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Bryant & May: Peculiar Crimes Unit #2
The Water Room
An oasis in the heart of Kentish Town, Balaklava Street is ripe for gentrification. But then the body of an elderly woman is found at No 5. Her demise seem to have been peaceful but for the fact that her throat is full of river water...
For the Met's Peculiar Crimes Unit, led by London's longest-serving detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, this curious death marks the beginning of a distinctly sinister investigation. And the new owner of Number 5 is understandably unsettled by the damp in the basement of her home, some particularly resilient spiders, and the ghostly sound of rushing water.
Unearthing hitherto undiscovered secrets, the two octogenarian policemen learn that, in a London filled with the rich, the poor, and the dispossessed, there's still something a desperate individual is willing to kill for. And kill again to protect.
Armed only with their wits, their own idiosyncratic practices, and a plentiful supply of boiled sweets, Bryant and May come face to face with madness, greed, and revenge, in a wickedly sinuous mystery that goes to the heart of every London home.
For the Met's Peculiar Crimes Unit, led by London's longest-serving detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, this curious death marks the beginning of a distinctly sinister investigation. And the new owner of Number 5 is understandably unsettled by the damp in the basement of her home, some particularly resilient spiders, and the ghostly sound of rushing water.
Unearthing hitherto undiscovered secrets, the two octogenarian policemen learn that, in a London filled with the rich, the poor, and the dispossessed, there's still something a desperate individual is willing to kill for. And kill again to protect.
Armed only with their wits, their own idiosyncratic practices, and a plentiful supply of boiled sweets, Bryant and May come face to face with madness, greed, and revenge, in a wickedly sinuous mystery that goes to the heart of every London home.
430 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
445 people are currently reading
2238 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 536 reviews
October 9, 2024
Another insane entry in the Peculiar Crime Unit (PCU) series featuring those elderly detectives Bryant and May.
In this adventure they suspect that the strange events surrounding the death of a friend's sister may be murder......when other deaths occur in the same neighborhood, the hunt is on. As usual, the story is intertwined with little known historical facts, in this case the hidden rivers underneath London. The appeal of this and all the books in this series is not "who-dunnit" but the "why-dunnit" and how events are related to seemingly obscure history.
The joy of this book, and this series, is the clever dialogue and eccentric personalities of the PCU detectives......it is almost surreal and you will find yourself laughing out loud. These are unusual stories and extremely enjoyable........don't try to figure out who is guilty since it is incidental to the overall appeal of the book.
In this adventure they suspect that the strange events surrounding the death of a friend's sister may be murder......when other deaths occur in the same neighborhood, the hunt is on. As usual, the story is intertwined with little known historical facts, in this case the hidden rivers underneath London. The appeal of this and all the books in this series is not "who-dunnit" but the "why-dunnit" and how events are related to seemingly obscure history.
The joy of this book, and this series, is the clever dialogue and eccentric personalities of the PCU detectives......it is almost surreal and you will find yourself laughing out loud. These are unusual stories and extremely enjoyable........don't try to figure out who is guilty since it is incidental to the overall appeal of the book.
July 18, 2021
Complex & absorbing with well-drawn characters and dry humor. Great combination!
Quotes that caught my ears on my second reading:
"Bryant did the heavy thinking, May did the heavy lifting."
"If it hadn't been for the war, he'd never have met people from other countries, although, of course he had to kill them. Before 1940 the average English family had traveled less than nine miles from their home. Many got beyond the end of their street."
The following passage is a wonderful example of the social history that Christopher Fowler weaves into the story:
""The houses around here were constructed to provide homes for the Irish laborers who built the railways, and many of them are still lived in by their descendants. The area is split into original working-class inhabitants and new arrivals from the middle classes."
"And how do you tell them apart?" asked Bryant.
"The middle-class couples never have a granny living in the next street. They'd hate to be thought of as economic migrants but that's what they are, nesting in the upcoming neighborhoods, quietly waiting to turn a profit, moaning about the lack of organic shops in the high street.""
Quotes that caught my ears on my second reading:
"Bryant did the heavy thinking, May did the heavy lifting."
"If it hadn't been for the war, he'd never have met people from other countries, although, of course he had to kill them. Before 1940 the average English family had traveled less than nine miles from their home. Many got beyond the end of their street."
The following passage is a wonderful example of the social history that Christopher Fowler weaves into the story:
""The houses around here were constructed to provide homes for the Irish laborers who built the railways, and many of them are still lived in by their descendants. The area is split into original working-class inhabitants and new arrivals from the middle classes."
"And how do you tell them apart?" asked Bryant.
"The middle-class couples never have a granny living in the next street. They'd hate to be thought of as economic migrants but that's what they are, nesting in the upcoming neighborhoods, quietly waiting to turn a profit, moaning about the lack of organic shops in the high street.""
June 18, 2018
4.5 stars. Well this was significantly better than the first in the series. No flashbacks, set in the present, but with loads of really interesting London history. It helps of course that I myself live in a late Victorian terrace house, originally built for railway workers, as were the houses in the story. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Bryant and May and loved the fact they ended the book double dating!
October 6, 2014
This second book of the aptly named Peculiar Crimes Unit series featuring Arthur Bryant and John May involves more odd death in London (truly a character of the novel itself) and more esoteric knowledge about the city and its history than you might want to shake a stick at. Since it happens to rain during most of the novel, shaking a stick wouldn't accomplish much.
Aside from solving this mysterious death---is it a murder?---Bryant and May must also find a way to justify keeping the unit that has been their lives for a half century open and functioning as part of the MET. Water figures prominently throughout this story, as do the forgotten rivers of London, those lost to decades, if not centuries of development. If you are looking for a straight forward police procedural, Fowler's Bryant & May series is likely not completely your cup of tea. If you like a big piece of the arcane tossed in with lots of history specific to the crime, then give it a try. Each book is different, with it's own particular "problem" to unravel.
Early in the novel there is a description of the type of team that occasionally is put together to solve the odd crimes this unit deals with.
'I make that six men and two women, employed to tackle
the cases that no one else in London wants to touch with
a stick. Not much of a team, I know, but we can draw on
outside forces if necessary.'
Longbright knew what that meant: a motley collection of
disbarred academics, crackpot historians, alternative
therapists, necromancers, anarchists, spirit healers,
nightclub doormen, psychics, clairvoyants and street
mountebanks, many of whom consorted with known criminals,
drafted in on a promise of cash in hand. They were unreliable,
expensive and occasionally indispensable. (p 30)
In this installment they contact a witch, various historians, tramps. There is a wonderful description of the history of Brick Lane from the 16th century to the present through the various groups that have inhabited the area.
And later a more general, philosophical discussion of the rivers themselves.
'Honestly, we spend so much time attempting to improve
ourselves...going to the gym, trying to develop more
meaningful relationships with one another, and yet we
dismiss the other associations we need to support our
fragile being.'
'What do you mean?'
'Everyone interacts with their location, Arthur. Where
we live helps set the level of our happiness and comfort.
