Call number
MYST FOW
Collection
Genres
Publication
Bantam (2008), Edition: First Edition first Printing, 336 pages
Description
Returning to the Victoria Cross pub hours after witnessing the murder of a woman, Detective Arthur Bryant is stunned to discover that the pub itself has vanished and the street around it has mysteriously aged, and calls in the Peculiar Crimes Unit to track down a killer who is stalking London's oldest watering holes.
Media reviews
There’s always a serious point to Fowler’s drolly mannered mysteries, and here it’s the future of London’s historic drinking establishments — many of them visited in the course of this devious puzzle.
User reviews
LibraryThing member andyl
The Victoria Vanishes is the sixth novel in Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May series. This is the final book of the series (although the author has hinted that he may give in to reader-pressure for more).
This novel starts with Bryant & May (and the rest of the Peculiar Crimes Unit) at the wake of
When he finds out that the same woman has turned up dead he senses that his peculiar talents are needed to solve the case. However he cannot find the pub and it seems it hasn't existed for three-quarters of a century. He cannot remember what he did with Oswald Finch's urn and now he fears he may be losing more than his memory.
Further investigations reveal a whole series of murders of middle-aged women all inside (or just outside) London pubs. Is there a link between the women? Are their murders more than just the result of a serial killer?
If you have read any of the Bryant & May books before you know what to expect from Fowler. The old codgers make a wonderful odd couple and in this book some of the supporting characters also have their characters rounded out a bit.
The book also features a list of all the pubs featured in this story (including the non-existent Victoria Cross) - a total in excess of fifty. I guess Christopher Fowler made sure he did plenty of research - yeah, I know, it is a tough life being a writer.
This novel starts with Bryant & May (and the rest of the Peculiar Crimes Unit) at the wake of
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Oswald Finch. At the end of the evening a somewhat squiffy Arthur Bryant wanders home through the streets of London. In the process he sees a slightly drunk, middle-aged woman who stumbles in front a pub (The Victoria Cross) he didn't know existed.When he finds out that the same woman has turned up dead he senses that his peculiar talents are needed to solve the case. However he cannot find the pub and it seems it hasn't existed for three-quarters of a century. He cannot remember what he did with Oswald Finch's urn and now he fears he may be losing more than his memory.
Further investigations reveal a whole series of murders of middle-aged women all inside (or just outside) London pubs. Is there a link between the women? Are their murders more than just the result of a serial killer?
If you have read any of the Bryant & May books before you know what to expect from Fowler. The old codgers make a wonderful odd couple and in this book some of the supporting characters also have their characters rounded out a bit.
The book also features a list of all the pubs featured in this story (including the non-existent Victoria Cross) - a total in excess of fifty. I guess Christopher Fowler made sure he did plenty of research - yeah, I know, it is a tough life being a writer.
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LibraryThing member adpaton
I used to love Christopher Fowler’s works – and I still do, just not as much as when he included the supernatural. I first met Bryant and May in Rune and loved them in Darkest Day; Soho Black and Disturbia were also good although lacking in the occult atmosphere of the first two.
The Peculiar
Bryant sees a woman go into a pub late one night: the next day the woman turns up dead and the pub has vanished – it turns out it was demolished over 80 years previously. Is Bryant as senile as some say, or did he witness a supernatural event? Could there be another explanation?
There is: a serial killer is on the lose, targeting older single women in pubs throughout Greater London, and its up to Bryant and May to solve the mystery before the Peculiar Crimes Unit is closed down forever. If this sounds familiar, it’s because much the same scenario occurs in almost every one of the new series.
Despite their acting head [of at least a decade] Raymond Land doing his best to keep the Unit open, the offices are closed but the octogenarian pair move operations to Bryant’s flat where, with the help of the indefatigable sergeant Janice Longbright and John May’s agoraphobic daughter April they solve the puzzle.
A good read and excellently written with Fowler’s trademark love of London and mastery of its lore, yet something is missing, that quirky, spine-tinglingly fascinating flirtation with the occult, the sense of lurking dread and real danger that literally haunted them in some of their earlier investigations.
