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Bryant & May: Peculiar Crimes Unit #4
Ten Second Staircase
It’s a crime tailor-made for the Peculiar Crimes Unit: a controversial artist is murdered and displayed as part of her own outrageous installation. No suspects, no motive, no evidence–it’s business as usual for the Unit’s cantankerous founding partners, Arthur Bryant and John May. But this time they have an eyewitness. According to twelve-year-old Luke Tripp, the killer was a cape-clad highwayman atop a black stallion.
As implausible as the boy’s story sounds, Bryant and May take it seriously when “The Highwayman” is spotted again, striking a dramatic pose at the scene of his next outlandish murder. Whatever the killer’s real identity, he seems intent on killing off a string of minor celebrities while becoming one himself.
As the tabloids look to make a quick bundle on “Highwayman Fever,” Bryant and May, along with the newest member of the Unit, May’s agoraphobic granddaughter, April, find themselves sorting out a case involving an unlikely combination of artistic rivalries, sleazy sex affairs, the Knights Templars, and street gang feuds. To do it, they’re going to have to use every orthodox–and unorthodox–means at their disposal, including myth, witchcraft, and the psychogeographic history of the city’s “monsters,” past and present.
And if one unsolvable crime weren’t enough, this case has disturbing links to a decades-old killing spree that nearly destroyed the partnership of Bryant and May once before…and may again. The Peculiar Crimes Unit is one murder away from being closed down for good–and that murder could be their own.
From the Hardcover edition.
As implausible as the boy’s story sounds, Bryant and May take it seriously when “The Highwayman” is spotted again, striking a dramatic pose at the scene of his next outlandish murder. Whatever the killer’s real identity, he seems intent on killing off a string of minor celebrities while becoming one himself.
As the tabloids look to make a quick bundle on “Highwayman Fever,” Bryant and May, along with the newest member of the Unit, May’s agoraphobic granddaughter, April, find themselves sorting out a case involving an unlikely combination of artistic rivalries, sleazy sex affairs, the Knights Templars, and street gang feuds. To do it, they’re going to have to use every orthodox–and unorthodox–means at their disposal, including myth, witchcraft, and the psychogeographic history of the city’s “monsters,” past and present.
And if one unsolvable crime weren’t enough, this case has disturbing links to a decades-old killing spree that nearly destroyed the partnership of Bryant and May once before…and may again. The Peculiar Crimes Unit is one murder away from being closed down for good–and that murder could be their own.
From the Hardcover edition.
496 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
164 people are currently reading
1352 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Fowler
264 books1,283 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Christopher Fowler was an English writer known for his Bryant & May mystery series, featuring two Golden Age-style detectives navigating modern London. Over his career, he authored fifty novels and short story collections, along with screenplays, video games, graphic novels, and audio plays. His psychological thriller Little Boy Found was published under the pseudonym L.K. Fox.
Fowler's accolades include multiple British Fantasy Awards, the Last Laugh Award, the CWA Dagger in the Library, and the inaugural Green Carnation Award. He was inducted into the Detection Club in 2021. Beyond crime fiction, his works ranged from horror (Hell Train, Nyctophobia) to memoir (Paperboy, Film Freak). His column Invisible Ink explored forgotten authors, later compiled into The Book of Forgotten Authors.
Fowler lived between London and Barcelona with his husband, Peter Chapman.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Christopher Fowler was an English writer known for his Bryant & May mystery series, featuring two Golden Age-style detectives navigating modern London. Over his career, he authored fifty novels and short story collections, along with screenplays, video games, graphic novels, and audio plays. His psychological thriller Little Boy Found was published under the pseudonym L.K. Fox.
Fowler's accolades include multiple British Fantasy Awards, the Last Laugh Award, the CWA Dagger in the Library, and the inaugural Green Carnation Award. He was inducted into the Detection Club in 2021. Beyond crime fiction, his works ranged from horror (Hell Train, Nyctophobia) to memoir (Paperboy, Film Freak). His column Invisible Ink explored forgotten authors, later compiled into The Book of Forgotten Authors.
Fowler lived between London and Barcelona with his husband, Peter Chapman.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 301 reviews
June 28, 2020
This was *ok* but not as good as the previous couple. I struggled to maintain interest in the middle when it seemed to be bogged down in wild goose chases and red herrings. But at least the PCU lives to fight another day (with increased budget!)
April 11, 2013
First, an announcement: I genuinely like, and enjoy the Bryant and May series. I hate to give this book a low rating, but, quite frankly, it's just not up to snuff. If I had only read this one of the series, I would probably not continue. However, I know the series stays good (I accidentally started the 6th one, and had a hard time putting it down), so I will keep reading, I promise.
I found this book just a bit tedious, overall. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but here are a few thoughts:
The continued conflict of "will the unit be closed down?" drags on, and on, and on over the 4 books of the series. This should have been resolved by book 2, and never considered again. Move on to a new conflict.
For whatever reason, I had a hard time connecting with this story and the mystery. It wasn't that it was too simple--I didn't see the end coming exactly, but I found I was just reading to finish the book, and move on, rather than racing to the end with my usual eagerness. It just wasn't all that...mysterious. Perhaps this is because I was tired? Because I have several other books on my reading list? Maybe I've read too many of these books in close succession? Or, perhaps I'd come to expect more cleverness from the author? But, whatever the cause, it just didn't grab me.
BUT, I did really like the thoughtful exploration of the tensions of being young in a postmodern world, and the tension of old and young (a frequent theme in these series). I thought overall, this novel was probably most philosophical and thought-provoking. I wish the story, overall, was better, because the characters discuss and explore some intriguing ideas and issues.
So, in conclusion: it's not the best in the series, but I will continue reading in hopes of more, and better, Bryant and May capers.
I found this book just a bit tedious, overall. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but here are a few thoughts:
The continued conflict of "will the unit be closed down?" drags on, and on, and on over the 4 books of the series. This should have been resolved by book 2, and never considered again. Move on to a new conflict.
For whatever reason, I had a hard time connecting with this story and the mystery. It wasn't that it was too simple--I didn't see the end coming exactly, but I found I was just reading to finish the book, and move on, rather than racing to the end with my usual eagerness. It just wasn't all that...mysterious. Perhaps this is because I was tired? Because I have several other books on my reading list? Maybe I've read too many of these books in close succession? Or, perhaps I'd come to expect more cleverness from the author? But, whatever the cause, it just didn't grab me.
BUT, I did really like the thoughtful exploration of the tensions of being young in a postmodern world, and the tension of old and young (a frequent theme in these series). I thought overall, this novel was probably most philosophical and thought-provoking. I wish the story, overall, was better, because the characters discuss and explore some intriguing ideas and issues.