The English have strongly developed psychological
relationships with the landscape. They travelled so little
that accents changed from one street to the next....These
days, our relationships with views, buildings, places,
objects and strangers are virtually ignored. As a child,
you probably had a place that made you happy....As an
adult, you search for an equivalent to that spot....
.....
When the rivers were covered, we lost something of ourselves.
Dreams of lakes and rivers are dreams of calm. No wonder
lost rivers hold such mystique. We need to believe that
they are still beneath us somewhere, the distant conduits
of a forgotten inner peace.' (pp 238-239)
By now, you may know whether this series is for you or not. I plan to read more (I've read 3 or 4 of the 11 in the series).
P.S. I also recommend Ben Aaronovitch series beginning with the book Midnight Riot, titled Rivers of London (!!) in England. This is a paranormal police procedural with lots of humor, snarky dialogue, irreverence. It is peculiar too but of a very different flavor.
Aside from solving this mysterious death---is it a murder?---Bryant and May must also find a way to justify keeping the unit that has been their lives for a half century open and functioning as part of the MET. Water figures prominently throughout this story, as do the forgotten rivers of London, those lost to decades, if not centuries of development. If you are looking for a straight forward police procedural, Fowler's Bryant & May series is likely not completely your cup of tea. If you like a big piece of the arcane tossed in with lots of history specific to the crime, then give it a try. Each book is different, with it's own particular "problem" to unravel.
Early in the novel there is a description of the type of team that occasionally is put together to solve the odd crimes this unit deals with.
'I make that six men and two women, employed to tackle
the cases that no one else in London wants to touch with
a stick. Not much of a team, I know, but we can draw on
outside forces if necessary.'
Longbright knew what that meant: a motley collection of
disbarred academics, crackpot historians, alternative
therapists, necromancers, anarchists, spirit healers,
nightclub doormen, psychics, clairvoyants and street
mountebanks, many of whom consorted with known criminals,
drafted in on a promise of cash in hand. They were unreliable,
expensive and occasionally indispensable. (p 30)
In this installment they contact a witch, various historians, tramps. There is a wonderful description of the history of Brick Lane from the 16th century to the present through the various groups that have inhabited the area.
And later a more general, philosophical discussion of the rivers themselves.
'Honestly, we spend so much time attempting to improve
ourselves...going to the gym, trying to develop more
meaningful relationships with one another, and yet we
dismiss the other associations we need to support our
fragile being.'
'What do you mean?'
'Everyone interacts with their location, Arthur. Where
we live helps set the level of our happiness and comfort.
The English have strongly developed psychological
relationships with the landscape. They travelled so little
that accents changed from one street to the next....These
days, our relationships with views, buildings, places,
objects and strangers are virtually ignored. As a child,
you probably had a place that made you happy....As an
adult, you search for an equivalent to that spot....
.....
When the rivers were covered, we lost something of ourselves.
Dreams of lakes and rivers are dreams of calm. No wonder
lost rivers hold such mystique. We need to believe that
they are still beneath us somewhere, the distant conduits
of a forgotten inner peace.' (pp 238-239)
By now, you may know whether this series is for you or not. I plan to read more (I've read 3 or 4 of the 11 in the series).
P.S. I also recommend Ben Aaronovitch series beginning with the book Midnight Riot, titled Rivers of London (!!) in England. This is a paranormal police procedural with lots of humor, snarky dialogue, irreverence. It is peculiar too but of a very different flavor.
February 3, 2009
I'm working my way through these Peculiar Crime Unit mysteries, and enjoying them immensely.
The star character is Detective Arthur Bryant, an elderly eccentric who is unfailingly rude to everybody and regularly consults psychics, witches, and other unconventional types.
Detective John May, Bryant's partner, is less unhinged, but still willing to go the extra weird mile.
The rest of the PCU are a group of misfits, including a guy with a spatial perception problem, meaning he trips over everything.
The mysteries themselves are very clever and very odd. They are also very dark. For all the comedy inherent in the setup, these books are not played for yuks.
The Water Room has a lot of social observation, much of which pertains to the U.S. - the strange sense of alienation in an age of instant communication, in particular. Bryant observes that the residents of Balaklava Road, where the murders are occurring, are more comfortable in front of their screens than talking directly to their neighbors.
I can't recommend this series enough.
The star character is Detective Arthur Bryant, an elderly eccentric who is unfailingly rude to everybody and regularly consults psychics, witches, and other unconventional types.
Detective John May, Bryant's partner, is less unhinged, but still willing to go the extra weird mile.
The rest of the PCU are a group of misfits, including a guy with a spatial perception problem, meaning he trips over everything.
The mysteries themselves are very clever and very odd. They are also very dark. For all the comedy inherent in the setup, these books are not played for yuks.
The Water Room has a lot of social observation, much of which pertains to the U.S. - the strange sense of alienation in an age of instant communication, in particular. Bryant observes that the residents of Balaklava Road, where the murders are occurring, are more comfortable in front of their screens than talking directly to their neighbors.
I can't recommend this series enough.
October 19, 2020
Another wonderful read by Mr. Fowler, featuring his two 'elderly' London detectives, who should be retired, but instead work for the Peculiar Crimes Unit which investigates crimes no one else wants. (Or those which might embarrass or compromise those who are rich, powerful, celebrated, etc.) The strength of this series, IMO, is/are the characters, all of whom are cleverly presented in supple, succinct measure, and the settings which include musty museums, alleys and backyards, creaky old buildings, as well as the canals, rivers and deep underground tunnels of the city of London. (This book features long passages concerning the 'extinct' or missing rivers of London, many of which make their reappearance during fierce and lengthy rainstorms. Loved it!)
In 'The Water Room,' Bryant and May are looking into the death of a woman found in her basement bathroom, sitting in a chair, nicely dressed, her body filled with water. Dirty water. RIVER water. It's a conundrum all right. This will be followed by a few other mysterious 'deaths' on the same street, along with an alternate investigation involving a government official who's acting a bit off. The characters, John May, the fastidious one with a still-active love life, and Arthur Bryant, the one into all sorts of arcane and unusual hobbies and is the series 'Oscar' to John May's 'Felix,' (Odd Couple reference, both movie and TV to all non-Americans.) play off each other par excellence! I love the give and take between the two, the understanding between them which only a decades-long friendships can create. When these two get going, the dialogue is rich, fast and fascinating! You can really see these two sparring, laughing, arguing, agreeing - whatever the case may be.
As for plot? It's secondary, IMO, and so complex and convoluted - and the fact I read so damn fast - I got lost in the plot. I NEED to read these books more slowly and keep promising myself: Next Book Slow Down.
Anyhow, four stars, one star off for a plot so thick I didn't get all of it. Regardless, I intend to continue with the series.
(I bought three of the books instead of doing the library hold-and-wait thing.)