The Peculiar
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Crimes Unit with its two ancient stars had lots of fans and I suspect Fowler wanted to encourage new readers who would eschew anything that smacked of ‘horror’ hence the reincarnation of the couple in a series of straight forward mysteries, of which this is the sixth. Bryant sees a woman go into a pub late one night: the next day the woman turns up dead and the pub has vanished – it turns out it was demolished over 80 years previously. Is Bryant as senile as some say, or did he witness a supernatural event? Could there be another explanation?
There is: a serial killer is on the lose, targeting older single women in pubs throughout Greater London, and its up to Bryant and May to solve the mystery before the Peculiar Crimes Unit is closed down forever. If this sounds familiar, it’s because much the same scenario occurs in almost every one of the new series.
Despite their acting head [of at least a decade] Raymond Land doing his best to keep the Unit open, the offices are closed but the octogenarian pair move operations to Bryant’s flat where, with the help of the indefatigable sergeant Janice Longbright and John May’s agoraphobic daughter April they solve the puzzle.
A good read and excellently written with Fowler’s trademark love of London and mastery of its lore, yet something is missing, that quirky, spine-tinglingly fascinating flirtation with the occult, the sense of lurking dread and real danger that literally haunted them in some of their earlier investigations.
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LibraryThing member fiberfool
I must start this review by stating that I had not read any other Christopher Fowler books, including the 5 preceding PCU books. With that in mind, I think this book would have been more satisfying had I read the prior books in the series.
Jumping in at book 6 is never ideal, but some authors set
I really enjoyed the overall plot. There was still good insight into the politics of the PCU and the manner in which this book's case was solved was intriguing.
Bottom line? If you've read the other PCU books I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as well. If you haven't read the other ones I suggest you go back and read those before reading this one. I fully expect to go back and read the earlier books and likely will reread this one once I've gotten a feel for the characters.
Jumping in at book 6 is never ideal, but some authors set
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you up well to do so. In this case I felt a little blind. There were a fair bit of characters in the book being referred to by first or last name and little in the way of character traits or descriptions of these people to guide me. For roughly the first half of the book I found myself constantly questioning who was being talked to or about etc. By the second half of the book I just decided to give up trying to keep the characters straight and the reading progressed at a much faster pace.I really enjoyed the overall plot. There was still good insight into the politics of the PCU and the manner in which this book's case was solved was intriguing.
Bottom line? If you've read the other PCU books I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as well. If you haven't read the other ones I suggest you go back and read those before reading this one. I fully expect to go back and read the earlier books and likely will reread this one once I've gotten a feel for the characters.
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LibraryThing member smik
I listened to this an an audio book, downloaded from Audible.com. Read excellently by Tim Goodman, the book lasts for a little over 10 hours. The printed version was published in 2008.
I've always been a little put off by a the idea of a series featuring detectives called Bryant & May with
Someone is murdering women in London pubs, and the story comes in several parts. The first part reveals a series of four murders in separate pubs. But the first happened in a pub called The Victoria Cross, closed for over 50 years. If Arthur Bryant hadn't seen the victim go into the pub himself, then she would have just been a dead person on a street corner. But what has happened to the Victoria?
Old fashioned detecting by the Peculiar Crimes Unit identifies the murderer, but where to find him? And why did he do it?
#6 in the Bryant & May series, this is a fascinating novel.
Arthur Bryant is geriatric, possibly losing his memory, and should be retired. So should his partner, John May. But they bring to the unit an old fashioned meticulous investigating, and their clear up rate is the best in London.
The Peculiar Crimes Unit is a very interesting band of people. In this novel they have been joined by a new sergeant who is determined to make the idiosyncratic members of the unit toe the line, behave by the rules more. I enjoyed both the detailed descriptive passages, and meeting all the members of the unit.
The structure of the book is worth thinking about too.
About half way through it appears that the story is over.
What else can there be to talk about? And then the page turns, figuratively speaking, and you discover that the capture of the murderer was just the first part. Fowler swings you into the next phase, a shocking relevation of what lies behind the murders, and then again you are brought to a climax, to find that all is not yet finished!
