I did not see at all who the culprit was.
—Colleen
Christopher Fowler does it again with another Bryant and May Peculiar Crimes Unit mystery! This one takes place in the 1970's and is one of the early cases when the PCU has first been formed... and what a case it turns out to be. There are several murders, each one seeming to be more bizarre than the last. And, a gentleman in Edwardian garb enters an art gallery and manages to destroy a painting that was on loan from Australia. Later, this same man turns up dead. In typical Fowler fashion, you find out more tidbits about London, watchmaking and Gilbert and Sullivan. And I have to tell you, without giving anything away, this has the most complex solution in any mystery novel I have ever read. And it is a solution that nobody could ever see coming! And it is quite exciting! Though, you have to read it a little more slowly than usual to be able to digest all that is going on. It is definitely a good addition to the series!
—Doug Beatty
Under a different star system, I might have given it three, but I didn't particularly like it. First things first. I've not read anything in the steampunk (or so I'd call it) style before, and the time period (1970s) isn't one I've read much in either.This is the first book in the series that I have picked up, and unfortunately it didn't make much of an impression. That little (if any) time was spent catching up new readers to the characters and situation--which would be great for someone famili
—Marie
