Long regarded as an anachronism, the Peculiar Crimes Unit is to be disbanded. For octogenarian detectives Arthur Bryant and John May, it seems retirement is now the only option. But then a headless body is found in a freezer, and a suspicious, gigantic figure has been spotted - dressed in deerskin and sporting antlers made of knives. It looks like the PCU are back in business...

Listening Length

11 hours and 3 minutes
Author

Christopher Fowler
Narrator

Tim Goodman
Audible release date

July 18, 2011
Language

English
Publisher

W. F. Howes Ltd
ASIN

B005D66XNO
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	11 hours and 3 minutes
Author	Christopher Fowler
Narrator	Tim Goodman
Audible.com Release Date	July 18, 2011
Publisher	W. F. Howes Ltd
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B005D66XNO
Best Sellers Rank	#214,186 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #14,095 in Suspense (Audible Books & Originals) #53,238 in Suspense Thrillers #68,859 in Literature & Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

327 global ratings

5 star		65%
4 star		25%
3 star		7%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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A JOY TO READ

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 10, 2021

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I am slowly but surely reading my way through the many, many books in Christopher Fowler’s Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) series. They feature a ramshackle British police unit originally set up decades past to solve the crimes too bizarre, too esoteric, for ordinary detective methods to find purchase. It’s headed by senior detectives Arthur Bryant and John May, both well up in years by now but still kicking. (Bryant’s well into his eighties and May is close behind him.) May is the voice of reason in the pair, the Dr. Watson to Bryant’s Sherlock Holmes. Bryant is an offshoot, a hilariously comic one, of Holmes blended with, say, John Dickson Carr’s Gideon Fell –in other words, an eccentric not just in his personal habits but in the way he approaches evidence and solves crimes. In Bryant’s case, something halfway between the esoteric and supernatural usually is involved. In this novel as well as others, he seeks advice from a white witch, who is one of the loonier creations in modern detective fiction. In all of these books, there is a good amount of backwarding and forwarding, May and the other detectives and support staff on the Unit trying to apply good police techniques and solid reasoning to nail down the killer (it’s always a murder case that starts things) while Bryant flies off in tangents, all of which, somehow, mysteriously, come together at the end so that it’s not May and company who resolve matters but Bryant, who, fortunately, May always trusts to come through in the end.

This installment starts with the PCU finally brought an end, killed by a legion of enemies in higher quarters. (Too many high officials have been embarrassed by the Unit’s shenanigans.) The list of allegations against the PCU’s two senor partners includes destruction of government property, contamination and misuse of evidence in criminal investigations, illegal hiring practices, blackmailing a senior Home Office official, releasing hazardous materials inside a Ministry of Defence establishment, and interfering with a member of the royal family. Yes, they did all of these things. When the Unit gets going, chaos always follows.

With the PCU disbanded, Bryant sits in his rented quarters, visibly declining under the eyes of a loving but bemused housekeeper(flatmate?). May, much more robust, shows up to pull him out of his depression. Then there’s a bizarre, and to the government, profoundly embarrassing murder. A dead man with no head on his shoulders is found in a refrigerator unit near a major civic development project that must not go wrong because it would make certain very senior officials look foolish. (Which they are.) No one else knows how to deal with the murder so the PCU is given a stay of execution. It no longer has an office suite. Or computers. Or crime equipment. But it’s given one week to clear up the mess. Now that’s true gratitude.

Soon more murders follow. There are reports of the appearance in the area of a man dressed from head to foot in furs and crowned with a rack of stag horns crafted from razor sharp kitchen knives. Other odd things happen. As usual, Bryant gets sidetracked into exploring the pre-Christian, pagan background of the places where the crimes have taken place. (There’s a touch of Peter Ackroyd here.) The action is non-stop and there are a satisfying number of horrific murders in it, and along the way, the prose pops and sizzles with little zingers like this one, a description of an obviously underwhelming vicar they come across: he “was young and untested, of ineffectual appearance and extremely pale, as if he had been washed clean too many times.” That last qualifier! I love it!