This is a series I will really be reading more of. I'll try to remember the name of the narrator Tim Goodman too. He does an excellent job.
I've always been a little put off by a the idea of a series featuring detectives called Bryant & May with
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connotations of boxes of matches (I couldn't resist the temptation of the image).Someone is murdering women in London pubs, and the story comes in several parts. The first part reveals a series of four murders in separate pubs. But the first happened in a pub called The Victoria Cross, closed for over 50 years. If Arthur Bryant hadn't seen the victim go into the pub himself, then she would have just been a dead person on a street corner. But what has happened to the Victoria?
Old fashioned detecting by the Peculiar Crimes Unit identifies the murderer, but where to find him? And why did he do it?
#6 in the Bryant & May series, this is a fascinating novel.
Arthur Bryant is geriatric, possibly losing his memory, and should be retired. So should his partner, John May. But they bring to the unit an old fashioned meticulous investigating, and their clear up rate is the best in London.
The Peculiar Crimes Unit is a very interesting band of people. In this novel they have been joined by a new sergeant who is determined to make the idiosyncratic members of the unit toe the line, behave by the rules more. I enjoyed both the detailed descriptive passages, and meeting all the members of the unit.
The structure of the book is worth thinking about too.
About half way through it appears that the story is over.
What else can there be to talk about? And then the page turns, figuratively speaking, and you discover that the capture of the murderer was just the first part. Fowler swings you into the next phase, a shocking relevation of what lies behind the murders, and then again you are brought to a climax, to find that all is not yet finished!
This is a series I will really be reading more of. I'll try to remember the name of the narrator Tim Goodman too. He does an excellent job.
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LibraryThing member alana_leigh
The Victoria Vanishes is the sixth book in a series that fall under the "Bryant & May" series title that focuses on the Peculiar Crimes Unit.
I was charmed by our two main characters, Arthur Bryant and John May -- gentlemen detectives of a certain era, one of whom certainly merits the designation of
I might have enjoyed this more if I had actually read the books in order, because clearly we're coming to the end of this dynamic duo (as they are aging fellows), but I was still pleased with them, perhaps even enough so that I might read another of their mysteries. Bryant was the main character here, so I'm not sure if we alternate between May and Bryant stealing the spotlight. I liked May quite a bit, and I'm not sure if certain revelations that we come to in this book are hinted at before now. Such are the questions ones has when starting at the end rather than the beginning.
In any case, I sped through this book in about three days and it made for a nice Sunday morning to spend in bed.
I was charmed by our two main characters, Arthur Bryant and John May -- gentlemen detectives of a certain era, one of whom certainly merits the designation of
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"peculiar." Arthur Bryant is walking home, a bit sloshed, and lamenting his deteriorating powers of perception, when he forces himself to stop and observe everything around him. The one person he sees walking on the street is a woman walking into a pub -- and when she turns up dead (and the pub turns out not to exist in the present day), he wants to look into it... and finds quite a case of what appears to be a lonely hearts killer, preying on middle-aged women in pubs. I might have enjoyed this more if I had actually read the books in order, because clearly we're coming to the end of this dynamic duo (as they are aging fellows), but I was still pleased with them, perhaps even enough so that I might read another of their mysteries. Bryant was the main character here, so I'm not sure if we alternate between May and Bryant stealing the spotlight. I liked May quite a bit, and I'm not sure if certain revelations that we come to in this book are hinted at before now. Such are the questions ones has when starting at the end rather than the beginning.
In any case, I sped through this book in about three days and it made for a nice Sunday morning to spend in bed.
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LibraryThing member thetometraveller
Something terrible is happening in the old pubs of London. Women are being gently killed in the middle of crowded and noisy nightspots. The first couple of deaths are not tied together right away. But then the similarities are noticed by Arthur Bryant of the Peculiar Crimes Unit and the hunt for a
Bryant and his partner, John May, are an unusual pair. They are in their eighties and have been solving London's oddest crimes for years. They are an anachronism, solving cases the old fashioned way (with Sherlock Holmes-like detection) rather than with modern technology. The Home Office has been trying to close their unit for years.