In 'The Water Room,' Bryant and May are looking into the death of a woman found in her basement bathroom, sitting in a chair, nicely dressed, her body filled with water. Dirty water. RIVER water. It's a conundrum all right. This will be followed by a few other mysterious 'deaths' on the same street, along with an alternate investigation involving a government official who's acting a bit off. The characters, John May, the fastidious one with a still-active love life, and Arthur Bryant, the one into all sorts of arcane and unusual hobbies and is the series 'Oscar' to John May's 'Felix,' (Odd Couple reference, both movie and TV to all non-Americans.) play off each other par excellence! I love the give and take between the two, the understanding between them which only a decades-long friendships can create. When these two get going, the dialogue is rich, fast and fascinating! You can really see these two sparring, laughing, arguing, agreeing - whatever the case may be.
As for plot? It's secondary, IMO, and so complex and convoluted - and the fact I read so damn fast - I got lost in the plot. I NEED to read these books more slowly and keep promising myself: Next Book Slow Down.
Anyhow, four stars, one star off for a plot so thick I didn't get all of it. Regardless, I intend to continue with the series.
(I bought three of the books instead of doing the library hold-and-wait thing.)
April 27, 2017
The premise grabs you: an elderly woman who never leaves her house is found dead in her house, perfectly dry and dressed for a party with lungs full of river water. How can it be? With no clues to go on, it's the perfect opportunity for a couple of grizzly, crabby octogenarian detectives of the Peculiar Crimes Unit.
The two predictably uncover deeply covered clues and meet odd people, like witches along the way in solving this impossible mystery.
This novel was not exactly my cup of tea. If you want a straight police procedural, this is not for you. Although the murder mystery is itself interesting, so much of the novel seems to be spent dealing with other things... all of them eventually lead up to the ending but the experience i had was trying to listen to someone sing in a hall where everyone else is screaming. I wanted the plot to move along rather than get entangled in the crabbiness of the characters and the author's intent to endear them to us with their dry wit. Every page seemed to be about three different things and I basically rushed through the distractions to find out what happened.
The writing itself is competent and littered with dry wit. There are occasional beautiful passages:
When the rivers were covered, we lost something of ourselves. Dreams of lakes and rivers are dreams of calm. No wonder lost rivers hold such mystique. We need to believe that
they are still beneath us somewhere, the distant conduits of a forgotten inner peace.
So, reader beware: proceed only if you don't want something straight forward like a Mary Higgens Clark mystery.
The two predictably uncover deeply covered clues and meet odd people, like witches along the way in solving this impossible mystery.
This novel was not exactly my cup of tea. If you want a straight police procedural, this is not for you. Although the murder mystery is itself interesting, so much of the novel seems to be spent dealing with other things... all of them eventually lead up to the ending but the experience i had was trying to listen to someone sing in a hall where everyone else is screaming. I wanted the plot to move along rather than get entangled in the crabbiness of the characters and the author's intent to endear them to us with their dry wit. Every page seemed to be about three different things and I basically rushed through the distractions to find out what happened.
The writing itself is competent and littered with dry wit. There are occasional beautiful passages:
When the rivers were covered, we lost something of ourselves. Dreams of lakes and rivers are dreams of calm. No wonder lost rivers hold such mystique. We need to believe that
they are still beneath us somewhere, the distant conduits of a forgotten inner peace.
So, reader beware: proceed only if you don't want something straight forward like a Mary Higgens Clark mystery.
October 26, 2013
The Water Room by Christopher Fowler is the second book in his Peculiar Crimes Unit series. It stars John May and Arthur Bryant, the octogenarian leaders of a unit of detectives who handle all the cases that the regular detective forces won't touch or can't solve. This one begins with a simple question: How can an elderly woman drown, fully dressed to go out, in her otherwise dry basement? Their search will lead them through a maze of shady real estate men, racist threats, shy academic types with something underhand on the side, lectures on the city's undergound river system, and some lessons in Egyptian mythology. There's a killer on the loose who leaves no clues and who is ruthless in a hunt for a valuable art treasure. Bryant and May are out to locate the treasure and capture the criminal before anyone else has to die.
The use of "water" in the title of this one is very fortuitous...in a way. Because this story is, quite frankly (in my opinion), duller than ditch water. There are long explanatory, historical bits about the underground rivers. There are repeated episodes with one of the characters hearing rushing water in her house, fighting off spiders, and thinking that someone is entering her house when she's not there. There's a long time between the first murder (that no one except Bryant and May considers a murder for quite a while) and the next. There's a lot of talk and not a whole lot of action. The mystery could be a quite interesting one....if the story would just move along....
I read the first of this series quite a while ago (pre-blogging days) and all I can tell you about it is that I enjoyed it enough to snatch up a couple of the books when I got a chance. But I honestly don't think I'll be reading any more. This one just didn't do it for me. One star.
This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
The use of "water" in the title of this one is very fortuitous...in a way. Because this story is, quite frankly (in my opinion), duller than ditch water. There are long explanatory, historical bits about the underground rivers. There are repeated episodes with one of the characters hearing rushing water in her house, fighting off spiders, and thinking that someone is entering her house when she's not there. There's a long time between the first murder (that no one except Bryant and May considers a murder for quite a while) and the next. There's a lot of talk and not a whole lot of action. The mystery could be a quite interesting one....if the story would just move along....
I read the first of this series quite a while ago (pre-blogging days) and all I can tell you about it is that I enjoyed it enough to snatch up a couple of the books when I got a chance. But I honestly don't think I'll be reading any more. This one just didn't do it for me. One star.
This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
December 14, 2022
Not as fast paced as Full Dark House and the author seems to be educating us a little too laboriously. I’m not sure we needed such in-depth detail in order to understand the story. Having said that, it was entertaining and I enjoyed learning more about London’s hidden rivers. I thought I’d found a series I’d want to immerse myself in but the novelty may have worn off earlier than I thought. Time will tell!
April 28, 2016
Arthur Bryant and John May met in London in November 1940. Both young men were assigned to the PCU – the Peculiar Crimes Unit – to deal with the strangest of crimes and, though they were young and had little experience, they found themselves pretty much running the place while so many resources and so many men were caught up in the war.
Years later, when they were both quite elderly and much had changed they were still working together at the PCU. They were very different men but they worked together well, with Bryant’s blatant eccentricities and lateral thinking balanced by May’s people skills, common sense and logical thought processes.
I loved ‘Full Dark House’, the book where they made their first appearance, I have no idea why it has taken me so long to pick up this second book, but I loved this book even more and I am eager to pick up the next book.
But I told myself that I had to write about this book first.
In that first book the PCU’s offices destroyed by an explosion and this story begins not long after that, with the unit re-staffed, under new management and settling into new premises. Bryant and May have no officially designated cases, but they are quickly drawn into unofficial investigations.
Benjamin Singh, an old friend of Bryant’s, persuades him to come to the home of his sister, Ruth Singh. He had found her dead in the basement of her Victorian home on Balaklava Street, dressed to go out, and sitting on a chair with her hands calmly folded . He knew that something was wrong, and he was right, At first Bryant thought that the scene was simply odd, but it quickly became clear that natural causes could be ruled out. Her mouth and throat were full of river water, even though the room, and her clothes and hair, were dry and showed show no signs of having been wet.
