Synopses & Reviews
They are detections oddest couple: two cranky detectives whose professional partnership dates back half a century. Now Arthur Bryant and John May return in a case of multiple murder that twists through a subterranean course of the secrets, lies, and extreme passions that drive even ordinary men and women to the most shocking crimes….
They are living legends with a reputation for solving even the trickiest cases using unorthodox, unconventional, and often completely unauthorized methods. But the Peculiar Crimes Unit headed by Detectives John May and Arthur Bryant is one mistake away from being shut down for good. And when the elderly sister of Bryants friend is found dead in the basement of her decrepit house in Kentish Town, they find themselves on the verge of making exactly that mistake.
According to the coroner, Ruth Singhs heart simply stopped beating. But why was a woman who rarely left the house fully dressed for an outing? And why was there river water in her throat? Convinced that the old lady didnt die a natural death, the detectives delve into a murky case with no apparent motive, no forensics, and no clues. And theyve barely launched their investigation when death claims another victim. Suddenly they discover some very unnatural behavior surrounding Ruth Singhs death by “natural” causesfrom shady real estate developers and racist threats to two troubled marriages, from a dodgy academician working Londons notorious “grey economy” to a network of antiquities collectors obsessed with Egyptian mythology. And running beneath it all are the sweeping tentacles of Londons vast and forgotten underground river system. As the rains pour down and the water rises, Bryant and May must rely on instinct, experience, and their own very peculiar methods to stem a tide of evil that threatens to drown them all.
Synopsis
The Los Angeles Times praised Fowler's Full Dark House as a madcap mystery that's completely crazy and great fun for it. Now everyone's favorite cantankerous--and decrepit--British detective heroes return in a darkly hilarious puzzler that just might land both of them in hot water--permanently. When an elderly woman is found dead inside her own home--her lungs full of river water--London's Peculiar Crimes Unit is called in to search for a logical solution. But the property's next tenant is also plagued by mysterious damp patches and the sound of rushing water. With the death toll climbing and their investigative unit facing an uncertain future, the city's oddest and oldest detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, must pool their resources to track down a murderer with an extraordinary motive--and uncover the shocking secrets hidden in London's very deep underground.
About the Author
Christopher Fowler is the acclaimed author of fourteen previous novels, including the first four Bryant & May novels, Full Dark House, which won the BFS August Derleth Novel of the Year Award and was nominated for a Barry Award, The Water Room, Seventy-Seven Clocks, and Ten Second Staircase. He lives in London, where he is at work on his sixth novel featuring Arthur Bryant and John May.