Tue 13 Apr 2010
A Review by Ray O’Leary: CHRISTOPHER FOWLER – Bryant & May on the Loose.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Reviews[4] Comments
CHRISTOPHER FOWLER – Bryant & May on the Loose. Bantam, hardcover, November 2009; trade paperback, September 2010.
At the end of The Victoria Vanishes the Peculiar Crimes Unit was forced to close down and its members resigned in protest while its premises were turned over to another squad. Since then the elderly Inspector Bryant has been spending his time sitting around in his pajamas. Or pyjamas, if you will.
Other members have taken jobs, including Constable Colin Bimsley, working as a handyman. He’s hired by a young Arab who has taken over a Fish & Chips restaurant and is turning it into a pottery and rug store when he discovers the headless body of a man in an old freezer. Meanwhile, another ex-member of the unit, Meera Mangeshkar, out late one night sees a man dressed as a stag with horns made out of knives.
Both of these events occur in the area of London around St. Pancras Church which is being redeveloped in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. Since the murder looks like it could be the work of organized crime, it’s decided that it will be investigated by the Peculiar Crimes Unit though they will have no official connection with Scotland Yard and will be housed in a dilapidated old warehouse in the area. Before the case is over there will be four more victims of the killer including a member of the Unit.
Another very enjoyable adventure of the Peculiar Crimes Unit that manages to blend history, mythology, corporate crime and even the Beatles into the tale.
The Bryant and May series —
1. Full Dark House (2003)
2. The Water Room (2004)
3. Seventy-Seven Clocks (2005)
4. Ten Second Staircase (2006)
5. White Corridor (2007)
6. The Victoria Vanishes (2008)
7. Bryant & May on the Loose (2009)
8. Off the Rails (2010)
April 13th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I believe I bought all of the books in the series as they came out, but I haven’t read any of them yet, and I know that I should.
Question to Ray, or anyone else who’s familiar with them. Can they be read in any order, or should I start at the beginning?
Another question, if I may: Fowler is described as “a master of the classical form,” as I think you might be able to make out on a couple of the cover images. How true is this? Are Bryant & May really throwbacks to the Golden Age of Detection?
— Steve
April 13th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Steve
Playful thowbacks maybe. But by all means read these. It’s a brilliant series.
And clearly worth reading. I’ve been a fan of Fowler’s since his sf/horror novel RUNES. He has a wonderful imagination and style.
April 14th, 2010 at 11:10 am
I first started to read this series when the 3rd book was offered by the Mystery Guild and have yet to read the first two of the series. There may be occasional references to earlier cases but I don’t remember any mention of previous solutions in later books. That used to occur occasionally in other series.
April 14th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Do you know, I wasn’t even thinking about previous solutions being revealed, but you’re right, I’ve read books like that and hated it, even if I’d read the earlier ones.
Since you didn’t mention it, I’ll assume it isn’t the case here, but sometimes an author gets so comfortable with his characters in a series, that he fails to introduce them properly and assumes the reader is as familiar with them as he is.
Or that the personal lives of the characters are almost as important as the cases they solve, and if you read the books out of order, you’re missing something, maybe nothing to do with the case at hand, but still kind of essential.
I used the word “he” in my paragraph before last, but one example that comes to mind is Martha Grimes. The first time I tried to read one of her Richard Jury books, maybe six or seven novels into the series, I simply gave up, because I had no idea who all of the (apparently) recurring characters were, and she wasn’t about to explain.
I’ve since read another, however, and things worked out a whole lot better. All is forgiven now, almost.