While walking home from a gathering, Bryant sees what turns out to be one of the victims leaving a pub, The Victoria Cross. When they later go back to investigate, there is no pub there. The property in question is now a grocery, the Victoria Cross has not existed for eighty years. This does not bode well for Bryant's employment status, the Home Office will definitely use his apparent hallucination as a reason to disband the unit. The case must be solved satisfactorily to preserve the PCU.
The entire team at the PCU is quirky and interesting. They work together well despite their totally divergent personalities. There is a creative mystery that has a satisfying resolution.
Embedded in the narrative is a lovely homage to the classic old London pubs, which are fast disappearing due to high property values and development schemes.
"The pubs of London are taken almost completely for granted by those who drink in them. Every single one has a unique and extraordinary history...these places hold the key to our past, and therefore present. They're and unappreciated indication of who we are, and a sign of all we've lost and remember fondly."
This is the sixth, and I think final, entry into the Bryant & May mystery series. I'll be going back to read the first five, this last one peaked my interest. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the adventures of these unusual detectives.
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murderer begins.Bryant and his partner, John May, are an unusual pair. They are in their eighties and have been solving London's oddest crimes for years. They are an anachronism, solving cases the old fashioned way (with Sherlock Holmes-like detection) rather than with modern technology. The Home Office has been trying to close their unit for years.
While walking home from a gathering, Bryant sees what turns out to be one of the victims leaving a pub, The Victoria Cross. When they later go back to investigate, there is no pub there. The property in question is now a grocery, the Victoria Cross has not existed for eighty years. This does not bode well for Bryant's employment status, the Home Office will definitely use his apparent hallucination as a reason to disband the unit. The case must be solved satisfactorily to preserve the PCU.
The entire team at the PCU is quirky and interesting. They work together well despite their totally divergent personalities. There is a creative mystery that has a satisfying resolution.
Embedded in the narrative is a lovely homage to the classic old London pubs, which are fast disappearing due to high property values and development schemes.
"The pubs of London are taken almost completely for granted by those who drink in them. Every single one has a unique and extraordinary history...these places hold the key to our past, and therefore present. They're and unappreciated indication of who we are, and a sign of all we've lost and remember fondly."
This is the sixth, and I think final, entry into the Bryant & May mystery series. I'll be going back to read the first five, this last one peaked my interest. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the adventures of these unusual detectives.
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LibraryThing member horacewimsey
Is this the end of the line for the Peculiar Crimes Unit? It sure looks like it. The action begins when Bryant loses the ashes of Oswald Finch. But Finch isn't the only thing hidden in plain sight.
Another fantastic installment in the Bryant & May series.
Another fantastic installment in the Bryant & May series.
LibraryThing member Kasthu
The Victoria Vanishes is the sixth installment in the Peculiar Crimes Unit series featuring Bryant and May, two detectives who have unusual methods of solving unusual crimes. One evening, in front of the Victoria Cross pub, Bryant sees a woman murdered. Later, when he goes to investigate, he finds
There’s not only murder in this intelligent mystery, but lore about the old pubs of London and a government conspiracy. The strength of the novel lies in the psychological evaluations of the murderer, the characterizations of Bryant, May, and their colleagues, and the pub lore. As one of the characters says, "The pubs of London are taken almost completely for granted by those who drink in them. Every single one has a unique and extraordinary history...these places hold the key to our past, and therefore present. They're an unappreciated indication of who we are, and a sign of all we've lost and remember fondly." And every now and then, Fowler attempts to infuse the book with a little humor. This novel is well-written and charming, and I look forward to reading more novels in the series.
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that the pub doesn’t exist. One murder turns into several as a killer is tracked down.There’s not only murder in this intelligent mystery, but lore about the old pubs of London and a government conspiracy. The strength of the novel lies in the psychological evaluations of the murderer, the characterizations of Bryant, May, and their colleagues, and the pub lore. As one of the characters says, "The pubs of London are taken almost completely for granted by those who drink in them. Every single one has a unique and extraordinary history...these places hold the key to our past, and therefore present. They're an unappreciated indication of who we are, and a sign of all we've lost and remember fondly." And every now and then, Fowler attempts to infuse the book with a little humor. This novel is well-written and charming, and I look forward to reading more novels in the series.
