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Bryant & May: Peculiar Crimes Unit #18.5
Bryant & May: Peculiar London
Thinking of a jaunt to England? Let Arthur Bryant and John May, London's oldest police detectives, show you the oddities behind the façades of the city in this tongue-in-cheek travel guide.
It's getting late. I want to share my knowledge of London with you, if I can remember any of it.
So says Mr. Arthur Bryant. He and John May are the nation's oldest serving detectives. Who better to reveal its secrets? Why does this rainy, cold, gray city capture so many imaginations? Could its very unreliability hold the key to its longevity?
The detectives are joined by their boss, Raymond Land, and some of their most disreputable friends, each an argumentative and unreliable expert in their own dodgy field.
Each character gives us a short tour of odd buildings, odder characters, lost venues, forgotten disasters, confusing routes, dubious gossip, illicit pleasures, and hidden pubs. They make all sorts of connections and show us why it's almost impossible to separate fact from fiction in London.
It's getting late. I want to share my knowledge of London with you, if I can remember any of it.
So says Mr. Arthur Bryant. He and John May are the nation's oldest serving detectives. Who better to reveal its secrets? Why does this rainy, cold, gray city capture so many imaginations? Could its very unreliability hold the key to its longevity?
The detectives are joined by their boss, Raymond Land, and some of their most disreputable friends, each an argumentative and unreliable expert in their own dodgy field.
Each character gives us a short tour of odd buildings, odder characters, lost venues, forgotten disasters, confusing routes, dubious gossip, illicit pleasures, and hidden pubs. They make all sorts of connections and show us why it's almost impossible to separate fact from fiction in London.
484 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 6, 2022
114 people are currently reading
2604 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Fowler
264 books1,284 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 90 reviews
July 22, 2024
I've started listening to the audiobook version downloaded from Hoopla courtesy of the library. The narrator is Tim Goodman who narrated the entire series with aplomb. The way I understand it, this book is an exploration of all the locations throughout London that were included in the stories. A sort of ersatz travel guide.
From the introduction: "For me there is always a gap between what you read about a city and what you feel when you walk around it. I shall attempt to bridge that gap. I've assembled these observations with the help of my partner here Mr. John May who took out some of the stuff that didn't exist and removed the more libelous remarks so that I wouldn't get attacked in public again."
John May says of Arthur Bryant: "My partner is quite capable of losing days at a time in damp old libraries and book shops. He once went missing in the British Library for a fortnight. We left trays of sardine and tomato sandwiches in the Medieval Manuscripts section until we managed to lure him out."
All about tea: "The Twinings tea museum should be a place of pilgrimage." Arthur Bryant describes it as "the world's oldest tea shop, a narrow canister lined hall with a mixture tea museum, actually a few cupboards, at the end. The exhibits include a wooden box with the gold painted initials T.I.P., meaning To Improve Promptness. If you wanted your beverage a bit faster you would drop a few pence in, hence the word tip."
"Tea was mother's calming drink and the workman's break, builder's tea always comes in a mug, flavored teas allowed supermarkets to sell dinky silken pouches to the middle classes, but teabags are inherently common. Loose tea has a richer flavor, puts hair on your chest, and makes grounds for which you need a teapot and somewhere to empty it."
"Tea refreshes and calms and is relatively good for you but has a bourgeois image. We all drink buckets of the stuff. How you respond to an offer for tea is often a signifier of who you are."
"Tea is also a fantastic device for setting up scenes in books, now that people no longer tap out cigarettes and offer them around, but smoke furtively alone out of toilet windows."
"Tea traditions are indicators of social class that's why tea shops have an image problem, who should they appeal to? Coffee is more socially fluid but in the UK tea remains the Queen of all beverages."
Random fact I learned while reading: the famous cook Fanny Craddock's "real name was Phyllis Nan Primrose Sortain Pechey." It was fascinating to hear how they created their TV personas for the first TV cooking show. Fanny and Johnnie "with fake French accents they performed as a drunken hen pecked husband and domineering wife, roles they took to like ducks to an oven." They dropped the accents and became hugely popular with the British public, and Fanny Craddock became a household name.
From the introduction: "For me there is always a gap between what you read about a city and what you feel when you walk around it. I shall attempt to bridge that gap. I've assembled these observations with the help of my partner here Mr. John May who took out some of the stuff that didn't exist and removed the more libelous remarks so that I wouldn't get attacked in public again."
John May says of Arthur Bryant: "My partner is quite capable of losing days at a time in damp old libraries and book shops. He once went missing in the British Library for a fortnight. We left trays of sardine and tomato sandwiches in the Medieval Manuscripts section until we managed to lure him out."
All about tea: "The Twinings tea museum should be a place of pilgrimage." Arthur Bryant describes it as "the world's oldest tea shop, a narrow canister lined hall with a mixture tea museum, actually a few cupboards, at the end. The exhibits include a wooden box with the gold painted initials T.I.P., meaning To Improve Promptness. If you wanted your beverage a bit faster you would drop a few pence in, hence the word tip."
"Tea was mother's calming drink and the workman's break, builder's tea always comes in a mug, flavored teas allowed supermarkets to sell dinky silken pouches to the middle classes, but teabags are inherently common. Loose tea has a richer flavor, puts hair on your chest, and makes grounds for which you need a teapot and somewhere to empty it."
"Tea refreshes and calms and is relatively good for you but has a bourgeois image. We all drink buckets of the stuff. How you respond to an offer for tea is often a signifier of who you are."
"Tea is also a fantastic device for setting up scenes in books, now that people no longer tap out cigarettes and offer them around, but smoke furtively alone out of toilet windows."
"Tea traditions are indicators of social class that's why tea shops have an image problem, who should they appeal to? Coffee is more socially fluid but in the UK tea remains the Queen of all beverages."
Random fact I learned while reading: the famous cook Fanny Craddock's "real name was Phyllis Nan Primrose Sortain Pechey." It was fascinating to hear how they created their TV personas for the first TV cooking show. Fanny and Johnnie "with fake French accents they performed as a drunken hen pecked husband and domineering wife, roles they took to like ducks to an oven." They dropped the accents and became hugely popular with the British public, and Fanny Craddock became a household name.
August 21, 2022
This is a fun addition to the BRYANT & MAY charming series. Rather than one procedural, the reader is offered a "walking" tour of London with Bryant & May as our tour guides. They reveal the unknown London. We learn some of London's history, its architecture, the more recent of which May can be funnily snarky about---past crimes, oddities, and the usual acerbic with of the team. This would make a good book for the nightstand. You can pick it up and enjoy the short rambles like an after-dinner cognac.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.
November 29, 2022
I read a free review copy, provided by the publisher in digital form via Netgalley.
I was feeling down about the probable ending of the Bryant & May series, when along came this collection of stories. One of the best feature of the series has always been its celebration of London’s lesser-known sites, in all their peculiar histories. The setup here is that Arthur Bryant has left dozens of audiotapes about London, with additional crosstalk between him and his partner, John May, and some other colleagues. My only—and slight—quibble with the book is that it often doesn’t capture Arthur May’s “voice” the way the mystery books do.