So, in conclusion: it's not the best in the series, but I will continue reading in hopes of more, and better, Bryant and May capers.
November 20, 2020
Another crazy whirlwind of a mystery romp, complete with humor, whimsy, as well as forensic detail and police procedures which turn the genre upside-down. In this one, set in London, the elderly, frumpy, yet genius-like Arthur Bryant, and his partner, the more meticulous and self-ordered John May, investigate the death of a performance artist found dead in a tank of formaldehyde. Wow, the beginning is just so...
So wonderfully depicted. A young and somewhat controversial concept artist is found floating, dead, in a display inside an ordinary, and rather staid old museum. The one witness claims a man on horseback grabbed her and threw her in. This witness, a young boy, is part of a school field trip; the rest of the class, and teacher, were in a different room when the crime occurred. Enter Bryant and May, and the rest of their small unit - the PCU, or Peculiar Crimes Unit - to figure out who, why, when, where and most significantly, HOW.
(Note: Peculiar doesn't really mean 'peculiar' in the current sense, but meant 'particular' when the unit was put together.)
The PCU is a unit conceived and brought to fruition right after WW2. Its purpose is to cover those crimes which are unusual or extraordinary, including those which might jeopardize important key officials or the government itself. In addition to the current investigation, there is always the threat of the unit being disbanded and all crime investigation returning to the MET. In this book the official overseeing this process - and who hates everyone and everything to do with the PCU - is a hideous, vampire-like individual. (Only vampire-like, mind you.)
What I like about the book, in addition to the story, characters, etc., is the style of writing which is SUPERB. Simple things like twilight, the puddles on the road or the hustle-bustle of a street crowd is so elegantly rendered it often gives me pause, yet, the story just moves on. Amazing how Mr. Fowler does this.
I also thoroughly enjoy the settings, most of them within London, and the quick, historical facts that are sprinkled through about how an area now filled with modern apartments with the elite, upper-class its residents, was once the site of a famous gallows, a murder, a witch's meeting place, or some secret club. Wonderful! In this one we get old buildings mixed among the new, a boy's school over 400 hundred years old, a museum, and the weird and ramshackle offices of the PCU itself.
Marvelous writing. Stupendous characters. Witty, yet seldom caustic dialogue. Love everything about the series and am thoroughly happy I have several more books to go...
Five stars.
So wonderfully depicted. A young and somewhat controversial concept artist is found floating, dead, in a display inside an ordinary, and rather staid old museum. The one witness claims a man on horseback grabbed her and threw her in. This witness, a young boy, is part of a school field trip; the rest of the class, and teacher, were in a different room when the crime occurred. Enter Bryant and May, and the rest of their small unit - the PCU, or Peculiar Crimes Unit - to figure out who, why, when, where and most significantly, HOW.
(Note: Peculiar doesn't really mean 'peculiar' in the current sense, but meant 'particular' when the unit was put together.)
The PCU is a unit conceived and brought to fruition right after WW2. Its purpose is to cover those crimes which are unusual or extraordinary, including those which might jeopardize important key officials or the government itself. In addition to the current investigation, there is always the threat of the unit being disbanded and all crime investigation returning to the MET. In this book the official overseeing this process - and who hates everyone and everything to do with the PCU - is a hideous, vampire-like individual. (Only vampire-like, mind you.)
What I like about the book, in addition to the story, characters, etc., is the style of writing which is SUPERB. Simple things like twilight, the puddles on the road or the hustle-bustle of a street crowd is so elegantly rendered it often gives me pause, yet, the story just moves on. Amazing how Mr. Fowler does this.
I also thoroughly enjoy the settings, most of them within London, and the quick, historical facts that are sprinkled through about how an area now filled with modern apartments with the elite, upper-class its residents, was once the site of a famous gallows, a murder, a witch's meeting place, or some secret club. Wonderful! In this one we get old buildings mixed among the new, a boy's school over 400 hundred years old, a museum, and the weird and ramshackle offices of the PCU itself.
Marvelous writing. Stupendous characters. Witty, yet seldom caustic dialogue. Love everything about the series and am thoroughly happy I have several more books to go...
Five stars.
December 2, 2014
Christopher Fowler has a spectacular eye for labyrinthine Gothic absurdity, and when he turned it to the police procedural he conjured up Bryant and May, octogenarian detectives dealing with London’s most peculiar crimes, the ones that attract attention, instil fear and panic and turn on a form of perverse celebrity. In their fourth outing, we find minor celebrity as the target, fame as the goal, London’s psycho-geography as the weapon in a caper linking vampires, highwaymen, the Knights Templar and more than one serial killer, wrapped up in a story featuring bureaucratic ambition, tabloid aggrandisement, class difference and ennui. As always, Fowler is entertaining with an ability to make the impossible mundane. I think, though, I would have appreciated just a little more of the arcane.
March 28, 2024
Here's another Bryant and May mystery. They are always fun reads and Ten Second Staircase does not disappoint. (Although, having now finished reading the book, I still have no idea where that title came from or what it means.)
In this one, Bryant's and May's unit, the Peculiar Crimes Unit of the London Police, is just about to be disbanded as part of a departmental reorganization. But where will that leave our two octogenarian detectives who have no desire to retire?
In order to forestall that imminent closure, the detectives need to solve a couple of cases, one old and one new, both of which have their basis in the historic London mythology of classic crime.
To aid in their investigations, this time around their unit has a new addition, May's granddaughter, April. And, of course, she has her own set of peculiarities in that she is agoraphobic.
The modern-day mystery here involves a series of second-tier celebrities being killed in very elaborate ways. A witness to one of the crimes is a twelve-year-old boy who insists that the perpetrator was a masked highwayman riding a black horse. Well, he should be easy enough to find in London, right?
There's a lot to like here. Fowler is, of course, a very talented writer who appears to assume that his readers enjoy the English language as much as he does. Here, he provides us with snippets of history which help to fill in the mosaic of the story he's telling and he does it with a rich trove of that beloved language. Moreover, the social commentary was enlightening and frequently quite amusing. Overall, I found my time spent with Bryant and May to be (once again) time well spent.
In this one, Bryant's and May's unit, the Peculiar Crimes Unit of the London Police, is just about to be disbanded as part of a departmental reorganization. But where will that leave our two octogenarian detectives who have no desire to retire?
In order to forestall that imminent closure, the detectives need to solve a couple of cases, one old and one new, both of which have their basis in the historic London mythology of classic crime.
To aid in their investigations, this time around their unit has a new addition, May's granddaughter, April. And, of course, she has her own set of peculiarities in that she is agoraphobic.