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LibraryThing member iamiam
Filled with London arcana, a social agenda, and brilliant twists, as per Fowler's usual abilities. Characters, locations, and Greater London all combine to present a wonderful and worthwhile read. Intellectually stimulating, without being preachy or pedantic. Fun! And filled with pubs! Who could
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LibraryThing member PattyLouise
This book was quite an adventure for me and it was my first experience with a Christopher Fowler book...it was a lovely and engaging mystery of a woman who was killed outside of a pub that has not even been around for the past 80 years!!! It is rumored that this is the last of this series for
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Christopher Fowler and I believe that I am saddened by this fact. I will read the others in this series...I believe that there are six altogether. It was fun, absorbing and quite a good reading adventure. I might add that although this book was fun it is also a bit complex...you need to sit in a quiet spot with a cup of tea and really just let yourself mesh with the book...you might have to read and reread a bit but this book is overwhelmingly worth it. Show Less
LibraryThing member drneutron
The Victoria Vanishes is a very good police procedural, except the Peculiar Crimes Unit profiled in Fowler's series isn't very good at procedure. As investigators, their off-the-wall techniques raise a lot of eyebrows (especially at the Home Office, which is trying to shut them down!) but manages
Fowler's characters are very real, and he very deftly manages to avoid stereotypes - the quirky genius is quirky but makes mistakes with the rest of us, the sidekick isn't Watson-ish at all, but manages to actually contribute meaningfully to the solving of the case, the rest of the unit are people with real lives and cares. The plot was a good, although not deep mystery, and I loved that this book is set in London pubs with all the atmosphere and history they contain. And Fowler does have a way with descriptive language.
Highly recommended, but you probably want to read the series in sequence.
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to get to the heart of some unsolvable crimes. Fowler's characters are very real, and he very deftly manages to avoid stereotypes - the quirky genius is quirky but makes mistakes with the rest of us, the sidekick isn't Watson-ish at all, but manages to actually contribute meaningfully to the solving of the case, the rest of the unit are people with real lives and cares. The plot was a good, although not deep mystery, and I loved that this book is set in London pubs with all the atmosphere and history they contain. And Fowler does have a way with descriptive language.
Highly recommended, but you probably want to read the series in sequence.
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LibraryThing member BrianEWilliams
I was disappointed in this book. Others in the series were much better and one should not judge the series by this one book, although it may be the last of the series. The plot was OK but lacked the sparkle of others in the series. Even the usually eccentric characters were mundane.
LibraryThing member aluvalibri
An excellent crime/mystery novel in the classic British tradition.
The plot builds up in a crescendo, adding more details as the story proceeds, and evolving slowly towards the solution of the investigation.
The characters are interesting and so well described that they jump out of the page.
The
This is, apparently, the last book in a series. I wish there were more to come, and I will definitely go and look for the previous ones. Bryant & May are two characters one does not forget so easily.
Highly recommended to all who love a good mystery.
The plot builds up in a crescendo, adding more details as the story proceeds, and evolving slowly towards the solution of the investigation.
The characters are interesting and so well described that they jump out of the page.
The
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interesting tidbits of history add to the plot and make the reading quite enjoyable.This is, apparently, the last book in a series. I wish there were more to come, and I will definitely go and look for the previous ones. Bryant & May are two characters one does not forget so easily.
Highly recommended to all who love a good mystery.