They catch the killer in the end but there’s a twist that sets up the next book in this thoroughly delightful hard to put down series.

One person found this helpful

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Blue in Washington (Barry Ballow)

Homeless, Headless but not Heartless

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 15, 2017

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This episode of the PCU's adventures is about midway through the series (thus far), but still has the unit in terrible hot water and actually ousted from their dowdy quarters and momentarily homeless. Their salvation is the sudden appearance of headless bodies popping up in a corner of London under redevelopment. Senior citizen detectives Bryan and May find a way to worm their way back into existence as no other element of the London Police has a clue to how the crimes are happening or where to start in solving them.

As is often the case, the most delicious parts of the book are those that deal with London's history--and this story goes back tot he days of prehistory when the city was forested and populated by some pretty wild flora and fauna. The plot line swings back and forth between the real (the battle to gentrify older parts of London) to the surreal (witches, legends, etc.) Great mix that will engage all readers.

I thought that "On the Loose" was one of the best books in this very, very engaging series.

2 people found this helpful

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Mary S

The PCU in Kings Cross

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 14, 2016

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The Peculiar Crimes Unit is out of work. Or are they? When a dead body without its head shows up at a Kings Cross construction site, the PCU is put in charge. Because of the antipathy of the Home Office to the PCU, they have none of the tools used by a modern police force. "On the Loose" is your typical Bryant and May offering. The star of this outing is actually Kings Cross, a part of London that goes back to prehistoric times. Although engaging, there is a sense that different stories were cobbled together so that Fowler could get all of the history of Kings Cross into the novel. But as with the others in the series, Bryant, May, and their team are so engaging that you go along for the ride.

One person found this helpful

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CynthiaLR

Better and better....

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 30, 2009

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If you love London, if you love little known facts about an area - you'll love this series. I read this latest installment of the Bryant and May mysteries in one sitting and my only disappointment was that the next volume isn't out yet so that I could keep reading on. There are not many mysteries I read again and again, but the Peculiar Crimes Unit (Bryant and May) is one that I will re-read many times. Mr. Fowler has a great way of giving historical facts wrapped up in page-turning entertainment. This is one series I hope never ends!

2 people found this helpful

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Barbara81

A wonderful addition to a great series

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 26, 2011

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I am a devoted fan of this series. Being a senior and a mystery fan, I'm in my glory reading these Bryant & May books. They are extremely well written, very entertaining with just the right amount of humor. There is never a dull moment in this series. And for once, I don't skip the "stuffing" to get to the nitty gritty.

5 people found this helpful

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William Shevlin

... thei series in order and it just keeps getting better.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 18, 2017

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Have been reading thei series in order and it just keeps getting better.

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Tara K. Morrison

Love this series

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 24, 2014

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I have devoured all Bryant and May work. Quirky characters, great writing, involved plots and palpable atmosphere at times. Good for anyone who likes British mysteries and characters.

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Love Bryant and May

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 18, 2014

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Read one of Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit stories and you will be hooked. Really cleaver mysteries set in London and
so well written you will want to go back for more. My fear is that I am reading them faster than Fowler is writing them.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Douglas Kemp

PCU is PNG'd

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 3, 2017

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The Home Office have finally succeeded in shutting down the Peculiar Crimes Unit, and the two aged detectives Bryant & May have effectively been dismissed. While John May looks for a new job, Arthur Bryant sinks into a solitary depression.
But such a gloomy situation would not really permit the unfolding of a traditional Bryant & May story, and as we are in the middle of a continuing series – it does not give much away to say that this does not spell the end of the PCU. They are temporarily re-established to solve a murder when a headless body is found in a disused freezer at the back of a small shop unit in London’s Kings Cross. And there are also reports of a man attacking local workers and visitors in the same area with antlers formed by kitchen knives lashed together who Bryant thinks is some form of Herne the Hunter/Green Man, the game is truly afoot once more.
The story is written in Fowler’s customary entertaining style, with lots of intriguing local London lore and mythic history thrown in, which Bryant, not surprisingly, believes is at the root of the murder. We also have the engaging leading figures back – May’s sense and balance, and Bryant’s whacky eccentricity – which always seems to work, even when facing huge odds. It is an odd, fantastic tale, but you do not read Fowler for a plodding, conventional plot.