Each short story takes the form of Arthur Bryant giving a walking tour of a particular part of London and describing some of its oddities and interesting past events. He can go off onto odd tangents, but it’s always entertaining. You’ll learn such things as why Dutch ships aren’t required to pay any fees when they dock in London and load or unload goods; your brain will spin at the dizzying name changes of tube stations; you will wonder why anyone would want to join the Wig Club, considering it required members to put on a lice-ridden wig ostensibly made from the pubic hair of various royal mistresses.
For lovers of London and tourism, this is an entertaining collection. If only all of the Bryant & May series’s London information could be published in map form! It occurs to me that since this is being published in early December, it would make a great gift for anyone with a curious mind who is planning a trip to London.
I was feeling down about the probable ending of the Bryant & May series, when along came this collection of stories. One of the best feature of the series has always been its celebration of London’s lesser-known sites, in all their peculiar histories. The setup here is that Arthur Bryant has left dozens of audiotapes about London, with additional crosstalk between him and his partner, John May, and some other colleagues. My only—and slight—quibble with the book is that it often doesn’t capture Arthur May’s “voice” the way the mystery books do.
Each short story takes the form of Arthur Bryant giving a walking tour of a particular part of London and describing some of its oddities and interesting past events. He can go off onto odd tangents, but it’s always entertaining. You’ll learn such things as why Dutch ships aren’t required to pay any fees when they dock in London and load or unload goods; your brain will spin at the dizzying name changes of tube stations; you will wonder why anyone would want to join the Wig Club, considering it required members to put on a lice-ridden wig ostensibly made from the pubic hair of various royal mistresses.
For lovers of London and tourism, this is an entertaining collection. If only all of the Bryant & May series’s London information could be published in map form! It occurs to me that since this is being published in early December, it would make a great gift for anyone with a curious mind who is planning a trip to London.
July 17, 2022
You know all those weird stories about London you all loved so much in the Bryant and May books? Well, this is a whole book like this and it’s fascinating and funny. I’ve lived in London my whole life and I learned so much from this book - really made me look at London in such a different way
April 4, 2023
Christopher Fowler was one of the most creative and brilliant writers,and his Bryant and May series were a joy to read.
This book, sadly his last,is a chaotic, wonderful,erudite,absolutely stunning love letter to London.
If you love this unique city, please read this.
If you don´t,please read this,and you will.
Thanks Mr. Fowler. We´ll miss you.
This book, sadly his last,is a chaotic, wonderful,erudite,absolutely stunning love letter to London.
If you love this unique city, please read this.
If you don´t,please read this,and you will.
Thanks Mr. Fowler. We´ll miss you.
July 22, 2022
This book is every bit as entertaining as the Bryant and May PCU stories. There is the same snarky exchanges between the two detectives, plus a roll call of Arthur Bryant's contacts, many of whom have rather strange backgrounds, and even criminal records. Between them, plus other members of the Unit, tales of London's buildings, history, oddities and constant changes are revealed in the haphazard way that Arthur has made his own. Revelations abound, with "academic" and personal commentary provided by the guest contributors. I am totally unfitted to comment on the exact accuracy of the information, although a list of books referred to at the end looks reliable enough.
Sadly, Raymondo arrives late, and the information he had prepared gets sidelined by Arthur,and so is missing from this grand tour of the city.
Mr Fowler should be complimented on his skilful handling of Arthur Bryant's recollections, and keeping Arthur to the actual subject of the book, something that the rest of the PCU seem to find impossible.
Five stars.
Sadly, Raymondo arrives late, and the information he had prepared gets sidelined by Arthur,and so is missing from this grand tour of the city.
Mr Fowler should be complimented on his skilful handling of Arthur Bryant's recollections, and keeping Arthur to the actual subject of the book, something that the rest of the PCU seem to find impossible.
Five stars.
December 12, 2022
Fowler clearly did a huge amount of research as background for his Peculiar Crimes Unit mysteries. Now that the series is done, much of what he discovered had nowhere else to go, I'm guessing. So we get a list of little-known London historical facts, grouped loosely by topic, and "introduced" by the characters from the novels.
Neither fish nor fowl, it was a letdown.
Neither fish nor fowl, it was a letdown.
February 15, 2023
So here we are. Twenty years after debut Bryant & May adventure Full Dark House from Christopher Fowler and we’re now at the end of the line for the London-centric locked-room mysteries (in one case a locked-garden). It feels fitting then that this final instalment ‘Peculiar London’ serves as an epilogue to 2021s London Bridge is Falling Down and is less about cracking crime and more a lesson in history.
Fowler delivers essentially a history book about London but told from the point of view of ageing detective Arthur Bryant and his partner-in-solving-crime, John May. Even for someone like myself (not a big non-fiction reader) this is a fascinating read and kept my interest at a steady peak throughout. More so that the information being discussed comes from not only the two main detectives but also the recurring cast we’ve known and loved for so long.
There’s a huge amount of information at hand here and the subject matter chops and changes – much as you’d expect from Bryant (who barely knows what he’ll find in his coat pockets day-to-day). Its 49 chapters touch on hundreds of little-known facts that I’m pretty sure even the most hardcore Londoners would be hard pushed to know about. Pubs, theatres, the river that runs through it – with stories you’ll probably be googling just to verify the truth. From an early incarnation of ‘Ask Jeeves’ to cancel culture in the form of Fanny Craddock, there’s titbits about everything and for everyone here. And all from the brilliant mind of Mr Bryant. Or should I say Mr Fowler – as this is clearly his passion project and he knows a LOT about old London Town’s history.
This is a Bryant & May mystery without the mystery, except for London itself. In the last book (spoiler ahead) Arthur Bryant shuffled off this mortal coil so I’d like to believe this is his life flashing before his eyes and seeing all his old colleagues one last time.
There’s no question that this book gets all the stars. But also Mr Fowler, thank you for shaping my reading life. A journey that began almost 30 years ago with ‘Spanky’ and continued with countless novels and short story collections. I look forward to diving into ‘Word Monkey’ in the Autumn.
Fowler delivers essentially a history book about London but told from the point of view of ageing detective Arthur Bryant and his partner-in-solving-crime, John May. Even for someone like myself (not a big non-fiction reader) this is a fascinating read and kept my interest at a steady peak throughout. More so that the information being discussed comes from not only the two main detectives but also the recurring cast we’ve known and loved for so long.
There’s a huge amount of information at hand here and the subject matter chops and changes – much as you’d expect from Bryant (who barely knows what he’ll find in his coat pockets day-to-day). Its 49 chapters touch on hundreds of little-known facts that I’m pretty sure even the most hardcore Londoners would be hard pushed to know about. Pubs, theatres, the river that runs through it – with stories you’ll probably be googling just to verify the truth. From an early incarnation of ‘Ask Jeeves’ to cancel culture in the form of Fanny Craddock, there’s titbits about everything and for everyone here. And all from the brilliant mind of Mr Bryant. Or should I say Mr Fowler – as this is clearly his passion project and he knows a LOT about old London Town’s history.
This is a Bryant & May mystery without the mystery, except for London itself. In the last book (spoiler ahead) Arthur Bryant shuffled off this mortal coil so I’d like to believe this is his life flashing before his eyes and seeing all his old colleagues one last time.