Ruth rarely left her home and there were suggestions that she had suffered racist abuse, and so the investigation was focused on her neighbours. Balaclava Street was a Victorian terrace set on top of one of the seven forgotten rivers that flow beneath London.
Meanwhile, at the request of an old flame, May is looking into the activities of her husband, Gareth Greenwood, an academic whose special interest those forgotten rivers. He finds that a particularly dangerous villain, Jackson Ubeda, appears to have hired Greenwood to exploit his expertise, for purposes as yet unknown.
Model Kallie Owen and her boyfriend, Paul Garrow, had been evicted – not entirely legally – from their rented flat and they were looking for a new home. When she went to see her old school friend, Heather Allen of Balaclava Street, she learned that Benjamin Singh hoped to sell his sister’s house quickly, and she put in an offer. It seemed like a stroke of luck, but as Kallie set about creating her dream home she was troubled by the constant sound of rushing water, swollen doors and windows, and damp patches that appear and disappear on the walls. And then Paul left her – to find himself he said – and she had to deal with everything alone.
There would be more strange deaths on Balaklava Street, and all of the residents of that street would be pulled into the storm as the rain fell on and on and water levels grew higher and higher.
‘The Water Room’ works brilliantly as a crime story, with those different storylines coming together beautifully. The plotting is very clever, I suspected a great many characters at different points in the story, but the ending came as and it works at so many levels.
The story considers the eternal and inevitably struggle between the four ancient elements, fire, air, earth, and water. Water brings the first death but other elements will bring the deaths that follow. Maybe Shakespeare’s story of ‘The Tempest’ played out on Balaclava Street ….
It considers the significance of home, through the diverse community in Baklava Street, and as Arthur Bryant leaves his long-suffering landlady behind and moves to a new flat.
You could think about those things as you read, but there is such a lovely wealth of detail in the story and there is such richness in the characters and their relationships that you could easily let those things sail by as you simply enjoy the story.
There were so many different aspects, the story could have flown off in so many different directions. They might have been interesting, but I was glad that it stayed on track.
Arthur Bryant, his long term partnership with May and their long association with DS Janice Longbright, bring such humanity to the story. Their interactions, rooted in a back story about which a little is known but much has to be revealed, are wonderful and make it clear that though they often aggravate each other they will always be comrades and they will always be professional
You could also think about London. There is a wealth of knowledge about London and its rivers underpinning this story; in some hands I would find that dry but here I was fascinated, because Christopher Fowler’s love of everything he was writing about was clear on every page.
He made an extraordinary story believable and so very engaging.
I was sorry to come to the end, but I am looking forward to the next book and to the books that come after that ….
Years later, when they were both quite elderly and much had changed they were still working together at the PCU. They were very different men but they worked together well, with Bryant’s blatant eccentricities and lateral thinking balanced by May’s people skills, common sense and logical thought processes.
I loved ‘Full Dark House’, the book where they made their first appearance, I have no idea why it has taken me so long to pick up this second book, but I loved this book even more and I am eager to pick up the next book.
But I told myself that I had to write about this book first.
In that first book the PCU’s offices destroyed by an explosion and this story begins not long after that, with the unit re-staffed, under new management and settling into new premises. Bryant and May have no officially designated cases, but they are quickly drawn into unofficial investigations.
Benjamin Singh, an old friend of Bryant’s, persuades him to come to the home of his sister, Ruth Singh. He had found her dead in the basement of her Victorian home on Balaklava Street, dressed to go out, and sitting on a chair with her hands calmly folded . He knew that something was wrong, and he was right, At first Bryant thought that the scene was simply odd, but it quickly became clear that natural causes could be ruled out. Her mouth and throat were full of river water, even though the room, and her clothes and hair, were dry and showed show no signs of having been wet.
Ruth rarely left her home and there were suggestions that she had suffered racist abuse, and so the investigation was focused on her neighbours. Balaclava Street was a Victorian terrace set on top of one of the seven forgotten rivers that flow beneath London.
Meanwhile, at the request of an old flame, May is looking into the activities of her husband, Gareth Greenwood, an academic whose special interest those forgotten rivers. He finds that a particularly dangerous villain, Jackson Ubeda, appears to have hired Greenwood to exploit his expertise, for purposes as yet unknown.
Model Kallie Owen and her boyfriend, Paul Garrow, had been evicted – not entirely legally – from their rented flat and they were looking for a new home. When she went to see her old school friend, Heather Allen of Balaclava Street, she learned that Benjamin Singh hoped to sell his sister’s house quickly, and she put in an offer. It seemed like a stroke of luck, but as Kallie set about creating her dream home she was troubled by the constant sound of rushing water, swollen doors and windows, and damp patches that appear and disappear on the walls. And then Paul left her – to find himself he said – and she had to deal with everything alone.
There would be more strange deaths on Balaklava Street, and all of the residents of that street would be pulled into the storm as the rain fell on and on and water levels grew higher and higher.
‘The Water Room’ works brilliantly as a crime story, with those different storylines coming together beautifully. The plotting is very clever, I suspected a great many characters at different points in the story, but the ending came as and it works at so many levels.
The story considers the eternal and inevitably struggle between the four ancient elements, fire, air, earth, and water. Water brings the first death but other elements will bring the deaths that follow. Maybe Shakespeare’s story of ‘The Tempest’ played out on Balaclava Street ….
It considers the significance of home, through the diverse community in Baklava Street, and as Arthur Bryant leaves his long-suffering landlady behind and moves to a new flat.
You could think about those things as you read, but there is such a lovely wealth of detail in the story and there is such richness in the characters and their relationships that you could easily let those things sail by as you simply enjoy the story.
There were so many different aspects, the story could have flown off in so many different directions. They might have been interesting, but I was glad that it stayed on track.
Arthur Bryant, his long term partnership with May and their long association with DS Janice Longbright, bring such humanity to the story. Their interactions, rooted in a back story about which a little is known but much has to be revealed, are wonderful and make it clear that though they often aggravate each other they will always be comrades and they will always be professional
You could also think about London. There is a wealth of knowledge about London and its rivers underpinning this story; in some hands I would find that dry but here I was fascinated, because Christopher Fowler’s love of everything he was writing about was clear on every page.
He made an extraordinary story believable and so very engaging.
I was sorry to come to the end, but I am looking forward to the next book and to the books that come after that ….
November 23, 2015
It took me quite a long while to finish this book and to finally get involved in the inquiry, not because of the book, the plot, the characters or the setting, but because of the dreadful stuff, which was taking place in Paris, while I was trying to read. So again, but by no fault of the author, I found it difficult to follow the plot, along the depths and meanders of the Thames and the London sewer system.
Once I managed to get involved, I had to finish. It feels like this is going to be an interesting series.