2 people found this helpful

Mark Pack

A great read for those who love the series; a good read for those new to it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 4, 2012

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This is the seventh book in Christopher Fowler's series featuring two ageing London detectives and a host of London local history, and it rather reminds me of an old, comfortably, slightly faded coat.

All the familiar successful elements of this series that pays homage to the classic form of crime novels are here. Present but in muted form. We get humorous interplay between the detectives Arthur Bryant and John May - but not too much. We get once again a threat to their police unit - the Peculiar Crimes Unit - which now seems as regular a feature of these books as Arthur Bryant meeting a witch. We get that too again in this book, though only as a tangential detail. His escapades investigating crime via consulting spiritualists, lovers of esoteric knowledge and reference books continue once more as the pair investigate corpses around Kings Cross, appearing to be murdered - and without their heads.

Back again too are obscures corners of London's local history, fleshing out the plot. This time, however, they are not that central to it (unlike, say, The Water Room (Bryant & May 2)). And so on through the other regular features of the series: all present, all not quite so sharp or vital as in previous volumes.

The poignant twist near the end rewards most long-term readers of the series. If you have followed the characters through several previous volumes, the way one of Bryant's regular crime-solving quirks produces a tragic turn of events has a strong emotional kick. For those newer to the series, I suspect it will come over rather more as the near-inevitable twist you expect as a crime novel nears its ends; less moving as it fills a rather expected plot purpose.

As a result, if you are new to the Bryant & May series, I'd be tempted to start at an earlier volume even though they do not need to be read in order.

Once again, the audio version is narrated by Tim Goodman, a tremendous bonus especially the way he voices the different characters so the large cast is never confusing.

One person found this helpful

D. M. Dickson

Romance for Janice

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 30, 2013

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Another success for Mr Fowler I think.

Poor old Bryant is becoming more and more disreputable and it seems that John May is heading in the completely opposite direction becoming more and more dapper as the series proceeds. Yet again the books are an education in the hidden stories behind the nation's capital and I am impressed by the way that, though the two ancient detectives do, understandably, harp back to the past the stories themselves are rooted well and truly in the present day.

This was quite a complicated plot and very well designed I thought. The characters were as always fascinating and believable. A lovely little romantic interest for Janice Longbright - and oh such a sad, sad ending. I shed a tear I have to say.

Yes, thoroughly enjoyed this. Have already started the next one. The only problem I have is that I am up to number 8 and there are only 10. Oh dear I do hope the next Rebus comes out on time!!!

One person found this helpful

Chenier

Both disappointing and irritating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 14, 2016

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I see that there are reviewers who believe that this volume is a good entry point to the long running series; if that is the case then I shudder to think what a bad entry point would be.

Having plodded my way through the book, only to discover that I'm supposed to buy another book about the same murderer, I note that much angst is expressed by one of the primary protagonists about his own stupidity.

I entirely agree that he truly has behaved in a remarkably stupid way, resulting in the death of one of his own team, and the escape of a mass murderer; quite why the author thinks this is an inducement to buy another book is a mystery. I shan't be doing so.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Good read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 28, 2016

Verified Purchase

A nice read. Some entertaining ideas and lots of background that added a lot of extra interest. I haven't read any of the other Bryant and May books but found the characters and plot were sufficiently stand alone that it didn't matter at all. Nor was the narrative held up by background infilling. One was just aware that the characters had history together. It is not great literature in the Dickens sense but it its well written. I shall read others probably if I have a train journey or flight to take as they are absorbing without being difficult.

One person found this helpful

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