There’s no question that this book gets all the stars. But also Mr Fowler, thank you for shaping my reading life. A journey that began almost 30 years ago with ‘Spanky’ and continued with countless novels and short story collections. I look forward to diving into ‘Word Monkey’ in the Autumn.
December 24, 2022
I have read several of the Bryant and May books and have always thoroughly enjoyed them. This book is a different type of book from their others in that there is no real story, per se, but instead a bunch of informational stories that are like background historical stories of places in London. I did enjoy some of the stories but missed there being some formal type of story that held the information together and found myself wanting to skim through it. I am not a fan of short stories and so maybe that is part of the reason it wasn’t for me. However there are several glowing reviews, so if the synopsis sounds interesting, give it a try! Happy reading!
December 17, 2022
Back in 2004, British author Christopher Fowler kicked off his highly-successful and long-running Peculiar Crimes series with the novel FULL DARK HOUSE. That novel introduced readers to a team of UK Detectives tasked with solving the most bizarre cases in and around London.
We were also introduced to the now legendary Detectives Arthur Bryant and John May. During this eighteen-year run, you would think that Fowler would have tapped out all of the possible peculiar crimes in London. Thankfully, that is far from the case and this is made clearly evident with the latest release from Fowler entitled BRYANT & MAY: PECULIAR LONDON.
The only thing that is a bit melancholy about this novel is the fact that Bryant & May are now the nation’s oldest serving detectives, possibly indicative that the end of the line may be near for them. However, before they are put out to pasture, Christopher Fowler has decided to compose a uniquely crafted novel which find Bryant, May, and the rest of the Peculiar Crimes squad exploring the dozens and dozens of ‘peculiar’ things in and around London. Hopefully, some of these stories will provide the impetus for more adventures for the Peculiar Crimes Squad.
Every chapter tells the tale of another odd or interesting event, many of which have become historic and the stuff of legend. There is much to savor in this extremely interesting novel and I will focus on some of the highlights found within. To begin with, London is a centuries old city and Arthur Bryant has long kept memoirs about the more bizarre things that fill this city which has so shaped its’ many residents.
“A Bent Stick & Other Stories” is a historical look at the area and particularly the legendary theatre within London. We learn about Samuel French, now a famed theatrical publishing house, and his Covent Garden publishing house that ruled the mid 1800’s. This tale will eventually lead to discussion of the Whitechapel area, home of the infamous Jack the Ripper, and how this area was an artery for the West End and London Theatre district.
“A Town Named After a Drain & Other Stories” plays into Arthur Bryant’s reference that the area of Shoreditch was also linked to the Devil himself, and for good reason. It’s a town literally named after a sewer, and its’ reputation is not much better than that imagery. While it may be the home of London’s first theatre it also contains coffin-less graves that filled a large part of the area with a feeling of dread and pestilence which eventually gave birth to much evil legend.
“Sixty-One Nails and Other Stories” focused on the many obscure rituals that may have taken place in London --- many of which were of a deadly and haunting nature. There was purported to be a gift given of six horseshoes and sixty-one nails used as payment for the use of a forge. It is an odd ceremony still performed each October. There is also reference in this chapter that fans will recall as the title of a prior Bryant & May adventure --- that of the Oranges & Lemons Service that involves a druidical gathering in the name of parish children.
A tongue and cheek entry entitled “Post Office Pranks & Other Stories”. The pranks might be humorous, but there is also reference to more diabolical and legendary evil tales like that of Bleed Heart Yard and the iconic Tower Ravens. Debunking myths has long been a past-time of Bryant & May and this chapter outlines many of those infamous myths that hold their interest.
There is far too much material in this lengthy novel of short, highly insightful chapters to go into in a mere book review. BRYANT & MAY: PECULIAR LONDON is a book to be relished and enjoyed, not only by fans of this unique crime series but for any reader who enjoys the real history and back-story legends that drive some of the great crime and mystery fiction that utilizes London as a central character. I only hope this is not the last we hear from the great Bryant & May.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
We were also introduced to the now legendary Detectives Arthur Bryant and John May. During this eighteen-year run, you would think that Fowler would have tapped out all of the possible peculiar crimes in London. Thankfully, that is far from the case and this is made clearly evident with the latest release from Fowler entitled BRYANT & MAY: PECULIAR LONDON.
The only thing that is a bit melancholy about this novel is the fact that Bryant & May are now the nation’s oldest serving detectives, possibly indicative that the end of the line may be near for them. However, before they are put out to pasture, Christopher Fowler has decided to compose a uniquely crafted novel which find Bryant, May, and the rest of the Peculiar Crimes squad exploring the dozens and dozens of ‘peculiar’ things in and around London. Hopefully, some of these stories will provide the impetus for more adventures for the Peculiar Crimes Squad.
Every chapter tells the tale of another odd or interesting event, many of which have become historic and the stuff of legend. There is much to savor in this extremely interesting novel and I will focus on some of the highlights found within. To begin with, London is a centuries old city and Arthur Bryant has long kept memoirs about the more bizarre things that fill this city which has so shaped its’ many residents.
“A Bent Stick & Other Stories” is a historical look at the area and particularly the legendary theatre within London. We learn about Samuel French, now a famed theatrical publishing house, and his Covent Garden publishing house that ruled the mid 1800’s. This tale will eventually lead to discussion of the Whitechapel area, home of the infamous Jack the Ripper, and how this area was an artery for the West End and London Theatre district.
“A Town Named After a Drain & Other Stories” plays into Arthur Bryant’s reference that the area of Shoreditch was also linked to the Devil himself, and for good reason. It’s a town literally named after a sewer, and its’ reputation is not much better than that imagery. While it may be the home of London’s first theatre it also contains coffin-less graves that filled a large part of the area with a feeling of dread and pestilence which eventually gave birth to much evil legend.
“Sixty-One Nails and Other Stories” focused on the many obscure rituals that may have taken place in London --- many of which were of a deadly and haunting nature. There was purported to be a gift given of six horseshoes and sixty-one nails used as payment for the use of a forge. It is an odd ceremony still performed each October. There is also reference in this chapter that fans will recall as the title of a prior Bryant & May adventure --- that of the Oranges & Lemons Service that involves a druidical gathering in the name of parish children.
A tongue and cheek entry entitled “Post Office Pranks & Other Stories”. The pranks might be humorous, but there is also reference to more diabolical and legendary evil tales like that of Bleed Heart Yard and the iconic Tower Ravens. Debunking myths has long been a past-time of Bryant & May and this chapter outlines many of those infamous myths that hold their interest.