The modern-day mystery here involves a series of second-tier celebrities being killed in very elaborate ways. A witness to one of the crimes is a twelve-year-old boy who insists that the perpetrator was a masked highwayman riding a black horse. Well, he should be easy enough to find in London, right?
There's a lot to like here. Fowler is, of course, a very talented writer who appears to assume that his readers enjoy the English language as much as he does. Here, he provides us with snippets of history which help to fill in the mosaic of the story he's telling and he does it with a rich trove of that beloved language. Moreover, the social commentary was enlightening and frequently quite amusing. Overall, I found my time spent with Bryant and May to be (once again) time well spent.
November 23, 2015
Definitely an improvement over #1 in the series. Bryant is Changing, or at least attempting change in his attitude toward technology and the modern world...but not so much so that he cannot continue to balance May with his intuitive motive-oriented approach. Some new characters enter (or maybe they entered in books 2 and 3 which I haven't read yet) and jazz up the scene - I feel sure that these will continue so I guess I'm hooked. The two "academic" detectives meet some actual academics and students, both rich and poor - these clashes are pivotal to the solution of several crimes, past and present.
There's quite a serious undercurrent to this one which I think will also carry over to coming books. Without adding a spoiler, I'll just quote a couple of lines that seemed prescient and insightful to me.
"The national literacy strategy has left everyone confused about the fundamental basics of teaching...
Remove the language of sustained concentration from their [students'] vocabulary and you remove the concept itself." spoken by the son of idealists gone wrong.
There's quite a serious undercurrent to this one which I think will also carry over to coming books. Without adding a spoiler, I'll just quote a couple of lines that seemed prescient and insightful to me.
"The national literacy strategy has left everyone confused about the fundamental basics of teaching...
Remove the language of sustained concentration from their [students'] vocabulary and you remove the concept itself." spoken by the son of idealists gone wrong.
April 11, 2019
Excellent!
Great plot,plus insightful social commentary,plus wonderful history lessons.
Great plot,plus insightful social commentary,plus wonderful history lessons.
December 5, 2020
I enjoyed Ten-Second Staircase very much. Like all of Christopher Fowler’s books it is amusing, gripping, thoughtful and full of fascinating historical details.
This time the scene is set with an impossible murder in an art gallery in which an artist is drowned in her own installation with no apparent means of entry or escape for the murderer. More crimes follow, while the Peculiar Crimes Unit itself is under threat from enemies in the Home Office...in other words, pretty much business as usual for the team. It’s a good, involving story, but as always, the real joy of these books is in Arthur’s arcane and eccentric probings into the dusty corners of London’s history and the strange but wonderful people he consults and associates with.
Pretty much all that need be said here is that this is Christopher Fowler on excellent form. Warmly recommended.
This time the scene is set with an impossible murder in an art gallery in which an artist is drowned in her own installation with no apparent means of entry or escape for the murderer. More crimes follow, while the Peculiar Crimes Unit itself is under threat from enemies in the Home Office...in other words, pretty much business as usual for the team. It’s a good, involving story, but as always, the real joy of these books is in Arthur’s arcane and eccentric probings into the dusty corners of London’s history and the strange but wonderful people he consults and associates with.
Pretty much all that need be said here is that this is Christopher Fowler on excellent form. Warmly recommended.
March 20, 2017
3.5 stars. Pretty good addition to the series, as Bryant and May struggle to close both a current case and one of their cold cases while the Home Office looks for ways to shut down the Peculiar Crimes Unit.
December 19, 2015
Although I enjoy the banter between the two old codgers, Bryant and May, I occasionally found the plot of this #3 in the series tiresome, and had great difficulty believing that the culprit(s) would have enough expertise to commit such elaborate crimes. And I haven't a clue as to why it was entitled "Ten Second Staircase"!
Nevertheless, I think I will continue with the following novels, in case I learn something ;-)
Nevertheless, I think I will continue with the following novels, in case I learn something ;-)
October 9, 2014
Christopher has captured me with his idiosyncratic Bryant and May characters. I rarely undertake to read a series - but here I go! Started book 5 today.
February 8, 2019
Found this series recommended on Audible by someone I follow there. At first, the grumpy octogenarian's ramblings had me smiling and agreeing, but the narrator was SO SLOW and the story arc looked like it was heading in a direction that completely turned me off. I sped up the listening speed to twice the normal speed to just get it over with and which didn't sound at all ridiculous because of the SLOW, LETHARGIC narration. Instead of giving up, I used it as background narration while I worked on a hands-on project. I am willing to give this series another go; perhaps another storyline will be a better fit for me. More of a 2.5 star read rounded up to a 3.
October 30, 2017
Weird ... here it is almost Hallowe'en and guess when the book ends? Hallowe'en. I didn't plan it that way. I have been reading this off and on for apparently 4+ years. Not sure why it took so long.
I do enjoy this series. It is so off-beat.
I do enjoy this series. It is so off-beat.
August 14, 2007
TEN-SECOND STAIRCASE (Police Proc-London-Cont) – G+
Fowler, Christopher – 4th in series
Doubleday, 2006- Hardcover
*** Arthur Bryant and John May, the oldest working members of the London Police and the heads of the Peculiar Crimes Unit are on the hunt for a murder of some of London’s minor celebrities. Their witness to the first murder being a 12-year old student who swears he saw someone dressed as a Highwayman of old. Adding to the pressure is the assurance that the PCU will be shut down, and Bryant and May retired, unless they also solve the case of the Liecester Square Vampire; the case that took the life of John May’s daughter.
*** This fourth entry into the May and Bryant series is a wonderful combination of social and political commentary, English history, comments on aging and on family, with elements locked-room mystery and illusion. All the characters are wonderful and quirky and it’s the relationships that make the story so human. Although there was a good twist at the end, I did identify the perpetrator very early into the book. However, I love Fowler’s writing and his geriatric characters and will continue to follow their exploits.
Fowler, Christopher – 4th in series
Doubleday, 2006- Hardcover
*** Arthur Bryant and John May, the oldest working members of the London Police and the heads of the Peculiar Crimes Unit are on the hunt for a murder of some of London’s minor celebrities. Their witness to the first murder being a 12-year old student who swears he saw someone dressed as a Highwayman of old. Adding to the pressure is the assurance that the PCU will be shut down, and Bryant and May retired, unless they also solve the case of the Liecester Square Vampire; the case that took the life of John May’s daughter.