On to Seventy-Seven Clocks!
Once I managed to get involved, I had to finish. It feels like this is going to be an interesting series.
On to Seventy-Seven Clocks!
August 7, 2017
The Peculiar Crimes Unit of London's Metropolitan Police handles some very peculiar crimes indeed. For example, in The Water Room, we have the case of an elderly woman who drowns in river water in her basement, but there is no water in the room and no evidence that the body had been moved. How did the woman's dead body, dressed to go out shopping and seated on a chair in her basement, end up with filthy river water in her throat? That's just the kind of question for which Arthur Bryant and John May thrive on finding answers.
Bryant and May are the two cranky, quirky detectives who have been partners for fifty years and who are the very heart and soul of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. It seems only fair since they are very peculiar detectives.
In this instance, Bryant intuits that Ruth Singh, the dead woman in the basement, did not die a natural death, and so he and May and other members of their unit set out to prove that a murder has occurred, even though there is no apparent motive, no forensics, and no clues. They interview neighbors, investigate the history of the neighborhood, and search for the thread that will lead them to the solution to what they are convinced is a crime.
In the midst of their investigation, another death occurs in the neighborhood. A workman is buried in mud and suffocates, in what seems like an obvious accident, but once again Bryant and May are convinced that there is more here than meets the eye and that the cave-in of mud that was the instrument of death actually was caused by human intervention. But how to ever prove it?
But then a third death occurs on the street and this time there is no question that it is murder. The victim dies in his bed with clingfilm wrapped several times around his head. Three suffocations, each by different methods. Surely they are somehow related.
All the while, the rain keeps pouring down and the street where the deaths occurred is threatened with inundation as London's secret underground and forgotten rivers fill up and overflow.
Bryant, who is the instinctual member of the team, consults with witches and psychics, and equally unconventional sources to come up with a theory of what has happened. His investigative method is eccentric, but even though he is rude to everyone with whom he interacts, he does accumulate information and does begin to understand what might have happened.
May, on the other hand, follows a somewhat more conventional path but still wanders into weird territory as he seeks a solution to the crimes.
London, itself, seems a character in this story. There is abundant information about the topography and history of the city and particularly about the underground rivers that play such a central part in the mystery of the deaths and in their solution. Bryant and May follow the winding course of the subterranean tributaries that lead them eventually to the answers they seek. Answers that will allow the Peculiar Crimes Unit, always one major mistake away from being dissolved, to exist for another day.
This was an enjoyable read. Christopher Fowler seems really fond of his two ancient detectives and writes of them with empathy and humor. He also writes lovingly of London, its culture, and its people. I found myself invested in the characters and wanting to see them succeed. In that, Fowler did not disappoint.
Bryant and May are the two cranky, quirky detectives who have been partners for fifty years and who are the very heart and soul of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. It seems only fair since they are very peculiar detectives.
In this instance, Bryant intuits that Ruth Singh, the dead woman in the basement, did not die a natural death, and so he and May and other members of their unit set out to prove that a murder has occurred, even though there is no apparent motive, no forensics, and no clues. They interview neighbors, investigate the history of the neighborhood, and search for the thread that will lead them to the solution to what they are convinced is a crime.
In the midst of their investigation, another death occurs in the neighborhood. A workman is buried in mud and suffocates, in what seems like an obvious accident, but once again Bryant and May are convinced that there is more here than meets the eye and that the cave-in of mud that was the instrument of death actually was caused by human intervention. But how to ever prove it?
But then a third death occurs on the street and this time there is no question that it is murder. The victim dies in his bed with clingfilm wrapped several times around his head. Three suffocations, each by different methods. Surely they are somehow related.
All the while, the rain keeps pouring down and the street where the deaths occurred is threatened with inundation as London's secret underground and forgotten rivers fill up and overflow.
Bryant, who is the instinctual member of the team, consults with witches and psychics, and equally unconventional sources to come up with a theory of what has happened. His investigative method is eccentric, but even though he is rude to everyone with whom he interacts, he does accumulate information and does begin to understand what might have happened.
May, on the other hand, follows a somewhat more conventional path but still wanders into weird territory as he seeks a solution to the crimes.
London, itself, seems a character in this story. There is abundant information about the topography and history of the city and particularly about the underground rivers that play such a central part in the mystery of the deaths and in their solution. Bryant and May follow the winding course of the subterranean tributaries that lead them eventually to the answers they seek. Answers that will allow the Peculiar Crimes Unit, always one major mistake away from being dissolved, to exist for another day.
This was an enjoyable read. Christopher Fowler seems really fond of his two ancient detectives and writes of them with empathy and humor. He also writes lovingly of London, its culture, and its people. I found myself invested in the characters and wanting to see them succeed. In that, Fowler did not disappoint.
July 24, 2014
Well that was fun! Not for the multiple victims, mind - but being along for the ride as the crazy detective duo attempt to solve what appears to be 3 completely unrelated murders. They aren't called the Peculiar Crimes Unit for nothing! This ranks up there for peculiar, that's for sure. Other than living on the same street seeing how the murders could be related at all was the real mystery. It takes a person who likes to think outside the box to see fragments of ideas and actions that come together to become a plausible reason that 3 separate murders are linked.
It was also an interesting and fascinating glimpse into the little known London underground water system. In a place that deals with water deluges on a continual basis, it's the hidden systems that are a remarkable and necessary part of the urban environment that we don't even know exist. And what a setting for a mystery!
I love the quirky characters - it adds to the fun and makes you realize that there's always more than one way to skin a cat!
Great series!
It was also an interesting and fascinating glimpse into the little known London underground water system. In a place that deals with water deluges on a continual basis, it's the hidden systems that are a remarkable and necessary part of the urban environment that we don't even know exist. And what a setting for a mystery!
I love the quirky characters - it adds to the fun and makes you realize that there's always more than one way to skin a cat!
Great series!
September 28, 2020
The Water Room is the second in the Bryant & May series and it is a gem. I read a couple of later ones and decided to start at the beginning; the series is giving me great pleasure and this s the best I have read so far.
The plot is, as usual, slightly bonkers but in a very believable way, somehow. Arthur and John are asked by two different friends to look into two apparently unrelated matters. Things become very convoluted as the Peculiar Crimes Unit swings into its unique sort of action and a very good story gradually unrolls. It is full of Fowler’s usual fascinating, arcane detail about the history and hidden parts of London, this time especially about London’s lost and underground rivers, its labyrinthine subterranean waterways and how they are managed. There is a great cast of characters, many very amusing and all extremely well painted.
Fowler’s wit, style and obvious passion for his subject makes this great reading and I enjoyed it enormously. Very warmly recommended.
The plot is, as usual, slightly bonkers but in a very believable way, somehow. Arthur and John are asked by two different friends to look into two apparently unrelated matters. Things become very convoluted as the Peculiar Crimes Unit swings into its unique sort of action and a very good story gradually unrolls. It is full of Fowler’s usual fascinating, arcane detail about the history and hidden parts of London, this time especially about London’s lost and underground rivers, its labyrinthine subterranean waterways and how they are managed. There is a great cast of characters, many very amusing and all extremely well painted.