There is far too much material in this lengthy novel of short, highly insightful chapters to go into in a mere book review. BRYANT & MAY: PECULIAR LONDON is a book to be relished and enjoyed, not only by fans of this unique crime series but for any reader who enjoys the real history and back-story legends that drive some of the great crime and mystery fiction that utilizes London as a central character. I only hope this is not the last we hear from the great Bryant & May.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
November 2, 2022
This book was not only funny but when it could be understood it was also educational. From the famous and not so famous rocks around London to the name changes a train station and so much more. There’s even confusion about London‘s origin story I found the conversations between Brian and John to be so hilarious and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the two of them there’s even a chapter on the different clocks in London and I learned that big Ben isn’t the biggest one. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope Chris Fowler does another book about other places in England he really has a talent for comedy and one dispersing something that could come out academic that’s very important I highly recommend this book. If you love history, crimes in total laughter you love this book. I was so excited to learn that these two characters South Crime and there’s books about it it’s like Christmas at the beginning of November. I highly recommend this book and totally loved it I received it from NetGalley and publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
January 18, 2023
Somehow this got put aside when I had only just started it. Never mind it has emerged now. Enjoyed all the stories, many of which I had never heard before and all of which were good. It was amazing to read story after story which Chris had never mentioned and one can only wonder how many more tales didn't make it into this volume. There is a tendency for the voice telling the tales to be that of Chris, rather than the fictional character supposedly telling it, but are we going to complain? Not on your life! It was just a pleasure to stroll down the avenue with Arthur or Janice murmuring yet another snippet from London's past and wondering if Coatsleeve Charlie or some other character of ill repute would slip out of an alleyway to add detail to the otherwise bald and unadorned narration.
March 21, 2023
So much fun to read this as it is an unusual look at London with lots of descriptions so you can look ip the places and see them for yourself. I haven’t read the series, but this works well as a standalone.
August 14, 2024
The late Christopher Fowler loved London. This is easy to see in his wildly wonderful Bryant & May series, featuring two elderly police detectives who use quite different methods in investigating unusual incidents in the city that the regular police force doesn’t want to come anywhere near, and it is evident in this, I believe his final, book. This is not a novel, but rather is a compendium of some of the oddities of London, as told by Arthur Bryant (what bizarre incidents!) and John May (more measured tales), with additions from many of the numerous secondary characters from the Bryant & May series. These tidbits of history, culture, archeology and social changes are told in short chapters, and the reader must assume that they are all factual, if perhaps embellished a tiny bit. There is a list of “recommended London reading” at the end, which in true Bryant style lists the bibliography in alphabetical order, starting with the first letter of the first word of the title (except for the occasional “the” preceding the alphabetized word). I am sad that there will be no more Bryant & May stories, but happy to have this volume to dip into; it will remind me of these characters and of Mr. Fowler and his love for his city. Highly recommended.
October 7, 2022
Fowler has a created a fun series that includes this story. This is my first by this author. and I plan to circle back to the beginning of the series. Good stuff.
I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!
I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!
December 7, 2022
So this came out a month after I was in London?? I like the Bryant and May books which are studded with - and frequently hinge on - London history and arcana but a whole meandering book of it doesn’t really work. A lot of interesting tid bits but better organization (chronological, geographical) would have helped. Best read in short bites.
December 13, 2022
It was heartbreaking to read Christopher Fowler’s previous Bryant and May story. Like so many other readers I have grown quite fond of these gentlemen over the years. In Bryant and May: Peculiar London there is no mystery to be solved. Instead, John May has gathered the recordings and writings of what would have been Bryant’s book devoted to London. Bryant takes you on a tour of the city that you would never find in a typical guide book. It is a look at the literary and theatrical history, the influence of the early Roman settlements, the architecture and, of course, the pubs. No Bryant and May book would be complete without a message from Chief Raymond Land. Raymondo has been a consistent victim of their pranks and his humorous opening message warns you of what is to come. The journey through London is filled with bryantisms, the term coined by his associates to cover all of the times that he incorrectly explained something. Bryant’s ramblings and May’s efforts to keep him on track have always been a part of their charm. It was an absolute delight to be able to spend time with them again. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for providing this book for my review.
November 26, 2022
What a treat this is! While it will be most appreciated (and I expect adored) by fans of the long running series, even those who are not familiar with the characters will be entertained and intrigued by this series of stories told about various places in London. It is best read, I think, as a book to dip in and out of, to follow along on a map, to enjoy in bits and pieces, one at a time. Bryant, May, and other members of the team all have input. Yes, some of it is poppycock (and up to you to figure out what's real, what's not) but it's all delightful. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I learned more about London than I anticipated, didn't miss the mystery at all, and think this would make a great gift. If only there were more Bryant and May in the future......
November 23, 2022
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for an advance copy to this most particularly different guide to one of the most amazing cities in the world.
Every city has a history that the residents are proud of. They are quick to point things out, sell memorabilia and discuss things ad nauseam. Then there is the history that comes out in after a couple of drinks, the history that politicians try to ban or hide behind a bodyguard of lies wearing the costume of patriotism. However between these are the things that neither side never wants to talk about, either through ignorance, shame, frankly who would care. A city like London, built, burned, bombed, even Brexited has a rich history of real, imagined and even imagined made real. Only two men could discuss this city, bare its secrets and hidden places to the world. Arthur Bryant and John May, London's oldest police officers, and members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. Compiled by their chronicler, Christopher Fowler, Bryant & May: Peculiar London is a guide to a City that never stops growing and changing full of mysteries and peculiar places.
Arthur Bryant has been solving cases since the Second World War and he has forgotten more than any ten people combined could forget. John May has been his partner, not as long but long enough to understand Bryant's mind, and its lapses, though remaining a man of his own time, enjoying this century as much as Bryant enjoys the past. Together, well mostly Bryant have decided to share all their years of experience, reading, walkings and pub visits in what both consider the greatest city in the world. Joined by fellow members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit and some of Bryant's best sources and fellow researchers, each with their unique knowledge and skill set, they hope to combine what they know into a unique guide for outsiders and citizens alike. Secret clubs for the different classes and royalty, clubs that exist in store front, below train stations, clubs that don't exist, and places that don't want their existence known. The architecture of the city is discusses from classics, to occult based buildings and formations, the current mess that is the skyline with buildings that should have gotten a better look in planning stations. Lost train stations, lost train lines, docks, taxi diners, the book is both enlightening and entertaining. All told in a style that is a mix of fuddy-duddy, humorous, informative and oddly moving.
The perfect companion book to the long-running series, which has had some recent shake-ups. Fowler is a great writer, one that I have been following for a very long time, more than I care to think about, and has a real skill in capturing the voices of different characters and making them both distinctive and real in what they know and what they love. The book is an encyclopedia of the weird and different places that make up London, what it has become and and what it has lost. The City it made into a living, breathing thing, with a past that it sometimes prefers to omit, and yet secretly proud of, with the tenacity to think that the best is yet to come. The love is quite apparent, for both his characters and the city they are based in.
Great fun. A book that should replace Fodor's or Lonely Planet as the guide to walk around London with. Fans of the Bryant & May series will enjoy this, both for the characters and for the history that is so important to the books stories. However fans of urban fantasy will probably get a lot out of this, especially writers to get an idea of how the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. One could write quite a few books just based on a page or two here. Fans of comic writers Grant Morrison, Alan Moore or the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch will also enjoy.
