A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery
The Peculiar Crimes Unit is no more. After years of defying the odds and infuriating their embarrassed superiors, detectives Arthur Bryant and John May have at last crossed the line. This is the twenty-first century and not even their eccentric genius or phenomenal success rate solving Londons most unusual crimes can save them. While Bryant takes to his bed, his bathrobe, and his esoteric books, the rest of the team take to the streets looking for new careersleading one of them to stumble upon a gruesome murder.
It isnt so much the discovery of the headless corpse thats potentially so politically explosive as where its found. Still it takes the bizarre sightings of a great horned creaturehalf man, half stagcarrying off young women to convince Bryant that this is a case worth getting dressed and leaving the house to solve. The Home Office has reluctantly authorized the PCU to reunite for one last encore performancein a rented office with no computer network, no legal authority, and a broken toilet. Theyve got until the end of the week to solve a murder with unlikely links to gangland crime, Slavic mythology, the 2012 London Olympics, and the sort of corruption only obscene amounts of money and power can buy.
Its the kind of case that Bryant and May live to solveand it could be just the case that kills them.
"Starred Review. The pacing, prose, planting of clues and characterizations are all top-notch." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. It's apparent that after seven Bryant and May titles, Fowler is working his way through the odd and peculiar bits of London history. No one does this better than Fowler, with the possible exception of Peter Ackroyd." - Library Journal
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Christopher Fowler was the award-winning author of over thirty novels and twelve short story collections, including the Bryant & May mystery novels, for which he was best known. The novels featured veteran detectives solving unusual crimes in London from the second world war to the present day.
Fowler died in March 2023 of cancer, aged 69. More
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