*** This fourth entry into the May and Bryant series is a wonderful combination of social and political commentary, English history, comments on aging and on family, with elements locked-room mystery and illusion. All the characters are wonderful and quirky and it’s the relationships that make the story so human. Although there was a good twist at the end, I did identify the perpetrator very early into the book. However, I love Fowler’s writing and his geriatric characters and will continue to follow their exploits.
November 30, 2014
I love te series and I love this book too.
For me it is so much more than just another crime case.
This is a book about London, about history, about people coping with age in a changing world.
I highly appreciate the character development. Maybe that has something to do with my own age. I'm not sure if I would have like the story in the same way when I have been thirty years younger.
For me it is so much more than just another crime case.
This is a book about London, about history, about people coping with age in a changing world.
I highly appreciate the character development. Maybe that has something to do with my own age. I'm not sure if I would have like the story in the same way when I have been thirty years younger.
June 29, 2016
Fourth in the Bryant & May mystery series set in London and revolving around two past-retirement-age detectives with an alternative style. Events take off in October.
My Take
You can't help but fall in love with these two. Bryant is such an eccentric, and Fowler shows it with how the rest of the team copes with him, indulges him. Followers of CSI-oriented programs will go absolutely spare reading about Bryant's total disregard for evidence. Turns out one of the reasons for the transfer of the PCU from Met oversight to the Home Office is the Met officers ticked off at how Bryant and May ignore the rules.
Fowler makes good use of his characters to point out society's issues on bureaucracy, rules, morality, politics, manipulating the news, the lack of true education — the focus on the murders in Ten Second Staircase…
An underlying conflict in Ten Second Staircase is keeping up with the times, understanding kids these days, Bryant's lack of connection. This after May lines out some of Bryant's more "ingenious" ideas and scams. Frying crows in vinaigrette?
Nor does Bryant do well in the empathy department, and it certainly shows when he does the lecture at the students.
There's more on May's guilt, and we finally find out why. It's connected with the ongoing Leicester Square Vampire case which destroyed May's life.
Kingsmere is SUCH a snob, and I love how May takes him down a peg. Even better is yet another successful end run around the anti-PCU powers-that-be. Oh, yeah, baby…
Oh, nasty, Fowler does a twist on Robin Hood, and it is not nice. And probably more accurate, lol.
It's a fascinating combination of mystery, police procedural — well, the lack thereof, lol, age, humor, and the unexpected and understated British stoicism.
The Story
Oops, Bryant and May have been breaking the rules for too long, and those incidents in The Water Room will not help.
If the unit is to stay open, Bryant and May must solve the way overdue Leicester Square Vampire case that destroyed May's life, hunt down the Highwayman, and evade Kasavian's sabotaging.
The Characters
Detectives Arthur Bryant and John May have been partners since the start of the unit in 1940. Bryant, a prankster, incorporates a "kind of Counter-Enlightenment mysticism" with the ability to destroy any tech while May is a "rational progressive who sometimes placed feeling over reason" and is probably Bryant's only link to the outside world. Victor is Bryant's rusting yellow Mini Cooper. Monica Greenwood is May's married lover ( The Water Room , 2). Elizabeth was John's daughter; Gwen is John's sister. Alma Sorrowbridge is Bryant's former landlady who has now moved into his new place in a former toothbrush factory. Jackie Quinten, a local historian, is the lady with whom Bryant has an understanding.
The Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) was…
…formed back in 1940 to handle unusual crimes and is now located above the Mornington Crescent tube station. Detective Sergeant Janice Longbright dresses like a '50s film star. Dan Banbury is the brilliant IT/crime scene manager with absolutely zero social skills. Giles Kershaw is the forensics officer and social science liaison whose upper class family has come down so far in the world that Giles actually has to take on a job. Detective Constables Meera Mangeshkar, she's the stroppy one, and the klutzy Colin Bimsley round out the team. Oswald Finch is the ancient pathologist who intends to retire. April May is John's agoraphobic but organized granddaughter whom May desperately wants to protect. Through a new program, April is offered a job at the PCU. Crippen is the office cat.
The Haphazards are…
…May's outside recruits, like the Baker Street Irregulars. Rufus Abu is a young hacker who tips him off about Land's email. Nalin Saxena, a former member of the Shadwell Posse, reports in on gang alliances. Polly Sharrant runs an SM club.
Raymond Land is the current, unhappy acting head appointed back in 1973. His wife is leaving him and his peers laugh at him. The disgusting Sergeant Jack Renfield at Albany Street is his only friend; both he and his father, Sergeant Leonard Renfield, blame Bryant for their troubles. Stanley Marsden had been the DCS HMCO liaison officer. Constable Liberty DuCaine is helping PCU.
Leslie Faraday, an incompetent nightmare who gets shuffled from department to department after each incident, is the senior Home Office liaison officer under whose aegis the PCU now operates although it has no power over people hired before 1962. Oskar Kasavian is Faraday's new, vicious assistant determined to take down PCU, and especially Bryant and May.
St. Crispin's Boys' School is…
…an exclusive private academy. Nicholas Gosling, Daniel Parfitt, Jezzard, Billings, and Luke Tripp are on the field trip. Other students include Hyde-Brown, Pond, Whitchurch, Ramsden, Armstrong, Ibbertson, Metcalf, and Unsworth. Eliot Mason is a teacher who handles field trips. Brilliant Kingsmere is the students' most favored teacher who takes on special students. (Alexander Kingsmere, MA, BSc Oxon, was his father.) Dr. Westingham is the headmaster. Gossage is the sports master.
The Roland Plumbe Community Estate is…
…a neighborhood whose kids clash with the students at St. Crispin's. Lorraine Bonner is the head of the Residents' Association who works at Middlesex Hospital. Danielle and Sheree are young residents and witnesses. The Saladins are a gang on the estate. Seems that Kingsmere is a volunteer here, giving community classes.
…owned by Calvin Burroughs. Saralla White, "the most hated woman in England", is a sculptor, Sharinda Van Souten is a political activist through her art, and McZee (the former Josh Ketchley) who "explores the link between fear and power in the torture of political prisoners" have a show at the gallery. Bryant does fall in love with one of McZee's pieces, lol.
Eleanor White is Saralla's mother; Patrick, her father. Well, her daughter's name was really Sarah. Leo Carey was Saralla's husband, but his life was destroyed because of her. Now he's Martell's publicist. Danny Martell is a TV show host in trouble for his image. Marc Morrison is his agent. Channing Gifford is a witness. Madame Briquet has an apartment next to the gym. Garfy, a.k.a., Alexander Garfield Paradine, is related to the Earl of Devonshire. Starting as a comedian, he keeps trying on new roles to revive his career. Anthony Sarne is increasingly drawn to young boys.