Every city has a history that the residents are proud of. They are quick to point things out, sell memorabilia and discuss things ad nauseam. Then there is the history that comes out in after a couple of drinks, the history that politicians try to ban or hide behind a bodyguard of lies wearing the costume of patriotism. However between these are the things that neither side never wants to talk about, either through ignorance, shame, frankly who would care. A city like London, built, burned, bombed, even Brexited has a rich history of real, imagined and even imagined made real. Only two men could discuss this city, bare its secrets and hidden places to the world. Arthur Bryant and John May, London's oldest police officers, and members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. Compiled by their chronicler, Christopher Fowler, Bryant & May: Peculiar London is a guide to a City that never stops growing and changing full of mysteries and peculiar places.
Arthur Bryant has been solving cases since the Second World War and he has forgotten more than any ten people combined could forget. John May has been his partner, not as long but long enough to understand Bryant's mind, and its lapses, though remaining a man of his own time, enjoying this century as much as Bryant enjoys the past. Together, well mostly Bryant have decided to share all their years of experience, reading, walkings and pub visits in what both consider the greatest city in the world. Joined by fellow members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit and some of Bryant's best sources and fellow researchers, each with their unique knowledge and skill set, they hope to combine what they know into a unique guide for outsiders and citizens alike. Secret clubs for the different classes and royalty, clubs that exist in store front, below train stations, clubs that don't exist, and places that don't want their existence known. The architecture of the city is discusses from classics, to occult based buildings and formations, the current mess that is the skyline with buildings that should have gotten a better look in planning stations. Lost train stations, lost train lines, docks, taxi diners, the book is both enlightening and entertaining. All told in a style that is a mix of fuddy-duddy, humorous, informative and oddly moving.
The perfect companion book to the long-running series, which has had some recent shake-ups. Fowler is a great writer, one that I have been following for a very long time, more than I care to think about, and has a real skill in capturing the voices of different characters and making them both distinctive and real in what they know and what they love. The book is an encyclopedia of the weird and different places that make up London, what it has become and and what it has lost. The City it made into a living, breathing thing, with a past that it sometimes prefers to omit, and yet secretly proud of, with the tenacity to think that the best is yet to come. The love is quite apparent, for both his characters and the city they are based in.
Great fun. A book that should replace Fodor's or Lonely Planet as the guide to walk around London with. Fans of the Bryant & May series will enjoy this, both for the characters and for the history that is so important to the books stories. However fans of urban fantasy will probably get a lot out of this, especially writers to get an idea of how the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. One could write quite a few books just based on a page or two here. Fans of comic writers Grant Morrison, Alan Moore or the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch will also enjoy.
Read
May 26, 2023It's a bugger that Fowler died before I got hold of this, because I know he read his Goodreads reviews, and this was always likely to be one of my favourite Bryant and May books. No threat that the Peculiar Crimes Unit is going to be closed down, again! No 2D social commentary villains (though admittedly, in recent years I have had to recalibrate what qualifies as plausibility in villains)! In fact, no murder mystery at all - an element which I enjoyed in early entries like The Water Room and Seventy-Seven Clocks, but which had for a while been feeling like it was getting in the way of the good stuff, namely, two old friends and a wealth of London lore. And this time out, the book is just that good stuff - an idiosyncratic guidebook to this maddening, fabulous city, assembled by May from Bryant's notes*.
Obviously I still have my quibbles, because I'm me. Most glaring is that there's too little May; he's mostly reduced to playing the straight man, or popping up to defend a bit of modern architecture when Fowler doesn't want to let Bryant have it all his own way (though it made me happy that even Bryant can't deny the glory of the reworked Blackfriars), losing some of the joy that came from the pair of them bouncing off each other. Other characters who pop up for guest spots can sometimes lose their distinctiveness, their voices blurring into Bryant's. Or maybe even Fowler's - would someone as crusty as Bryant really use CE, rather than AD, or ever describe anything as 'iconic'? And let's not even get started on the appearances of 'ledge'.
Then we get into the chapters that have the wrong titles, or plain differences of opinion (is Ally Pally really so melancholy? Also, I've never found the Highbury Corner Wetherspoon's remotely stabby, and there are plenty of reasons to visit that area. albeit obviously one fewer than there used to be), and even occasional outright errors of fact (since when did New Romanticism begin at the Fridge?). But here, the book has a built-in excuse, in that Bryant has always been a thoroughly unreliable narrator, a man who contradicts himself on a generational scale, hares off on inexplicable tangents, develops grudges and gets curry sauce on his notes. And isn't that exactly the guide a hodgepodge of a place like London needs? Even as someone who's read plenty of books about London oddities, and stumbled over a fair few things in here myself, there's so much here I didn't know: strange pubs, streets with hidden histories, remnants of London's many lost treasures. It's a book that, even having read (from Barbican Library, appropriately - score one to John May), I'll totally grab as an ebook if I see it cheap, just to have with me always for little details of a place where "What you see isn't what's there. And what's not there is what you feel." That's even aside from also being a fitting coda to a series where, for all my complaints, I still wolfed down all 20 instalments. Goodbye, chaps.
*Yes, obviously Bryant's death in the previous book, followed so soon by Fowler's, has me thinking Grant Morrison thoughts about the risks of a creator pouring so much of themselves into a character who was on his last legs from his first appearance.
Obviously I still have my quibbles, because I'm me. Most glaring is that there's too little May; he's mostly reduced to playing the straight man, or popping up to defend a bit of modern architecture when Fowler doesn't want to let Bryant have it all his own way (though it made me happy that even Bryant can't deny the glory of the reworked Blackfriars), losing some of the joy that came from the pair of them bouncing off each other. Other characters who pop up for guest spots can sometimes lose their distinctiveness, their voices blurring into Bryant's. Or maybe even Fowler's - would someone as crusty as Bryant really use CE, rather than AD, or ever describe anything as 'iconic'? And let's not even get started on the appearances of 'ledge'.
Then we get into the chapters that have the wrong titles, or plain differences of opinion (is Ally Pally really so melancholy? Also, I've never found the Highbury Corner Wetherspoon's remotely stabby, and there are plenty of reasons to visit that area. albeit obviously one fewer than there used to be), and even occasional outright errors of fact (since when did New Romanticism begin at the Fridge?). But here, the book has a built-in excuse, in that Bryant has always been a thoroughly unreliable narrator, a man who contradicts himself on a generational scale, hares off on inexplicable tangents, develops grudges and gets curry sauce on his notes. And isn't that exactly the guide a hodgepodge of a place like London needs? Even as someone who's read plenty of books about London oddities, and stumbled over a fair few things in here myself, there's so much here I didn't know: strange pubs, streets with hidden histories, remnants of London's many lost treasures. It's a book that, even having read (from Barbican Library, appropriately - score one to John May), I'll totally grab as an ebook if I see it cheap, just to have with me always for little details of a place where "What you see isn't what's there. And what's not there is what you feel." That's even aside from also being a fitting coda to a series where, for all my complaints, I still wolfed down all 20 instalments. Goodbye, chaps.
*Yes, obviously Bryant's death in the previous book, followed so soon by Fowler's, has me thinking Grant Morrison thoughts about the risks of a creator pouring so much of themselves into a character who was on his last legs from his first appearance.
December 18, 2022
In 2004, Christopher Fowler kicked off his Peculiar Crimes Unit series with FULL DARK HOUSE, which revolved around a team of UK detectives, led by Arthur Bryant and John May, who were tasked with solving the most bizarre cases in and around London.
