Editorial Content for Bryant & May: London Bridge Is Falling Down: A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
The Peculiar Crimes Unit, featuring the incredibly dynamic and often absurd detectives Arthur Bryant and John May, is one of the finest and most unique mystery series ever created. I have read each and every adventure, and somehow Christopher Fowler continues to best himself. He is a wordsmith, and his descriptions of the often-surreal happenings in these books are second to none. To help prove my point, here’s the opening sentence of his latest effort: “May in Regent’s Park could put a spring in the step of a corpse.”
LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN opens from the Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) side with a letter of farewell to the staff from Chief Raymond Land. This is an especially clever bit of plot device usage by Fowler as he gives a brief summary of each member of the PCU, instantly making the novel accessible to newcomers of the series.
"LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN is just another example of how endlessly clever Christopher Fowler is. The plots to these 'peculiar' cases just seem to get increasingly bizarre, which is so refreshing."
With Land’s departure, the future of the PCU remains up in the air. But this does not stop them, especially senior detectives and department stalwarts Bryant and May. The case they initially are dealing with involves 91-year-old Amelia Hoffman, who was found dead in her top floor flat where she lived alone. Fowler never misses out on an opportunity to take a swipe at modern-day social norms and any inequity to be found within said society.
It is no surprise when our favorite chaps find an unlikely connection between Amelia and a diplomat who is trying to flee the country. Amazingly, that is not the peculiar part of this mystery. That is reserved for the connection they make between Amelia and a group of other “faceless, invisible” older women who lead seemingly sedentary lives while being connected to a huge secret that could rock the very foundations of London society and its government.
Oh, and all of these women happen to have model replicas of the famed London Bridge in their homes. It will now take Bryant, May and each member of the PCU to utilize all the contacts and informants they have to help uncover a plot that leads to the very alleyways in and around London Bridge, where the clock is counting down in their efforts to take down a brilliant killer.
LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN is just another example of how endlessly clever Christopher Fowler is. The plots to these “peculiar” cases just seem to get increasingly bizarre, which is so refreshing. This series is unlike any you will ever experience, and you never know which direction Fowler is taking his PCU team next.
Teaser
When 91-year-old Amelia Hoffman dies in her top-floor flat on a busy London road, it’s considered an example of what has gone wrong with modern society: she slipped through the cracks in a failing system. But detectives Arthur Bryant and John May of the Peculiar Crimes Unit have their doubts. Mrs. Hoffman was once a government security expert, though no one can quite remember her. When a link emerges between the old lady and a diplomat trying to flee the country, it seems that an impossible murder has been committed. Mrs. Hoffman wasn’t the only one at risk. Bryant is convinced that other forgotten women with hidden talents are also in danger. And, curiously, they all own models of London Bridge.
Promo
When 91-year-old Amelia Hoffman dies in her top-floor flat on a busy London road, it’s considered an example of what has gone wrong with modern society: she slipped through the cracks in a failing system. But detectives Arthur Bryant and John May of the Peculiar Crimes Unit have their doubts. Mrs. Hoffman was once a government security expert, though no one can quite remember her. When a link emerges between the old lady and a diplomat trying to flee the country, it seems that an impossible murder has been committed. Mrs. Hoffman wasn’t the only one at risk. Bryant is convinced that other forgotten women with hidden talents are also in danger. And, curiously, they all own models of London Bridge.
About the Book
The brilliant duo of Arthur Bryant and John May uncovers a nefarious plot behind the seemingly innocuous death of an old lady --- and when the case leads them to London Bridge, it all comes down on the Peculiar Crimes Unit.
When 91-year-old Amelia Hoffman dies in her top-floor flat on a busy London road, it’s considered an example of what has gone wrong with modern society: she slipped through the cracks in a failing system.
But detectives Arthur Bryant and John May of the Peculiar Crimes Unit have their doubts. Mrs. Hoffman was once a government security expert, though no one can quite remember her. When a link emerges between the old lady and a diplomat trying to flee the country, it seems that an impossible murder has been committed.
Mrs. Hoffman wasn’t the only one at risk. Bryant is convinced that other forgotten women with hidden talents are also in danger. And, curiously, they all own models of London Bridge.
With the help of some of their more certifiable informants, the detectives follow the strangest of clues in an investigation that will lead them through forgotten alleyways to the city’s oldest bridge in search of a desperate killer.
But just when the case appears to be solved, they discover that Mrs. Hoffman was smarter than anyone imagined. There’s a bigger game afoot that could have terrible consequences.
Audiobook available, read by Tim Goodman