The Hard News self-publicizes…
…itself as Great Britain's first daily magazine, and Janet Ramsey, a.k.a., the Blue Dragon, is its new senior features editor. Roat is the art director. Simon handles the insider's pop page.
It's graffiti that GRAF magazine…
…is all about with Julio Stamos an expert on the topic. Lazarus is his Vietnamese potbellied pig.
Some of Bryant's consultants include…
…Maggie Armitage, an old friend of Bryant's, who is the leader of The Coven of St. James the Elder. Dr. Harold Masters runs the Panic Site as well as the Insomnia Squad. Oliver Golifer owns the Newman Street Picture Library. Dorothy Huxley runs the Greenwich Library thanks to Jebediah's bequest. Frank is her gloomy, unpaid assistant.
The Leicester Square Vampire case has…
…been ongoing since 1973, and his victims were blamed for their own deaths. Malcolm, the son of an Austrian diplomat, was one of the victims and the catalyst for officials to okay funds. In 1991, Amanda Wakefield became the next victim.
Signal Crime status is awarded crimes that will scare the public. Sharon Letts was a notorious shoplifter. Felix is a cat burglar running discreet small-scale operations.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a creamy-golden parchment-like distressed map of London for a background and is thinly bordered by a black silhouette of a rearing horse and wonky buildings. The author's name is in a black, thin Gothic at the top with the title in a deep orange and slightly more ornate Gothic font. At the bottom is a busy mélange representing the history of the Highway Man with Westminster representing the politicians in the story. Tucked in is the numbers from that aluminum key, the Highway Man's key.
I think the title refers to that Ten Second Staircase, a quick trap for the unwary.
My Take
You can't help but fall in love with these two. Bryant is such an eccentric, and Fowler shows it with how the rest of the team copes with him, indulges him. Followers of CSI-oriented programs will go absolutely spare reading about Bryant's total disregard for evidence. Turns out one of the reasons for the transfer of the PCU from Met oversight to the Home Office is the Met officers ticked off at how Bryant and May ignore the rules.
Fowler makes good use of his characters to point out society's issues on bureaucracy, rules, morality, politics, manipulating the news, the lack of true education — the focus on the murders in Ten Second Staircase…
An underlying conflict in Ten Second Staircase is keeping up with the times, understanding kids these days, Bryant's lack of connection. This after May lines out some of Bryant's more "ingenious" ideas and scams. Frying crows in vinaigrette?
Nor does Bryant do well in the empathy department, and it certainly shows when he does the lecture at the students.
"You've been spoiled with everything you ever wanted, but you still want more."Bryant does make excellent points in this speech, but it's is very much the wrong audience, and don't they just show it.
There's more on May's guilt, and we finally find out why. It's connected with the ongoing Leicester Square Vampire case which destroyed May's life.
Kingsmere is SUCH a snob, and I love how May takes him down a peg. Even better is yet another successful end run around the anti-PCU powers-that-be. Oh, yeah, baby…
Oh, nasty, Fowler does a twist on Robin Hood, and it is not nice. And probably more accurate, lol.
It's a fascinating combination of mystery, police procedural — well, the lack thereof, lol, age, humor, and the unexpected and understated British stoicism.
The Story
Oops, Bryant and May have been breaking the rules for too long, and those incidents in The Water Room will not help.
If the unit is to stay open, Bryant and May must solve the way overdue Leicester Square Vampire case that destroyed May's life, hunt down the Highwayman, and evade Kasavian's sabotaging.
The Characters
Detectives Arthur Bryant and John May have been partners since the start of the unit in 1940. Bryant, a prankster, incorporates a "kind of Counter-Enlightenment mysticism" with the ability to destroy any tech while May is a "rational progressive who sometimes placed feeling over reason" and is probably Bryant's only link to the outside world. Victor is Bryant's rusting yellow Mini Cooper. Monica Greenwood is May's married lover ( The Water Room , 2). Elizabeth was John's daughter; Gwen is John's sister. Alma Sorrowbridge is Bryant's former landlady who has now moved into his new place in a former toothbrush factory. Jackie Quinten, a local historian, is the lady with whom Bryant has an understanding.
The Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) was…
…formed back in 1940 to handle unusual crimes and is now located above the Mornington Crescent tube station. Detective Sergeant Janice Longbright dresses like a '50s film star. Dan Banbury is the brilliant IT/crime scene manager with absolutely zero social skills. Giles Kershaw is the forensics officer and social science liaison whose upper class family has come down so far in the world that Giles actually has to take on a job. Detective Constables Meera Mangeshkar, she's the stroppy one, and the klutzy Colin Bimsley round out the team. Oswald Finch is the ancient pathologist who intends to retire. April May is John's agoraphobic but organized granddaughter whom May desperately wants to protect. Through a new program, April is offered a job at the PCU. Crippen is the office cat.
The Haphazards are…
…May's outside recruits, like the Baker Street Irregulars. Rufus Abu is a young hacker who tips him off about Land's email. Nalin Saxena, a former member of the Shadwell Posse, reports in on gang alliances. Polly Sharrant runs an SM club.
Raymond Land is the current, unhappy acting head appointed back in 1973. His wife is leaving him and his peers laugh at him. The disgusting Sergeant Jack Renfield at Albany Street is his only friend; both he and his father, Sergeant Leonard Renfield, blame Bryant for their troubles. Stanley Marsden had been the DCS HMCO liaison officer. Constable Liberty DuCaine is helping PCU.
Leslie Faraday, an incompetent nightmare who gets shuffled from department to department after each incident, is the senior Home Office liaison officer under whose aegis the PCU now operates although it has no power over people hired before 1962. Oskar Kasavian is Faraday's new, vicious assistant determined to take down PCU, and especially Bryant and May.
St. Crispin's Boys' School is…
…an exclusive private academy. Nicholas Gosling, Daniel Parfitt, Jezzard, Billings, and Luke Tripp are on the field trip. Other students include Hyde-Brown, Pond, Whitchurch, Ramsden, Armstrong, Ibbertson, Metcalf, and Unsworth. Eliot Mason is a teacher who handles field trips. Brilliant Kingsmere is the students' most favored teacher who takes on special students. (Alexander Kingsmere, MA, BSc Oxon, was his father.) Dr. Westingham is the headmaster. Gossage is the sports master.
The Roland Plumbe Community Estate is…
…a neighborhood whose kids clash with the students at St. Crispin's. Lorraine Bonner is the head of the Residents' Association who works at Middlesex Hospital. Danielle and Sheree are young residents and witnesses. The Saladins are a gang on the estate. Seems that Kingsmere is a volunteer here, giving community classes.