Eighteen years later, Fowler has composed a unique novel that finds Bryant, May and the other members of the Peculiar Crimes squad exploring many of London's most fascinating peculiarities. Hopefully, some of these stories will provide the impetus for more adventures.
There is much to savor here, so I will focus on some of the highlights. Bryant has long kept memoirs about the more bizarre things that fill this centuries-old city and has shaped its many residents.
“A Bent Stick & Other Stories” is a nostalgic look at the area, particularly the legendary theater in London. We learn about Samuel French and his Covent Garden publishing house that ruled the mid-1800s. This tale eventually will lead to a discussion of the Whitechapel area, home of the infamous Jack the Ripper, and how it was an artery for the West End and London theater district.
“A Town Named After a Drain & Other Stories” plays into Bryant’s contention that the district of Shoreditch was also linked to the Devil himself, and for good reason. It’s literally named after a sewer, and its reputation is not much better than that imagery. While it may be the home of London’s first theater, it also contains coffin-less graves that filled a large part of the area with a feeling of dread and pestilence.
“Sixty-One Nails & Other Stories” focuses on the obscure rituals that may have taken place in London, many of which were of a deadly and haunting nature. There was purported to be a gift given of six horseshoes and 61 nails that served as payment for the use of a forge. It is an odd ceremony that is still performed each October.
A tongue-in-cheek entry is titled “Post Office Pranks & Other Stories.” The pranks may be humorous, but there is also reference to more diabolical and legendary evil tales, like that of Bleeding Heart Yard and the iconic Tower Ravens. Debunking myths has long been a pastime of Bryant and May, and this section outlines many of those infamous tales that hold their interest.
There is far too much material in this lengthy novel of short, insightful chapters to include in a book review. PECULIAR LONDON is a book to be relished and enjoyed, not only by fans of this quirky crime series but by any reader who appreciates the real history and backstory legends that drive some of the great crime and mystery fiction that utilizes London as a central character. I only hope that this is not the last we hear from the great Bryant and May.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
Eighteen years later, Fowler has composed a unique novel that finds Bryant, May and the other members of the Peculiar Crimes squad exploring many of London's most fascinating peculiarities. Hopefully, some of these stories will provide the impetus for more adventures.
There is much to savor here, so I will focus on some of the highlights. Bryant has long kept memoirs about the more bizarre things that fill this centuries-old city and has shaped its many residents.
“A Bent Stick & Other Stories” is a nostalgic look at the area, particularly the legendary theater in London. We learn about Samuel French and his Covent Garden publishing house that ruled the mid-1800s. This tale eventually will lead to a discussion of the Whitechapel area, home of the infamous Jack the Ripper, and how it was an artery for the West End and London theater district.
“A Town Named After a Drain & Other Stories” plays into Bryant’s contention that the district of Shoreditch was also linked to the Devil himself, and for good reason. It’s literally named after a sewer, and its reputation is not much better than that imagery. While it may be the home of London’s first theater, it also contains coffin-less graves that filled a large part of the area with a feeling of dread and pestilence.
“Sixty-One Nails & Other Stories” focuses on the obscure rituals that may have taken place in London, many of which were of a deadly and haunting nature. There was purported to be a gift given of six horseshoes and 61 nails that served as payment for the use of a forge. It is an odd ceremony that is still performed each October.
A tongue-in-cheek entry is titled “Post Office Pranks & Other Stories.” The pranks may be humorous, but there is also reference to more diabolical and legendary evil tales, like that of Bleeding Heart Yard and the iconic Tower Ravens. Debunking myths has long been a pastime of Bryant and May, and this section outlines many of those infamous tales that hold their interest.
There is far too much material in this lengthy novel of short, insightful chapters to include in a book review. PECULIAR LONDON is a book to be relished and enjoyed, not only by fans of this quirky crime series but by any reader who appreciates the real history and backstory legends that drive some of the great crime and mystery fiction that utilizes London as a central character. I only hope that this is not the last we hear from the great Bryant and May.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
November 13, 2022
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Bryant & May: Peculiar London is an exceedingly fun diversion in the Bryant & May PCU series by Christopher Fowler. Due out 6th Dec 2022 from Penguin Random House on their Bantam imprint, it's 496 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
One of the things (and there are many) which I adore about the PCU series and of course Arthur Bryant himself are the wonderfully random side trips to obscure locations and the bizarre books to which he refers along his travels in London and environs. The books which make up the central parts of the series are generally heavy on plot with only judicious sprinkles of tantalizing tidbits which Bryant pulls out of his dubious overcoat pockets seemingly at random. I've read all the canonical books several times and always found myself wishing for more of the background locations and stories. This is that book. There's very little plot here, it's just full of the mad (and apparently at least mostly true) factoids which make the series books a joy to read.
Five stars. Highly highly recommended for extant fans of the series. For readers unfamiliar with the series, I strongly recommend starting with some of the central titles (the first book is Full Dark House). There are now 18+ books in the series with at least one more planned, so it's a great choice for a long and delightfully bizarre binge read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
Bryant & May: Peculiar London is an exceedingly fun diversion in the Bryant & May PCU series by Christopher Fowler. Due out 6th Dec 2022 from Penguin Random House on their Bantam imprint, it's 496 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
One of the things (and there are many) which I adore about the PCU series and of course Arthur Bryant himself are the wonderfully random side trips to obscure locations and the bizarre books to which he refers along his travels in London and environs. The books which make up the central parts of the series are generally heavy on plot with only judicious sprinkles of tantalizing tidbits which Bryant pulls out of his dubious overcoat pockets seemingly at random. I've read all the canonical books several times and always found myself wishing for more of the background locations and stories. This is that book. There's very little plot here, it's just full of the mad (and apparently at least mostly true) factoids which make the series books a joy to read.
Five stars. Highly highly recommended for extant fans of the series. For readers unfamiliar with the series, I strongly recommend starting with some of the central titles (the first book is Full Dark House). There are now 18+ books in the series with at least one more planned, so it's a great choice for a long and delightfully bizarre binge read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
January 31, 2023
I feel like a damned traitor even thinking this, but one must report one's reactions honestly. This is the first Bryant and May book that I did not like at all. Arthur Bryant, the senior member of the duo comprised of London's two most senior detectives, has a sideline as host of numerous walking tours of London. This is the first book devoted solely to his sideline. As much as I love this duo, however, their appearance here is tedious, cumbersome, and riddled with cliché. Example: Somewhere toward the front of the book, Bryant is quoted as saying, "I want to share my knowledge of London with you. If I can remember any of it." One can almost feel the elbow to the ribs aimed at coaxing raucous laughter from a recalcitrant crowd. But in the Peculiar Crimes mysteries, in which Bryant and May star, other people voice worries about Bryant's memories but he never does. He knows he's absent minded, but the knowledge he needs is always there somewhere, and usually surfaces when he needs it most. Bryant deserves much better treatment than he receives here, This is a great surprise considering that the text comes from the accomplished mind of Christopher Fowler.