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LibraryThing member Kirconnell
As a fan of Christopher Fowler I was delighted to be selected as an Early Reviewer for this book and I wasn't disappointed. In this novel ladies are being quietly murdered in pubs across London, but the PCU thinks there is a connection between the cases. As usual, Fowler's quirky characters kept me
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very amused as I followed them for another travelogue of London. While the story was good the in depth information on the city was fascinating. However, Mr. Fowler has me worried that this may be the last novel for the Peculiar Crimes Unit since they have been ousted from their offices and face being dissolved permanently. Say it isn't so, Chris. I don't think that I could stand it. Show Less
LibraryThing member mstrust
The agents of London's Peculiar Crimes Unit are investigating the sudden death of a middle-aged woman in a local pub when a second middle-aged woman dies in another pub, then a third. There are too many similarities for them to be unrelated, but lead investigators Bryant and May can't see how the
I've had this one, and a few others, on my shelf for awhile, so I grabbed the one that was earliest in the series. This seems to be a series that should be read in order and I wished I'd had the first. I think this is the sixth, and it's pretty far along in terms of character relationships. Bryant is past retirement age in this story and there are numerous mentions of previous cases, but I found it gripping anyway, and really well-written. Bryant and May, and their unit, are likable and the premise is unique, so now, great, another series I need to continue.
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women are connected and how someone is killing them in crowded pubs yet getting away unseen.I've had this one, and a few others, on my shelf for awhile, so I grabbed the one that was earliest in the series. This seems to be a series that should be read in order and I wished I'd had the first. I think this is the sixth, and it's pretty far along in terms of character relationships. Bryant is past retirement age in this story and there are numerous mentions of previous cases, but I found it gripping anyway, and really well-written. Bryant and May, and their unit, are likable and the premise is unique, so now, great, another series I need to continue.
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LibraryThing member mpemulis
A nice fun read. Very engaging mix of detective and London history. I would have given it 5 stars but I found one of the "mysteries" to be contrived and kinda dumb.
LibraryThing member jamespurcell
Tried to read twice but could not stay interested in the characters or the story.
LibraryThing member isabelx
'But seeing as you're here too, tell me, how long would it take a man to build a Victorian pub from scratch and then dismantle it again? Could he do it in a single night?'
Bryant explained his predicament.
Beaufort's initial look of surprise transmuted into concentration as he applied himself to
'I don't know, Bryant admitted. 'It sounds loopy even to me.'
'I didn't say it was a sane idea, just that it's possible.
There's one way to find out, said Beaufort. 'I've got a crowbar in my car.'
When several middle-aged women are murdered in London pubs without anyone noticing what is happening, the Pecular Crimes Unit are called in, and Arthur Bryant's knowledge of arcane public house history soon leads them to a likely suspect. But were the victims really chosen at random or is there something else behind it?
The Home Office are still out to close the PCU down and rid themselves of the troublesome detectives, and things are looking bleak by the end of the book, but The Victoria Vanishes is book 6 is a series containing 15 novels and some short stories, so something must happen to save them in the next book.
Bryant explained his predicament.
Beaufort's initial look of surprise transmuted into concentration as he applied himself to
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the puzzle. 'It would be easier to go the other way around,' he said. 'Hide the pub behind a shop, because the Victorians built things to but. They used stronger mortar, thicker tiles, denser metals. But you could get a shop front up in an hour just by whacking a few sheets of coloured Perspex over the brickwork and holding them in place with a handful of screws. Cover the windows with posters, strip the interior furniture, hide the bar behind racks of magazines, hire some old guy to sit at a counter and fob you off with some story about how he'd been there for years. Pubs usually have the capacity to be brightly lit, because the lights are traditionally turned up after time has been called, so they wouldn't have to replace the lighting. I can see how that might just work.' 'I don't know, Bryant admitted. 'It sounds loopy even to me.'
'I didn't say it was a sane idea, just that it's possible.
There's one way to find out, said Beaufort. 'I've got a crowbar in my car.'
When several middle-aged women are murdered in London pubs without anyone noticing what is happening, the Pecular Crimes Unit are called in, and Arthur Bryant's knowledge of arcane public house history soon leads them to a likely suspect. But were the victims really chosen at random or is there something else behind it?
The Home Office are still out to close the PCU down and rid themselves of the troublesome detectives, and things are looking bleak by the end of the book, but The Victoria Vanishes is book 6 is a series containing 15 novels and some short stories, so something must happen to save them in the next book.