"The professional classes should be made to live here for a while before they start pronouncing on the causes of anti-social behaviour."The County Hall Gallery is…
…owned by Calvin Burroughs. Saralla White, "the most hated woman in England", is a sculptor, Sharinda Van Souten is a political activist through her art, and McZee (the former Josh Ketchley) who "explores the link between fear and power in the torture of political prisoners" have a show at the gallery. Bryant does fall in love with one of McZee's pieces, lol.
Eleanor White is Saralla's mother; Patrick, her father. Well, her daughter's name was really Sarah. Leo Carey was Saralla's husband, but his life was destroyed because of her. Now he's Martell's publicist. Danny Martell is a TV show host in trouble for his image. Marc Morrison is his agent. Channing Gifford is a witness. Madame Briquet has an apartment next to the gym. Garfy, a.k.a., Alexander Garfield Paradine, is related to the Earl of Devonshire. Starting as a comedian, he keeps trying on new roles to revive his career. Anthony Sarne is increasingly drawn to young boys.
The Hard News self-publicizes…
…itself as Great Britain's first daily magazine, and Janet Ramsey, a.k.a., the Blue Dragon, is its new senior features editor. Roat is the art director. Simon handles the insider's pop page.
It's graffiti that GRAF magazine…
…is all about with Julio Stamos an expert on the topic. Lazarus is his Vietnamese potbellied pig.
Some of Bryant's consultants include…
…Maggie Armitage, an old friend of Bryant's, who is the leader of The Coven of St. James the Elder. Dr. Harold Masters runs the Panic Site as well as the Insomnia Squad. Oliver Golifer owns the Newman Street Picture Library. Dorothy Huxley runs the Greenwich Library thanks to Jebediah's bequest. Frank is her gloomy, unpaid assistant.
The Leicester Square Vampire case has…
…been ongoing since 1973, and his victims were blamed for their own deaths. Malcolm, the son of an Austrian diplomat, was one of the victims and the catalyst for officials to okay funds. In 1991, Amanda Wakefield became the next victim.
Signal Crime status is awarded crimes that will scare the public. Sharon Letts was a notorious shoplifter. Felix is a cat burglar running discreet small-scale operations.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a creamy-golden parchment-like distressed map of London for a background and is thinly bordered by a black silhouette of a rearing horse and wonky buildings. The author's name is in a black, thin Gothic at the top with the title in a deep orange and slightly more ornate Gothic font. At the bottom is a busy mélange representing the history of the Highway Man with Westminster representing the politicians in the story. Tucked in is the numbers from that aluminum key, the Highway Man's key.
I think the title refers to that Ten Second Staircase, a quick trap for the unwary.
February 13, 2017
I can't get enough of this series of books featuring the Peculiar Crime Unit headed by the geriatric detectives, Bryant and May. In this entry, as in all the books, the crimes are bizarre and somehow connected to the history of London.
Three semi-celebrities are murdered respectively by immersion in formaldehyde, electrocution on a rowing machine, and immolation in a shower and the Unit has no clues except the sighting of a man dressed as a highwayman. To add to the mystery, there seems to be a connection with the Leicester Square Vampire, an unsolved case that has haunted the Unit for years, especially Detective May who was personally affected by it. The Unit has only a short time to solve the crimes as they are again being targeted by the powers-that-be for closure due to their unorthodox methods.
Its another insane romp through the back alleys and mews of London by the most endearing and eccentric characters in modern detective fiction.
Three semi-celebrities are murdered respectively by immersion in formaldehyde, electrocution on a rowing machine, and immolation in a shower and the Unit has no clues except the sighting of a man dressed as a highwayman. To add to the mystery, there seems to be a connection with the Leicester Square Vampire, an unsolved case that has haunted the Unit for years, especially Detective May who was personally affected by it. The Unit has only a short time to solve the crimes as they are again being targeted by the powers-that-be for closure due to their unorthodox methods.
Its another insane romp through the back alleys and mews of London by the most endearing and eccentric characters in modern detective fiction.
December 4, 2018
My first in this series. I think I will read #1 then drop it.
There's some good wordplay here, carefully used and not in the style of other authors I know.
The plot was engaging as it developed, if a bit slow. I found the "imminent closing" annoying and I've only read the one book. Did anyone really think they'd shut down at page 200 and everyone would just slope off down the pub and drop the case?
I'm with the other reviewers who mentioned that the who-did-what-and-how didn't turn out in a believable way. The zippy ending was also mixed in with quite a bit of "what's wrong with the world today" that threatened to get into "the three R's and the occasional caning" territory.
As an oldster myself, I liked the general approach with May & Bryant, but May seemed more than a little ineffectual. And did he really have to go with "April May"?
There's some good wordplay here, carefully used and not in the style of other authors I know.
The plot was engaging as it developed, if a bit slow. I found the "imminent closing" annoying and I've only read the one book. Did anyone really think they'd shut down at page 200 and everyone would just slope off down the pub and drop the case?
I'm with the other reviewers who mentioned that the who-did-what-and-how didn't turn out in a believable way. The zippy ending was also mixed in with quite a bit of "what's wrong with the world today" that threatened to get into "the three R's and the occasional caning" territory.
As an oldster myself, I liked the general approach with May & Bryant, but May seemed more than a little ineffectual. And did he really have to go with "April May"?
May 25, 2025
This one was a miss for me, and I’m being generous to give 3 stars—it really was more of 2.5 for the plot but I gave an extra half star for the characters.
Reading this book felt like chewing a mouthful of dry granola— you really have to chew hard and work at it to get to the point where you can swallow and sometimes the good flavor gets lost because your jaw just gets tired.
I found the complaining about the many ills of “kids these days” to be heavy-handed and tedious and the revelation of the ultimate culprit to be wholly unbelievable, even in a series that requires a measure of suspension of disbelief.
Also, even having finished the book I still have no idea what the title is all about—That’s not really a good sign.
Reading this book felt like chewing a mouthful of dry granola— you really have to chew hard and work at it to get to the point where you can swallow and sometimes the good flavor gets lost because your jaw just gets tired.
I found the complaining about the many ills of “kids these days” to be heavy-handed and tedious and the revelation of the ultimate culprit to be wholly unbelievable, even in a series that requires a measure of suspension of disbelief.
Also, even having finished the book I still have no idea what the title is all about—That’s not really a good sign.
October 27, 2022
Bryant & May do not disappoint. These books are written like classic mysteries with a few odd things thrown in for fun. The detectives are faced with the imminent closure of their unit if they can't solve a very old case & brand-new one, both of which hark back to historic London mythology of classic criminals. The Highwayman is the new case & the modern press plus the internet have made his fame spread at lightning speed. His killing spree speaks to a need in modern youth that the unit is having a difficult time understanding, but fortunately the new members of the unit send them in the right direction. An engrossing whodunit with clues everywhere that lead to a chilling conclusion.