I once heard a history teacher say, "History is more than a collection of places and dates. It's the story of people, and the times and the cities they occupied." Well, Peculiar London reduces one of the world's most historic cities to a collection of dates and places, such as what structures stood in specific places, the dates it stood there (and the dates it was demolished), and the places that supplanted them. In the context of an actual mystery, Bryant always has a reason for recalling the esoterica with which he solves cases. In this book, he's rattling off data, a behavior that does the character an injustice. One hopes that Christopher Fowler has some sort of trick up his sleeve so that the legend of Bryant and May receives the worthy treatment it has earned.
I once heard a history teacher say, "History is more than a collection of places and dates. It's the story of people, and the times and the cities they occupied." Well, Peculiar London reduces one of the world's most historic cities to a collection of dates and places, such as what structures stood in specific places, the dates it stood there (and the dates it was demolished), and the places that supplanted them. In the context of an actual mystery, Bryant always has a reason for recalling the esoterica with which he solves cases. In this book, he's rattling off data, a behavior that does the character an injustice. One hopes that Christopher Fowler has some sort of trick up his sleeve so that the legend of Bryant and May receives the worthy treatment it has earned.
October 5, 2022
This is a spin off from the Bryant and May detective stories. Bryant and May are the two senior detectives in London's Peculiar Crimes Unit. The series is wonderful, and Arthur Bryant is the best part. He is a curmudgeon odd duck whose head is filled with random information, including the story of every block in London.
The concept is that this is Bryant's attempt as a book about London. It is stitched together from tapes Bryant made before his death in the last Bryant and May book. The conversational tone is augmented by interruptions from John May, Janice Longbright and the whole collection of Bryant's odd friends.
There is no particular pattern to the book. He starts talking about a neighborhood or a pub and then tells stories about everything near it. Sometimes he starts on themes, London bridges or London parks. Sometimes he invites friend to talk about magic in London or the horror of modern London architecture.
The book in the series always revolved around peculiar London places. In his afterwards Fowler describes this as a "Bryant and May book, only without the murder plot. That is about right.
It does lag sometimes, because there is no plot. It reads at times like a guidebook, until it veers off into odd things. I was fascinated, for instance, about the large museum in the cellar of the Blomberg Headquarters in central London which was built because the building is built over the site of an ancient Roman temple dedicated to Mithras, the Roman god.
There are good bits of miscellaneous information, "There are only twenty-two countries in the world that we (the English) did not invade.", and good one-liners, "the higher the buildings, the lower the morals."
London is a spectacularly complicated city, and this is a nice appreciation of that complexity.
The concept is that this is Bryant's attempt as a book about London. It is stitched together from tapes Bryant made before his death in the last Bryant and May book. The conversational tone is augmented by interruptions from John May, Janice Longbright and the whole collection of Bryant's odd friends.
There is no particular pattern to the book. He starts talking about a neighborhood or a pub and then tells stories about everything near it. Sometimes he starts on themes, London bridges or London parks. Sometimes he invites friend to talk about magic in London or the horror of modern London architecture.
The book in the series always revolved around peculiar London places. In his afterwards Fowler describes this as a "Bryant and May book, only without the murder plot. That is about right.
It does lag sometimes, because there is no plot. It reads at times like a guidebook, until it veers off into odd things. I was fascinated, for instance, about the large museum in the cellar of the Blomberg Headquarters in central London which was built because the building is built over the site of an ancient Roman temple dedicated to Mithras, the Roman god.
There are good bits of miscellaneous information, "There are only twenty-two countries in the world that we (the English) did not invade.", and good one-liners, "the higher the buildings, the lower the morals."
London is a spectacularly complicated city, and this is a nice appreciation of that complexity.
November 12, 2023
This collection is ideal for anyone who loves London or cities in general and is keen to discover the incredible detailed anecdotes and levels of history that Fowler's mind possessed in all its amazing dimensions.
I was stunned to hear of Christopher Fowler's death in March 2023...apparently a few short weeks before his 70th birthday, having withstood the creeping deterioration of cancer since his diagnosis in early 2020. Seemingly ignoring the diagnosis, Fowler just kept on going with whatever energy he had, cranking out the wonderful works in his delightfully irreverent style, with all his efforts going into the creative act over and over again as he fought his own forces of evil.
Only someone as brilliant as Fowler could accomplish this. As yet another weighty and detail packed legacy, this Peculiar London tour will benefit and hugely entertain many. It's hard to grasp that this extensive tome appeared at all as he pushed to get it done when his disease took closer steps. What willpower.
Admittedly, I am not a fan of large cities in general and have found that the too-muchness of New York and London disturbs and overwhelms me. But I can recognise the attraction this would have for others and highly recommend this bible for those...along with what we used to call the detailed ABC book or, for today, access to the Google map software as you meander along with the Peculiar Crimes Unit team and learn all you wish, whenever you wish.
The amazing (now late) Mr Fowler is happy to be your guide via his delightful Bryant and May characters and a few of the secondary cast he has conjured over the years and whom we all adored. He is absolutely THE best and most original guide one could have. God Bless you sir and RIP.
I was stunned to hear of Christopher Fowler's death in March 2023...apparently a few short weeks before his 70th birthday, having withstood the creeping deterioration of cancer since his diagnosis in early 2020. Seemingly ignoring the diagnosis, Fowler just kept on going with whatever energy he had, cranking out the wonderful works in his delightfully irreverent style, with all his efforts going into the creative act over and over again as he fought his own forces of evil.
Only someone as brilliant as Fowler could accomplish this. As yet another weighty and detail packed legacy, this Peculiar London tour will benefit and hugely entertain many. It's hard to grasp that this extensive tome appeared at all as he pushed to get it done when his disease took closer steps. What willpower.
Admittedly, I am not a fan of large cities in general and have found that the too-muchness of New York and London disturbs and overwhelms me. But I can recognise the attraction this would have for others and highly recommend this bible for those...along with what we used to call the detailed ABC book or, for today, access to the Google map software as you meander along with the Peculiar Crimes Unit team and learn all you wish, whenever you wish.
The amazing (now late) Mr Fowler is happy to be your guide via his delightful Bryant and May characters and a few of the secondary cast he has conjured over the years and whom we all adored. He is absolutely THE best and most original guide one could have. God Bless you sir and RIP.
May 22, 2024
I put this off for a while because I knew this was finally the end to one of my favourite series that has been part of my life for almost 20 years and I wasn't ready to give it up, but truthfully, "being ready" is just an illusion. When I originally picked up this series 20ish years ago, I was on holiday. I had finished all my books I had brought with me and my stepdad had just finished The Water Room. We have quite different book tastes, especially then, but I was bored so I gave it a go and I ended up falling it love with the series. It made me realise that "older" people solving crimes is one trope I adore, even before this book as a small child, I would often be found watching Midsomer Murders or Jonathan Creek.
There have been many times that the next one in the series is supposed to be the end, only for another book to happen, to my delight. The PCU always manage to hold on somehow. But this is the end. The final end.
This book is a love letter to London, the true main character of the series. It is a love letter to Bryant in particular, along with people from the PCU and Bryants peculiar "friends" that we've seen throughout the series. It is utterly perfect as a final love letter. I don't want to speak too deeply on the stories or anything within this book, as spoilers galore for the whole series.