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LibraryThing member ThomasPluck
A delightful mystery that weaves through a dozen or more ancient London pubs and their histories.
LibraryThing member ffortsa
Sigh. After the intimacy of [Three Junes], this mystery was an annoying hack. It does not aspire to great literature, of course, but the contrast was unpleasant.
LibraryThing member Kindleifier
Not at all what I expected from ‘Peculiar Crimes’.
I originally picked this up in an Audible sale on the basis of a lot of rave reviews of both writer and narrator. It is not the first in the series though the ending could leave you thinking that it is the last.
I found the story hard to get into
The narration is good with well-defined voices given to all the characters.
The plot is very convoluted and hard to keep track of at times.
I might have enjoyed it more if I had read earlier books in the series.
I originally picked this up in an Audible sale on the basis of a lot of rave reviews of both writer and narrator. It is not the first in the series though the ending could leave you thinking that it is the last.
I found the story hard to get into
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with quite a lengthy opening section devoted to a group of colleagues at a wake, all of whom seemed to be fed up with life and each other. Arthur Bryant, giving the ‘eulogy’, had a voice and manner which I found unappealing. This section didn’t seem to be leading anywhere and, wondering when the story was going to start, I was tempted it bin it and listen to something else. It did grow on me though and I stuck with it to the end.The narration is good with well-defined voices given to all the characters.
The plot is very convoluted and hard to keep track of at times.
I might have enjoyed it more if I had read earlier books in the series.
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LibraryThing member Dorritt
Where has this series been all my life? The writing is witty, the characters eccentric without being preposterous, the mystery engaging, the historical context fascinating - heck, even the cover makes me smile! Definitely geared towards readers who prefer their mysteries eccentric (without ever
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veering into "cute"), intelligent (without having to worry about complex timetables or alibis), historical (without the "gee whiz!" over-enthusiasm of Da Vinci Code), sly (without ever veering into nasty sarcasm), and satisfying. Like John Dickson Carr, author seems to enjoy creating a "that can't possibly happen!" plot (in this case, one of the detectives witnesses the latest victim moments before her death at a pub torn down 80yrs ago) and then daring the reader to figure out how it could be done. Having said that, not entirely sure Fowler provides all the clues you would need to solve the crime yourself - probably considered "cheating" by some purists - and I'm not sure all the loose ends are satisfactorily sewn up (the whole ending seemed a little rushed, actually), but I was having so much fun getting to know the characters, chasing after red herrings, and learning about the archane history of British pubs that I didn't care. Am looking forward to reading others in the series and hoping they are as entertaining as this outing. Show Less
LibraryThing member devenish
This is the first of the 'Bryant & May' crime series about the doings of the Peculiar Crimes Unit,that I have read. It is also the latest one,so in my usual way I seem to be reading them in the wrong order completely,which doesn't help in the slightest.
That being said,I enjoyed the quirky way the
The story involves a series of seemingly unconnected deaths of very ordinary women. The only apparent link being that the bodies were all found in busy London pubs,with no obvious injuries.
A well thought out mystery which ends with a chase along corridors deep beneath the British Museum.
That being said,I enjoyed the quirky way the
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book was written.The various members of the team were all interesting characters in their own right,even down to Crippen,the cat.The story involves a series of seemingly unconnected deaths of very ordinary women. The only apparent link being that the bodies were all found in busy London pubs,with no obvious injuries.
A well thought out mystery which ends with a chase along corridors deep beneath the British Museum.
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LibraryThing member catseyegreen
It's a puzzle for the Peculiar Crimes Unit when Bryant is a witness to a crime at a pub which does not exist. The unit is being re-organized and there is general disarray.
It's a fairly good mystery with some humorous elements and an incredible array of British Pubs.
It's a fairly good mystery with some humorous elements and an incredible array of British Pubs.
Awards
British Fantasy Award (Nominee — August Derleth Fantasy Award — 2009)
Dilys Award (Nominee — 2009)
Goldsboro Last Laugh Award (Winner — 2009)
Pages
336
ISBN
0553805029 / 9780553805024