December 4, 2025
This one didn't charm me as much as the others in the series that I've read. "they're going to shut down the unit" angst is getting a little old. I hope he's gotten that out of his system because I have the next two in the series waiting for me at the library.
April 12, 2022
Another suspenseful story, Bryant and May’s PCU is headed for the chop. Of course there are weird murders, odd characters, plus this time, school students. The plot explores the bloody past of Clerkenwell and Smithfield, adding moral questions about celebrity and death.
A main feature I enjoy about this series is the quality of the writing: beautiful, fully developed rich images and descriptions, broad vocabulary, words I’ve never come across before. There’s plenty of action, nothing that needs to come across as fast paced.
A main feature I enjoy about this series is the quality of the writing: beautiful, fully developed rich images and descriptions, broad vocabulary, words I’ve never come across before. There’s plenty of action, nothing that needs to come across as fast paced.
October 29, 2023
I love this series of weird crimes and the unit that solves them. The characters are very well developed. The reader is very good.
April 17, 2010
I’m beginning to think the very first book in this series (which I’m sadly reading out of order) was the best. All of the books center on May and Bryant, two close to retiring (in age if not in desire) detectives of London’s Peculiar Crimes Unit, i.e. the weird stuff that no one else wants to do. (Sort of like if Mulder and Scully had been through WWII and are now trying to adapt to the modern day of computers and cell phones).
I know that British vs American mysteries have a different take on things. In England they don’t mind if you take a little time to get into the story and in America if five people aren’t dead by the end of page three, people are annoyed. I don’t mind a slower start, I really don’t. That said, you could have loped off the first 40-50 pages of this book and lost nothing. Mostly it’s about their boss trying to close the unit down (a trope I’m SO tired of), of May getting his agoraphobic granddaughter out of the house to work for the unit and Bryant failing spectacularly to connect to today’s high school students. Frankly, I know you’re supposed to show not tell but I’d rather have had been told these things in a few sentences (since it is important info but drawn out WAY too long) and got on with the story.
The mystery itself, when we spend any time with it, is actually interesting. Someone is killing B list celebrities, ones that have taken their fame, begun to fall from grace or are out rightly amoral. The first to die is an artist whose art seems to be more about her sex life than anything else (like releasing illicitly made sex tapes). She’s drowned in her art exhibit, a huge vat of formaldehyde where fake fetuses bob around supporting pro-choice in the abortion debate. The only witness saw a man in a Highway man’s outfit throw her in.
As we go along more celebrities die, in weird ways, that seem almost accidentally but the highwayman is there, sometimes almost in two places at once. This part is actually pretty good. But we take too many side trips. We have the whole closing of the unit melodrama which was so by the book, seen it a hundred times that I skipped over most of it. Oddly much of it hinged on a failure back in the 1970’s and I had issue with that being such a big deal 30 years later (but there are reasons for it that will give away the ending so…) Then we have tensions between Bryant and May, May and his granddaughter and tensions between the wealthy private school (where the first witnesses to the crime attend and where Bryant failed in his speech) and the projects that grew up around the school.
It took me much longer than anticipated to read this since my attention kept wandering. It’s not the dullest in the series but it’s not the most exciting either. If some of the subplots were trimmed out (and since I’m reading out of order I knew how some of them turned out anyhow) this would have been a better read. The ending…let’s just say I had issues with it.
May 29, 2012
Ten-Second Staircase is another cracking read from the pen of Christopher Fowler and featuring the superb pairing of Arthur Bryant and John May, the elderly founders of the Peculiar Crimes Unit (which always lives up to its name).
It features some very peculiar crimes indeed (an artist drowned in her own installation) as well as some just horribly brutal ones as well. Aside from the main crime that they have to solve in this book they are also thrown back into a previously unsolved case from the nineteen seventies which had often been mentioned in the previous books as one that got away from them despite their best efforts at the time and they also have to do this with the home office threatening to close the unit down as they are not impressed with the methods of the unit, which are not standard policing methods. Of course that is what makes these books so interesting to read as they don’t play by the rules, but usually get the right results and it is great fun seeing them get into scrapes of their own making and rooting for them all the way to get out of the scrape and go and catch the bad guy or girl.
The story in this book was reasonably complex (but not as complex as some of the others in the seris have been) and kept me guessing right until the end when I realised that the person that I had been suspecting cannot have been the culprit. Once again all of the regular characters of the PCU shone out amongst the dramatis personae in the book even amongst the myriad of possible suspects and the murder victims themselves and you find yourself really wanting them to get the job done and angry at the people who are trying to stop them doing what they do best.
In fact though Bryant and May are easily the best characters in the books I do have a soft spot for Janice Longbright a woman who manages to keep the unit going almost singlehandedly and who is also a fascinating character with a fixation on looking and acting like a 1950s glamour puss as well as being a thoroughly capable police officer and an excellent ally for Bryant and May to have.
I have really been enjoying this book and look forward to reading more of the PCU adventures.
It features some very peculiar crimes indeed (an artist drowned in her own installation) as well as some just horribly brutal ones as well. Aside from the main crime that they have to solve in this book they are also thrown back into a previously unsolved case from the nineteen seventies which had often been mentioned in the previous books as one that got away from them despite their best efforts at the time and they also have to do this with the home office threatening to close the unit down as they are not impressed with the methods of the unit, which are not standard policing methods. Of course that is what makes these books so interesting to read as they don’t play by the rules, but usually get the right results and it is great fun seeing them get into scrapes of their own making and rooting for them all the way to get out of the scrape and go and catch the bad guy or girl.
The story in this book was reasonably complex (but not as complex as some of the others in the seris have been) and kept me guessing right until the end when I realised that the person that I had been suspecting cannot have been the culprit. Once again all of the regular characters of the PCU shone out amongst the dramatis personae in the book even amongst the myriad of possible suspects and the murder victims themselves and you find yourself really wanting them to get the job done and angry at the people who are trying to stop them doing what they do best.
In fact though Bryant and May are easily the best characters in the books I do have a soft spot for Janice Longbright a woman who manages to keep the unit going almost singlehandedly and who is also a fascinating character with a fixation on looking and acting like a 1950s glamour puss as well as being a thoroughly capable police officer and an excellent ally for Bryant and May to have.
I have really been enjoying this book and look forward to reading more of the PCU adventures.