Thank you to Christopher Fowler, for this series and giving me a bonding subject with a family member that I struggle with occasionally in this aspect
I have loved every book in this series and I thank you for book after book, even when you could've stopped. I will read "The foot on the crown." and I am sure I will love it. A book I own with your scribble on, is treasured object to me.
May you sleep easy in the beyond if it exists. You are missed. But like you said, books can be forever and therefore, a part of you is aswell, as your works will always be found on my book shelves.
There have been many times that the next one in the series is supposed to be the end, only for another book to happen, to my delight. The PCU always manage to hold on somehow. But this is the end. The final end.
This book is a love letter to London, the true main character of the series. It is a love letter to Bryant in particular, along with people from the PCU and Bryants peculiar "friends" that we've seen throughout the series. It is utterly perfect as a final love letter. I don't want to speak too deeply on the stories or anything within this book, as spoilers galore for the whole series.
Thank you to Christopher Fowler, for this series and giving me a bonding subject with a family member that I struggle with occasionally in this aspect
I have loved every book in this series and I thank you for book after book, even when you could've stopped. I will read "The foot on the crown." and I am sure I will love it. A book I own with your scribble on, is treasured object to me.
May you sleep easy in the beyond if it exists. You are missed. But like you said, books can be forever and therefore, a part of you is aswell, as your works will always be found on my book shelves.
December 2, 2022
This book is a delight, an early Christmas gift and a wonderful escape from the stress of life these days. London is my favorite city and I wish I had had this gem of a guide when I was last there. Not only do we travel all over the city, we do it with Bryant and May. I could list my favorite bits but the list would be the whole book and, if I picked just one I'd be spoiling that bit for somebody. Take it from me, a fan of the series from day one, this is a book you need to make you laugh. It will also make you want to go back and re=read the whole series or, if you are new to the weird and wonderful of Bryant and May, you will want to start.
The joy of this book is it can be picked up and savored in small or large doses, your choice. As I read, I found myself wanting to go off and learn more about this and that and so much more. The mysteries of London are vast and this will serve as a teaser to so much more for the reader to uncover. When I finished it I wanted more. I seem to recall having said that after every Bryant and May book, the mark of a series that deserves a place on my top ten favorites list. Thank you, Christopher Fowler for giving us Bryant and May.
My thanks to the publisher Bantam and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
The joy of this book is it can be picked up and savored in small or large doses, your choice. As I read, I found myself wanting to go off and learn more about this and that and so much more. The mysteries of London are vast and this will serve as a teaser to so much more for the reader to uncover. When I finished it I wanted more. I seem to recall having said that after every Bryant and May book, the mark of a series that deserves a place on my top ten favorites list. Thank you, Christopher Fowler for giving us Bryant and May.
My thanks to the publisher Bantam and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
August 12, 2022
This was an unexpected delight because I thought I had read the last of the Bryant & May books but Christopher Fowler has spoilt us with yet another moment with the characters.
This is not a typical B&M book - there is no crime to be solved - but what we have is an exploration of their London, their peculiar and wonderful London. Christopher Fowler knows his London well and brings us such a richness of stories, as told by his characters, that I had to keep checking they were accurate facts and not some part of Arthur Bryant's imagination! They are indeed facts (well, I trust they are as I didn't check everything!) and this should become a Guide to London - a London we don't normally see when we visit, nor, I expect if we live there. If I lived in London I would follow the trail of crumbs that the Peculiar Crimes Unit has provided and delve into places I didn't imagine existed.
It's a beauty of a book and I laughed so many times - just one example, the reference to a music hall song 'Don't buy any seafood, Mother, Dad's coming home with crabs.' which also appears in the B&M book, The Lonely Hour.
This is not a typical B&M book - there is no crime to be solved - but what we have is an exploration of their London, their peculiar and wonderful London. Christopher Fowler knows his London well and brings us such a richness of stories, as told by his characters, that I had to keep checking they were accurate facts and not some part of Arthur Bryant's imagination! They are indeed facts (well, I trust they are as I didn't check everything!) and this should become a Guide to London - a London we don't normally see when we visit, nor, I expect if we live there. If I lived in London I would follow the trail of crumbs that the Peculiar Crimes Unit has provided and delve into places I didn't imagine existed.
It's a beauty of a book and I laughed so many times - just one example, the reference to a music hall song 'Don't buy any seafood, Mother, Dad's coming home with crabs.' which also appears in the B&M book, The Lonely Hour.
December 24, 2022
One would think that it is impossible to out-peculiar Arthur Bryant and his friends? acquaintances? strays?, but London, in all its glory, manages to do just that, in this travel guide of the arcane. No crimes are solved, but the interplay between Bryant, May, the PCU staff, and all the personalities we've seen throughout the series, along with the wealth of knowledge about London, past and present, make this a thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile read.
It's substantial, almost 500 pages, and chockfull of anecdotes and stories. I expected to like it, but to maybe feel disappointed that it wasn't one of their twisty, turny mysteries. No fear, this is delightful, and every bit as quirky as you'd expect.
The chapters are divided into areas and/or topics, and don't necessarily need to be read in order. This is a book to be savored. You might be able to read it in one sitting, but my advice would be to take your time. Get some tea, get some biscuits, read a little, then check out the references for more information.
Recommended 4.25 out of5 stars.
I received an advance copy from Random House via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
It's substantial, almost 500 pages, and chockfull of anecdotes and stories. I expected to like it, but to maybe feel disappointed that it wasn't one of their twisty, turny mysteries. No fear, this is delightful, and every bit as quirky as you'd expect.
The chapters are divided into areas and/or topics, and don't necessarily need to be read in order. This is a book to be savored. You might be able to read it in one sitting, but my advice would be to take your time. Get some tea, get some biscuits, read a little, then check out the references for more information.
Recommended 4.25 out of5 stars.
I received an advance copy from Random House via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
November 3, 2022
The Bryant and May mysteries are uniquely entertaining. The Peculiar Crimes Unit has kept readers turning the pages ever since Full Dark House was published in 2003.
Here is a long book that is filled with 49 chapters about London. The book is set up as a series of entries that can be read in any order. There are sarcasm, humor and facts in these pages. A few of the chapter headings include A Big Lump of Rock, A Town Named After a Drain; A Sweet and Comfortable Recreation, and The Longest Running Play. Dip in and out in a leisurely fashion.
Readers may themselves need to be mildly eccentric to fully appreciate this title. For example, The Longest Running Play, is about Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. The detectives hardly give it an adoring review.
There is always something to consider in these pages which feature Bryant and May and many who know them. This book is recommended to open minded readers who are not looking for a typical guidebook.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Here is a long book that is filled with 49 chapters about London. The book is set up as a series of entries that can be read in any order. There are sarcasm, humor and facts in these pages. A few of the chapter headings include A Big Lump of Rock, A Town Named After a Drain; A Sweet and Comfortable Recreation, and The Longest Running Play. Dip in and out in a leisurely fashion.
Readers may themselves need to be mildly eccentric to fully appreciate this title. For example, The Longest Running Play, is about Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. The detectives hardly give it an adoring review.
There is always something to consider in these pages which feature Bryant and May and many who know them. This book is recommended to open minded readers who are not looking for a typical guidebook.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
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