Reading this for the second time (Dec 2011). This takes the two detectives out of London and strands them in a blizzard on a side road leading to Plymouth. There is a murderer amongst the stranded motorists, but meanwhile back in London the Home Office villain is sure he has finally been able to shut down the PCU. When Bryant & May return to London they have to finish up the investigation they had been monitoring by cell phone from the blizzard, including the need to determine how their patholog...

My latest foray in to the world of Bryant & May. Must say I found the background intro a bit laborious.Story wise it was good to get away from London. I know how much Christopher Fowler loves writing about London, however to me it can get a bit preachy at times.The twist at the end was a surprise, didn’t see it coming.There are a wonderful few lines concerning Jehovah Witnesses and a toaster.Made me laugh out load.One final thing, given my review of “Ten Second Corridor” I found it amusing to se...

Best one yet! Multiple mysteries for the price of one. Brilliant stuff.

Yet another excellent installment in the Bryant & May mystery series. All the novels are on par with each other, but it feels like they just keep getting better. Without a doubt it's Christopher Fowler's prose and intelligent writing that keeps me coming back for more. I love learning about the real world while reading fun fiction stories and there's always something new in these books.I enjoyed the split narrative of this one. There are two separate crime scenarios running side by side. First,

Fifth in the Bryant & May detective mystery series and revolving around two over-retirement-age detectives who are quite unorthodox and based in London with each story in the series a case in Arthur's biography. I'll be curious to read how Fowler intends to end Bryant and May. As a series, I mean.My TakeTime marches on in this locked room mystery filled to the brim with red herrings. Nor is that autopsy room the only locked room, as Fowler locks us out with his craftily scattered "clues" about M...

5 Stars. I've listened to this twice on audiobook because I enjoyed it so much. How could I have missed this author and his two crotchety old detectives? Arthur Bryant should have retired, or been retired, years ago except he and his partner, John May, keep coming up aces. They work for the Peculiar Crimes Unit in London, and this time find themselves stranded on a remote highway near Dartmoor in a blizzard when problems develop at the office. Their coroner has been found dead on the premises ju...

The fifth Bryant and May mystery. With the Unit’s future on the line due to an unexpectedly scheduled royal visit within hours, the Peculiar Crimes Unit must solve a locked room mystery --- the baffling murder of their ancient pathologist, Oswald Finch. Alone with a corpse in the morgue, he appears to have been murdered, while investigation reveals he had flare-ups with several of the Unit’s own that morning. But Sergeant Janice Longbright must attack the problem alone, because Bryant and May fi...

The best yet! I loved the banter between the characters. Here is one example:"The doctrine of salvation by faith is the essence of Gospel teaching", said Alma hotly, "It's protestant not pick n' mix! I don't approve of throwing all these religions together with non-believers." "There's no such thing as a non-believer", Bryant stated, "Everyone believes in something, whether it involves alien visitations or simply being nice to each other and repairing a fractured world with good deeds. A cabalis...

Meh ... as Sara would say. Am I getting tired of the two elderly detectives? I think I am. What has been driving me crazy is the time (or is it the number of pages?! it takes to get the plot (or is it me?) in gear.At the end of the day, I like it when in the first twenty pages of a novel, I understand who is who and the plot is on track. Take Robert Galbraith, or D.E. Stevenson, and there you are. I might just drop Bryant and May altogether.

This is the second book I have read by Christopher Fowler and both have been from his Bryant & May series. Arthur Bryant and John May are Golden Age Detectives in a modern world. They head the Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU), London's most venerable specialist police team, a division founded during the Second World War to investigate cases that could cause national scandal or public unrest. It's an unusual and original set up, two crimes have to be solved and these are cleverly interwoven whilst Brya...

Years ago, I read the first book in Fowler's Bryant and May series and didn't care for it at all, but always at the back of my mind, I thought there might have been extenuating circumstances. You see, I read Full Dark House while on my very first trip to the UK, and I'm pretty sure my brain was on sensory overload. I am very happy to announce that I thoroughly enjoyed this fifth book in the series, and now I'm wanting to catch up with all the adventures of these two men.One of the small things t...

There were 2 cases in this story and I was blindsided by both investigations!

I enjoyed White Corridor, but I didn’t think it was one of Christopher Fowler’s best.This time, John and Arthur end up stranded in a snowstorm on the way to Devon with a van full of arcane objects and theatrical props (of course they do – Arthur is involved) while the Unit is again under threat from Whitehall who have unleashed a Royal Visit on them at a very difficult time. Two deaths have to be solved simultaneously, one in the snowbound road and one in the Unit itself.As always, Fowler writes...

Bettie's Books

I'm always a big fan of Bryant and May, but this one was particularly good. Two murders, lots of improbability and tons of snow. If you like the PCU books, you'll love this one.

How can you not love this series of books about the Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) led by the aged detectives Bryant and May? The stories are truly surreal and more fun that the proverbial barrel of monkeys. In this entry, the boys are trapped in a blizzard where a murder takes place. Meanwhile, back at the PCU, one of their own is found dead under suspicious circumstances and the team must try to solve it in the absence of their mentors. Of course, the story is completely far-fetched and the author...

I gave it a couple of chapters, but it wasn't working for me at all. It felt different from the other books in the series somehow. DNF.

As always; taut, intricate, loopy characters who are a lot more sensible than they appear. I am not usually overfond of book series which have strong ordinal continuity, but it suits the Bryant & May series. You would need a programme to keep up with the cast of characters otherwise.Loved this book. Absolutely love the series. I love the writing which is consistently top notch and the dialogue which is unforced and natural. The pacing is taut (which is difficult when half the book is played out

The best so far ....Reading Bryant and May is like eating peanuts, or pretzels (my fav.) or fudge, or something you just can't STOP eating! I want more, then more and then more and more. And now...Writers are sometimes told to chase their MC (MCs) up a tree, then throw rocks at them. Well in this particular book our MCs, elderly, curmudgeonly Arthur Bryant, and elderly, more conservative John May, are sent up a tree, in a blizzard, with a murderer at large. Not only are they dealing with that, b...

Enjoyable PCU book with 3 mysteries going on at the same time. The ending was a complete surprise as I didn't see it coming at all. Truly felt the cold, wind and snow in the blizzard scenes. Brrr! I very much enjoy this series so will go on to the next!