July 31, 2009
Fourth in this rather bizarre mystery series, Ten Second Staircase finds our somewhat rather unorthodox detectives Bryant and May facing the possible end of the Peculiar Crimes Unit (now with a new member -- May's agoraphobic granddaughter April) just when they become involved in a series of improbable and impossible crimes -- you know, the ones just up their alley. This time, they are faced with a villain they call The Highwayman, because an eyewitness to the murder of an artist saw a man dressed in cape, tricorn hat and black boots sitting on a stallion -- fresh out of the poem by Alfred Noyes. After the highwayman is seen at several other improbable murders, the PCU has to use all of the resources at hand to catch the killer, which its members hope will keep the unit afloat.
While this is a rather fun mystery which keeps the reader guessing until the end, it's also a bit of a commentary on the nature of crime, criminals and the current state of police forces everywhere. The writing is, as usual, quite good, the quirky characterizations are excellent, and the plot is improbable (but yet compelling) enough to keep readers trying to guess the outcome.
Definitely a book for mystery readers who enjoy a bit of zaniness and improbability along with a well-plotted central mystery. If you're a hard-core mystery reader, this may seem a bit silly, but it is most definitely worth the time it takes to read. But do not start with this one if you're considering this series...the books should definitely be read in order because of the character development and because of events which are referred to that occurred in the PCU's past. Overall -- a fun read and an awesome series.
While this is a rather fun mystery which keeps the reader guessing until the end, it's also a bit of a commentary on the nature of crime, criminals and the current state of police forces everywhere. The writing is, as usual, quite good, the quirky characterizations are excellent, and the plot is improbable (but yet compelling) enough to keep readers trying to guess the outcome.
Definitely a book for mystery readers who enjoy a bit of zaniness and improbability along with a well-plotted central mystery. If you're a hard-core mystery reader, this may seem a bit silly, but it is most definitely worth the time it takes to read. But do not start with this one if you're considering this series...the books should definitely be read in order because of the character development and because of events which are referred to that occurred in the PCU's past. Overall -- a fun read and an awesome series.
July 4, 2009
This is my first Bryant & May mystery, but it won't be my last. So funny.
The Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) is assigned to the case of a woman who was dunked into a vat of formaldehyde filled with floating fetuses. This was her provocative art piece, and provoke it did. The PCU is in danger of being closed down, but if they can solve this case, they can stave off closure. Their only witness, a young boy who was at the museum on a school trip, describes the killer as a 19th century highwayman on a horse. Which makes no sense.
But the highwayman keeps striking minor celebrities throughout a section of London . This patch of London has history that goes back to the Knights Templar, and was where they brought back a jar of Chirst's blood from the holy land.
There is nothing to do but enlist the powers of logic, white witches, cat burglers, police sergeants with a fetish for dressing like 1950s pinups, hackers, and every other loony they can find to stop the highwayman before he can kill again.
I did find some of the social commentary overly pessimistic, but it worked well with the plot.
Bryant & May are both well beyond the normal age for retirement, and are dedicated eccentrics. Bryant is haunted by his past over-reliance on mystics and mumbo jumbo. And toothbrushes. May is haunted by the loss of his daughter, used as bait to capture a vampire (as described by the press). Both have to get beyond their pasts and solve the case before it's too late.
The Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) is assigned to the case of a woman who was dunked into a vat of formaldehyde filled with floating fetuses. This was her provocative art piece, and provoke it did. The PCU is in danger of being closed down, but if they can solve this case, they can stave off closure. Their only witness, a young boy who was at the museum on a school trip, describes the killer as a 19th century highwayman on a horse. Which makes no sense.
But the highwayman keeps striking minor celebrities throughout a section of London . This patch of London has history that goes back to the Knights Templar, and was where they brought back a jar of Chirst's blood from the holy land.
There is nothing to do but enlist the powers of logic, white witches, cat burglers, police sergeants with a fetish for dressing like 1950s pinups, hackers, and every other loony they can find to stop the highwayman before he can kill again.
I did find some of the social commentary overly pessimistic, but it worked well with the plot.
Bryant & May are both well beyond the normal age for retirement, and are dedicated eccentrics. Bryant is haunted by his past over-reliance on mystics and mumbo jumbo. And toothbrushes. May is haunted by the loss of his daughter, used as bait to capture a vampire (as described by the press). Both have to get beyond their pasts and solve the case before it's too late.
September 21, 2014
Their superiors at the Met have been trying to close down the Peculiar Crimes Unit for years. Arthur Bryant and John May are retirement age, but show no signs of wanting to leave the job. When Bryant gives a talk to a group of rich prep school boys, it goes horribly wrong, and he wonders if he will ever understand young people.
When an artist is found drowned in her own installation, one of the only witnesses is Luke Tripp, one of the boys from the private school. He describes a tall figure dressed in black leather, wearing a mask and a tricorn hat, riding a horse. Impossible! No one else saw a black clad figure, and there was no way a horse could enter the gallery.
Over the next few days there are more murders where the mysterious person, dubbed “The Highwayman” by the media, has appeared. Is he choosing his victims at random—and why?
Bryant and May uncover the world of historic criminals, while trying to keep the Peculiar Crimes Unit alive. One of my favorite series!
When an artist is found drowned in her own installation, one of the only witnesses is Luke Tripp, one of the boys from the private school. He describes a tall figure dressed in black leather, wearing a mask and a tricorn hat, riding a horse. Impossible! No one else saw a black clad figure, and there was no way a horse could enter the gallery.
Over the next few days there are more murders where the mysterious person, dubbed “The Highwayman” by the media, has appeared. Is he choosing his victims at random—and why?
Bryant and May uncover the world of historic criminals, while trying to keep the Peculiar Crimes Unit alive. One of my favorite series!
November 4, 2015
I debated between 3-stars and 4-stars. There was so much I liked about the history and the language. I appreciate an author who assumes that his readers are literate, or at least own a dictionary. I enjoy the history snippets. The dust man anecdote on page 307 must be universal because I remember it from my childhood but his name was Louie instead of Charles.
There were only two occurrences of one of the author's favorite words, internecine. We had high hopes for the rise of suppurating but there were only two incidents. Other hi-lights were hammam and sussurance.
Unfortunately, there were too many clues to the perpetrator's identity. The most blatant one was on page 399 (with 65 pages to go) followed by several characters virtually shouting "Hey, just in case you didn't get it..."
There were only two occurrences of one of the author's favorite words, internecine. We had high hopes for the rise of suppurating but there were only two incidents. Other hi-lights were hammam and sussurance.
Unfortunately, there were too many clues to the perpetrator's identity. The most blatant one was on page 399 (with 65 pages to go) followed by several characters virtually shouting "Hey, just in case you didn't get it..."
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