Fowler’s wit, style and obvious passion for his subject makes this great reading and I enjoyed it enormously. Very warmly recommended.
September 23, 2012
And so, with great expectations, I return to the world of Arthur Bryant and John May, the aging detectives from London Metropolitan Police’s Peculiar Crimes Unit.
With the events of Full Dark House , I found the series a very pleasant surprise. The Water Room develops them further. Whereas the first book introduced them in their most recent reincarnation (they did appear in some of Christopher’s other writing previously) and Full Dark House was mainly about their first case back in 1940’s London, this one is resolutely ‘now’, with the book’s beginning at the time of the reopening of the redecorated Peculiar Crimes Unit’s base after the explosion in Full Dark House.
It’s not long before we’re into ‘the weird stuff’. Bryant is contacted by an old colleague whose elderly sister has been found dead in her house and in possibly mysterious circumstances. The body was in the cellar, sitting, as if at rest, but with water around her feet and Thames river water in her mouth. The house is nowhere near the river. Bryant is intrigued and involves the PCU. However, when her various and varied neighbours are interviewed, it seems initially innocuous, a case of relatively simple sudden-death.
The decrepit old house on Balaklava Street is quickly sold, and bought by pretty young model Kallie Owen as ‘a doer-upper’, but it’s not long before there becomes palpable a definite sense of unease. Strange events and further deaths suggest that there is something else happening beyond the initial death: in fact, there is the possibility of murder.....
The plot itself is intriguingly bizarre, yet Christopher points out in his Acknowledgements that the ‘most bizarre facts are in this book are the truest’, which, considering what happens, is quite mind-blowing.
There are some dazzlingly literate moments here. Bryant’s monologue describing London in the first chapter (and throughout) reflects both Bryant’s and Christopher’s obvious love of London – for all its history, its character, its highs and its lows, it is clear that both would rather be nowhere else. The methodical and rather aloof Bryant is determined to work until ‘he drops’ (an event which, as he enters his eighth decade, can’t be that far away) which seems to mirror both his love with London and his obsession with solving puzzles.
That’s not to say that this view of London is romanticised – there are some dark and creepy places that even the worldly wise would feel intimidated by – but the feeling of London as a living, changing, evolving place with a rich and bizarre history makes London a third major character. Christopher uses London’s rich and peculiar past, its historical heritage and its characters to provide a background to the crimes herein that makes the reader feel present, part of this amazing pageantry of things past and present.
The characterisation covers the range of social class and ethnicity that would be expected in a British inner city street, and Christopher uses each of them with the skill of a master, never saying more than necessary, yet intermingling commentary on society and culture with sly perceptive analysis. In particular, the reader finds out more about Arthur Bryant and John May. Bryant is the bad-tempered, socially-incompetent workaholic who buries himself in his work, whilst we also find more about the difficult past relationship of May with his family and colleagues. This is Bryant’s tale on the whole, though the supporting characters do fill out the repertoire nicely.
Like Full Dark House , though there are no blatantly obvious supernatural elements to the plot, it is still an engagingly creepy tale. The mood throughout is such that there could be an unusual cause, that the murders herein are just too odd to be natural. The ending is, after such a great set-up, brings together what seem initially to be disparate events. Great plotting.
I enjoyed this one as much, if not more than, the first. Here I started to get a real grasp of our two unlikely heroes, and want to know more. A great read.
With the events of Full Dark House , I found the series a very pleasant surprise. The Water Room develops them further. Whereas the first book introduced them in their most recent reincarnation (they did appear in some of Christopher’s other writing previously) and Full Dark House was mainly about their first case back in 1940’s London, this one is resolutely ‘now’, with the book’s beginning at the time of the reopening of the redecorated Peculiar Crimes Unit’s base after the explosion in Full Dark House.
It’s not long before we’re into ‘the weird stuff’. Bryant is contacted by an old colleague whose elderly sister has been found dead in her house and in possibly mysterious circumstances. The body was in the cellar, sitting, as if at rest, but with water around her feet and Thames river water in her mouth. The house is nowhere near the river. Bryant is intrigued and involves the PCU. However, when her various and varied neighbours are interviewed, it seems initially innocuous, a case of relatively simple sudden-death.
The decrepit old house on Balaklava Street is quickly sold, and bought by pretty young model Kallie Owen as ‘a doer-upper’, but it’s not long before there becomes palpable a definite sense of unease. Strange events and further deaths suggest that there is something else happening beyond the initial death: in fact, there is the possibility of murder.....
The plot itself is intriguingly bizarre, yet Christopher points out in his Acknowledgements that the ‘most bizarre facts are in this book are the truest’, which, considering what happens, is quite mind-blowing.
There are some dazzlingly literate moments here. Bryant’s monologue describing London in the first chapter (and throughout) reflects both Bryant’s and Christopher’s obvious love of London – for all its history, its character, its highs and its lows, it is clear that both would rather be nowhere else. The methodical and rather aloof Bryant is determined to work until ‘he drops’ (an event which, as he enters his eighth decade, can’t be that far away) which seems to mirror both his love with London and his obsession with solving puzzles.
That’s not to say that this view of London is romanticised – there are some dark and creepy places that even the worldly wise would feel intimidated by – but the feeling of London as a living, changing, evolving place with a rich and bizarre history makes London a third major character. Christopher uses London’s rich and peculiar past, its historical heritage and its characters to provide a background to the crimes herein that makes the reader feel present, part of this amazing pageantry of things past and present.
The characterisation covers the range of social class and ethnicity that would be expected in a British inner city street, and Christopher uses each of them with the skill of a master, never saying more than necessary, yet intermingling commentary on society and culture with sly perceptive analysis. In particular, the reader finds out more about Arthur Bryant and John May. Bryant is the bad-tempered, socially-incompetent workaholic who buries himself in his work, whilst we also find more about the difficult past relationship of May with his family and colleagues. This is Bryant’s tale on the whole, though the supporting characters do fill out the repertoire nicely.
Like Full Dark House , though there are no blatantly obvious supernatural elements to the plot, it is still an engagingly creepy tale. The mood throughout is such that there could be an unusual cause, that the murders herein are just too odd to be natural. The ending is, after such a great set-up, brings together what seem initially to be disparate events. Great plotting.
I enjoyed this one as much, if not more than, the first. Here I started to get a real grasp of our two unlikely heroes, and want to know more. A great read.
December 30, 2008
Installment #2 in this series featuring the Peculiar Crimes Unit finds our heroes, Bryant and May (and the other people in the PCU) trying to solve the death of a woman drowned in her basement. Sounds straightforward, right? However, the dead woman was completely dry, sitting in a chair, in a dry basement. If that was the only problem for them to deal with, the book would have definitely been a lot shorter -- but add in a death by saran wrap, arson, and a fellow buried alive by his own truck. And then you still don't have the complete story.
Once again we have a detective story with a rather X-filish feel to it, where the detectives may be old but still have a lot to offer. The characters are very well drawn, and there is a wealth of history that is part of the story between the two covers. At 356 pages, this is not your typical detective story, and Bryant and May are not your typical detectives. And the PCU is not your typical police unit. So...if you like something quirky and offbeat, then you might want to give this series a try, but don't start with this one: start with Full Dark House. The book offers a bit of fun along with a good mystery and really kept me entertained for quite a while. I've just bought the next book in the series and will probably read them all.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has read Full Dark House and wants to follow the series, as well as someone looking for something a bit different in the mystery world. However, it's NOT for you if you want a standard police procedural-type book that's more down to earth. I thought the book was quite good and a cut above what's normally on my local bookstore's mystery shelves.
Overall...a fun read with a fine mystery.
Once again we have a detective story with a rather X-filish feel to it, where the detectives may be old but still have a lot to offer. The characters are very well drawn, and there is a wealth of history that is part of the story between the two covers. At 356 pages, this is not your typical detective story, and Bryant and May are not your typical detectives. And the PCU is not your typical police unit. So...if you like something quirky and offbeat, then you might want to give this series a try, but don't start with this one: start with Full Dark House. The book offers a bit of fun along with a good mystery and really kept me entertained for quite a while. I've just bought the next book in the series and will probably read them all.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has read Full Dark House and wants to follow the series, as well as someone looking for something a bit different in the mystery world. However, it's NOT for you if you want a standard police procedural-type book that's more down to earth. I thought the book was quite good and a cut above what's normally on my local bookstore's mystery shelves.
Overall...a fun read with a fine mystery.
August 11, 2013
I wasn't overly impressed with the first book in the series, but I like Fowler well enough to give it another try. Again though, the aging detectives failed to wow me. Nothing technically is wrong with the book, it's got a good mystery, the writing is solid, the characters are pretty well developed...it just lacks that certain something. Again with this one, partly is it the narrator's fault, Tom Goodman's reading is just kind of off, his impressions are off, his accents are strange, his british accent is really odd and generally I love british accents the way fat kids love cake. Fowler's erudite knowledge of London and of mythology (both subjects of a particular interest to me) are the best parts of the book. He has used them in the first book and once more here to entertain as much as throw in false clues. Fowler's sense of humor is another draw here. The audio book kept my attention for the most part, but it just wasn't tremendously dynamic or exciting or in any way awesome to elevate itself above average. It passed the time.
August 2, 2020
Reading (listening,actually) mystery stories has left me with quite a bit of knowledge of London’s rivers. This and Aaronovitch.
I enjoyed this novel, but I missed the flashbacks of the previous story. Not sure that just two elderly policemen were as intriguing main characters.
I enjoyed this novel, but I missed the flashbacks of the previous story. Not sure that just two elderly policemen were as intriguing main characters.
September 1, 2011
Christopher Fowlers excellent Bryant & May series continues with “The Water Room”. I first discovered this series after winning one in a contest and fell in love with these two octogenarian gentlemen immediately. Arthur Bryant and John May are London’s two longest serving detectives and lead the Met’s Peculiar Crimes Unit. Delightfully eccentric and filled with quirks and idiosyncrasies, they lead us on an intriguing path filled with wit, charm and originality. Fowlers novels manage to please the reader on so many levels- they are so much more than your average bog-standard thriller. Whenever I pick up a Bryant and May mystery I know that it will be guaranteed to make me laugh out loud, thrill with ingenious twists and turns of plot, entertain with its rich and colourful atmosphere and educate with its constant references to the history and trivia of London.
In “The Water Room” our two antiheroes probe into a curious death when a woman is found dead with a throat full of river water. Nothing curious about that you think until it is revealed that the lady concerned was found sitting peacefully in her completely bone dry suburban basement!
Enter the remarkable world of Bryant and May and you will find yourself truly thrilled.
In “The Water Room” our two antiheroes probe into a curious death when a woman is found dead with a throat full of river water. Nothing curious about that you think until it is revealed that the lady concerned was found sitting peacefully in her completely bone dry suburban basement!
Enter the remarkable world of Bryant and May and you will find yourself truly thrilled.
February 12, 2012
I have fallen in love with two elderly detectives from the British "Peculiar Crimes Unit"-as created by Christopher Fowler. The Water Room is not only charmingly written, it has one of the best mysteries I've read in a long time, actually unusual and interesting in itself, aside from the book's humor and delightful characters. The book manages to be Victorian, early twentieth century and modern at the same time. It is a good novel as well as a mystery which is not something I can always say, even about mysteries I enjoy. It would make a wonderful television mini-series and I hope it's done soon.
I can't wait to hunt down and read the rest of the series.
I can't wait to hunt down and read the rest of the series.
December 3, 2015
I enjoyed this one better than the first of the series, probably because I've got to know the main characters and setting. I didn't understand everything (the technicalities of the London underground rivers and flood drainage were a bit complicated, especially as I finished it in a red eye flight from Asia!) but that didn't spoil anything for me. I like the humour and style of writing very much, so I think I'm going to get hooked on the whole series! Thanks, Claude, for the recommendation!
March 30, 2012
Aw, this was great. These two are insane.
Who knew there were rivers under London? Actually made me get another book, London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets.
Really enjoyed this.
Who knew there were rivers under London? Actually made me get another book, London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets.
Really enjoyed this.
January 18, 2022
> Ten crates unloading, nine boxes opened, eight phones ringing, seven staff complaining, six desks in various states of assembly, five damaged chairs, four cases pending, three workmen hammering, two computers crashing and a cat locked in a filing cabinet with no key. Arthur Bryant was sitting back at his desk, beaming amidst the chaos, looking for all the world as if he had never left.
> We’re heading for winter, when a caul of sluggishness deepens into thanatomimesis, the state of being mistaken for death.
> ‘Christ, it’s coming down stair-rods out there.’ Kallie joined her and peered out. The other side of the street was half-hidden behind a canescent veil
> We’re heading for winter, when a caul of sluggishness deepens into thanatomimesis, the state of being mistaken for death.
> ‘Christ, it’s coming down stair-rods out there.’ Kallie joined her and peered out. The other side of the street was half-hidden behind a canescent veil
August 26, 2021
3.5
enjoyable explanation and the characters do give me a chuckle.
enjoyable explanation and the characters do give me a chuckle.
July 2, 2022
I had to update this rating from 3 to a 4 because I could. Not get the characters and details out of min and started looking for more in the series. If that not the sign of a good book, I don’t know what is!
So I'm not usually a crime fiction reader, but when I am its invariable English characters (and English crimes?). This book surprised me. The 'Peculiar Crimes Unit' got my attention and the characters were written so well and were so entertaining in a lite way that I enjoyed picking it up each day. I probably could not read too many but would recommend it for a lighter read.
So I'm not usually a crime fiction reader, but when I am its invariable English characters (and English crimes?). This book surprised me. The 'Peculiar Crimes Unit' got my attention and the characters were written so well and were so entertaining in a lite way that I enjoyed picking it up each day. I probably could not read too many but would recommend it for a lighter read.
December 22, 2024
This is the third time I've read this, but not for quite a while and I enjoyed it best this time. How could a woman drown sitting in a chair in her own home - and leave the room and her clothes dry? Balaklava Street, part of an area with streets named for battles during the Crimean War, has a dozen or so Victorian houses now inhabited mostly by yuppie type families who are looking to upgrade the houses, sell them and move on to bigger and better things as they head up the social ladder.
Mrs. Singh (although her brother says she never married) is the woman mentioned above and Kallie is the young woman who buys the house hoping to live there with her boy friend. The boy friend leaves to "get the travel bug out of his system", leaving Kallie to paint, repair, and renovate on her own. There is a tramp who keeps appearing and disappearing in the back yard, and then the local man of all work dies in a mud hole, buried under the bricks that slid off his truck.
Bryant and May are drawn into the situation at the request of Mrs. Singh's brother who worked with them at one point. Describing a Bryant and May plot is usually just a confusing thing so it is better to concentrate on what else there is in the book: a history of settlement patterns in London, the changing beliefs of people, the history of the rivers of London, most of them at least partially buried, and the drainage systems of the city.
That doesn't sound interesting particularly but it is, especially as it emerges from Bryant's never ending scarf and around the end of his very smelly pipe. The two detectives are very appealing, especially Bryant who has an endless fund of local stories, often weird and/or funny.
So here I am rereading it yet again. It's really clear this time and besides there are all sorts of references to cases that we have actually read about, especially 77 clocks. My theory is that all the cases occur between Full Dark House which is the meeting of the two detectives and this which is supposedly the second and is certainly the second published. All the other books sound later but it's just the fault of Bryant's peculiar memory. My story and I'm sticking to it.
Mrs. Singh (although her brother says she never married) is the woman mentioned above and Kallie is the young woman who buys the house hoping to live there with her boy friend. The boy friend leaves to "get the travel bug out of his system", leaving Kallie to paint, repair, and renovate on her own. There is a tramp who keeps appearing and disappearing in the back yard, and then the local man of all work dies in a mud hole, buried under the bricks that slid off his truck.
Bryant and May are drawn into the situation at the request of Mrs. Singh's brother who worked with them at one point. Describing a Bryant and May plot is usually just a confusing thing so it is better to concentrate on what else there is in the book: a history of settlement patterns in London, the changing beliefs of people, the history of the rivers of London, most of them at least partially buried, and the drainage systems of the city.
That doesn't sound interesting particularly but it is, especially as it emerges from Bryant's never ending scarf and around the end of his very smelly pipe. The two detectives are very appealing, especially Bryant who has an endless fund of local stories, often weird and/or funny.
So here I am rereading it yet again. It's really clear this time and besides there are all sorts of references to cases that we have actually read about, especially 77 clocks. My theory is that all the cases occur between Full Dark House which is the meeting of the two detectives and this which is supposedly the second and is certainly the second published. All the other books sound later but it's just the fault of Bryant's peculiar memory. My story and I'm sticking to it.
December 6, 2019
I love the characters. Bryant is old and eccentric and full of miscellaneous esoteric knowledge, and fascinated with lore of all kinds. May is a few years younger and has better social skills. The supporting cast is terrific, too. There are a LOT of characters in this book, which I picked up and put down over about six weeks; I really wanted a chart to keep track of them all. The hardback does have a little diagram of the street where everything happens with the houses labeled, which is helpful but wasn't enough to compensate for my inattention and memory lapses.
The events happen in a sort-of gentrified neighborhood in London where the street runs on top of an underground river and the houses are carved from older, bigger houses, and the residents are an assorted bunch but mostly only live there till they can afford something better. That underground river, and all the other underground rivers that apparently run everywhere under London, stars in its own subplot, and Bryant has great fun researching the history and even traipsing around in tunnels with Victorian decorations that no one ever sees because they're essentially storm sewers now. The murders are bizarre, perfect subjects for the Peculiar Crimes Unit to investigate.
The whole thing is incredibly convoluted. It takes some concentration to read; the dialogue is always going off on tangents (as one does, especially if one is a person like Bryant), and if you aren't paying attention you can easily lose the thread. I had some things going on while I was reading it and didn't have the focus for it so I kept setting it aside in favor of something simpler. The ending is satisfying and makes sense, which is really important to me in a mystery. I did wish I'd been in a better state so I could have read it in a more straight-through fashion; I didn't remember some details that would probably have enriched the ending for me.
The events happen in a sort-of gentrified neighborhood in London where the street runs on top of an underground river and the houses are carved from older, bigger houses, and the residents are an assorted bunch but mostly only live there till they can afford something better. That underground river, and all the other underground rivers that apparently run everywhere under London, stars in its own subplot, and Bryant has great fun researching the history and even traipsing around in tunnels with Victorian decorations that no one ever sees because they're essentially storm sewers now. The murders are bizarre, perfect subjects for the Peculiar Crimes Unit to investigate.
The whole thing is incredibly convoluted. It takes some concentration to read; the dialogue is always going off on tangents (as one does, especially if one is a person like Bryant), and if you aren't paying attention you can easily lose the thread. I had some things going on while I was reading it and didn't have the focus for it so I kept setting it aside in favor of something simpler. The ending is satisfying and makes sense, which is really important to me in a mystery. I did wish I'd been in a better state so I could have read it in a more straight-through fashion; I didn't remember some details that would probably have enriched the ending for me.
January 12, 2011
On the whole, I liked this mystery, and enjoyed the characters. The elderly detective team of Bryant and Mays were a great discovery, and most of the regular supporting cast well done. The idea of a peculiar crimes unit is very appealing and sort of x-file-ish. I also was really interested to read about the history of rivers and water works in London, particularly how the waters have been channeled underground. The pace of the book bogged down (ha!) at times for me, but it could have been because I was reading when I was tired. I didn't feel entirely in the dark or left out because I started with book 2 vs from the start of the series, and I may read another by this author if it comes my way.
January 22, 2012
Grumpy old men and other eccentric members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit pursue the unusal death of a woman found seated in a chair in the basement of her house.
It was fun to try to come up with a solution for the death, but even more fun to witness the behavior of these misfit characters.
Brant and May remind me of The Odd Couple; Felix and Oscar.
It was fun to try to come up with a solution for the death, but even more fun to witness the behavior of these misfit characters.
Brant and May remind me of The Odd Couple; Felix and Oscar.
August 8, 2013
I learned a lot about London. I enjoyed the Oscar/Felix relationship of detectives Bryant and May. I love the name of their agency...Peculiar Crimes. Our book club chose this author for August meeting. Everyone read a different book in the series and commented how they were totally surprised by the ending. Endings made sense but what a surprise. I will probably read more in the series.
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