Bryant and May: Hall of Mirrors by Christopher Fowler

Reviewed by Jeanne

I have read and enjoyed several of the previous entries in the Peculiar Crimes Unit series which chronicles the adventures and misadventures of a motley group of police investigators based in London.  While highly unorthodox and definitely non-regulation, they manage to solve some of the oddest mysteries the city can offer.

This entry, however, is a bit of an anomaly.  For one thing, it’s set in the past—1969, to be exact—when senior sleuths Arthur Bryant and John May are somewhat less senior. For another, they have to venture out of London. Their assignment is to take care of Monty Hatton-Jones, a whistleblower who is scheduled to testify against a developer accused of using shoddy materials. Instead of hiding out in a motel room like a good snitch, Monty insists on attending a house party at Tavistock Hall hosted by Lady Banks-Marion and her son, Harry aka Lord Banks-Marion.  The house is to be sold to reclusive millionaire Donald Burke, who will also be attending the party. With no other choice, Bryant and May pack their suitcases and head to the wilds of Tavistock Hall.

It soon becomes apparent that there is something sinister going on, and a murder to be solved amid the secret passageways, valuable art, falling masonry, half-naked hippies, and sometimes fatal farm equipment.

As with all of the PCU books, the serious plot is thoroughly laced with humor. Bryant and May are pretending, somewhat unsuccessfully, to be business colleagues of Monty’s. Bryant is always a bit of a fish out of water, only happy with his books and . . . um. . . eclectic friends.  This time he’s positively gasping for air, preferably smog-filled.  The country does not agree with him, what with its positively primitive conditions (no sidewalks, animals about, unnerving birdsong).  He’s tried to fit in, borrowing clothing more suitable for an English country house; unfortunately, aforementioned clothing comes from his friends in the theatre, who have given him used costumes from various productions, including tap shoes.

I will admit to being a bit disappointed at the lack of arcane lore in this one—learning about the history of London (and England) is usually a highlight for me.  It isn’t until near the end of the book that Bryant retreats to the library to research. However, I also love the sociological commentary the books present, and this one was also kind of a trip down memory lane.  Lord Banks-Marion has been living in India, inspired by the Beatles’ spiritual pilgrimage, and has set up his own commune on the property. I also missed some of the supporting characters who populate the (more or less) present day adventures.

Still, if clever plots, witty observations, interesting characters, and droll social commentary are your thing, you’ll find much to like in this book. And if you like the 1960s, all the better!

Bryant and May and the Burning Man by Christopher Fowler

Reviewed by Jeanne

When a financier is accused of corruption, people take to the streets in an “Occupy Wall Street” action albeit in the London banking district.  At first the mobs are peaceful enough, but then one night a Molotov cocktail is thrown at the door of a bank and a sleeping vagrant is burnt alive.  It appears at first that it was just a protest gone terribly wrong. Then when a second victim dies a gruesome death involving fire and also has a connection to the same bank, it begins to look more like premeditated murder.

Or at least that’s how it appears to Arthur Bryant, the senior member of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. The PCU is one of those special units that those in authority would just as soon forget about.  In fact, the only reason they’re called in at all is that the regular London police force is preoccupied with the riots and it’s felt that the PCU can’t possibly cause any trouble by just identifying a body.  Arthur is troubled not only by the method of the deaths but by the timing: it’s just before Guy Fawkes Day, when bonfires and fireworks are a prominent symbol. His partner May isn’t quite as convinced; and besides, he’s more concerned about Arthur’s sudden lapses of memory.

These books aren’t for everyone; they certainly aren’t for those seeking a page-turning thriller. They also aren’t for those who want their murders grim and their detectives grimmer, nor for those who want a bit of a fluffy murder thrown in with lots of laughs.  So why do I love these books so much?

I love the digressions into the history of London, both the land and the people.  I love the folklore that blends into every tale.  I love learning all the little details such as the origin of the word “bon fire” and how that fits into both folklore and history.  I like the cleverness to the humor which is never smug. (The head of the PCU is Darren Link, who actually has no control and very little clue as to what is going on with the department, hence his nickname “Missing.”) I love that these characters grow and change, not always for the better.  I love that Fowler isn’t predictable in the way things turn out, even killing off a character unexpectedly but not gratuitously.  I love that Arthur Bryant is a genuinely old person with sometimes disquieting habits (pulling out his false teeth at inopportune times, for instance, or proceeding to eat a lint- covered humbug that has been in his coat pocket for months) instead of being a guy with a touch of grey who complains about a touch of arthritis all the while racing down streets to collar a perp.  I love that the mystery is solved even though Bryant and May approach the problem from two different angles entirely to arrive at the same conclusion. And, last but not least, while the crimes can be grisly the books have a strong sense of humor about them.

In this book, for example, I learned a great deal about the London financial district and how it came to be (the Great Fire of London played a role), background on Guy Fawkes and Samhain, plus the relatively new influence of American Halloween in UK. (One theory is that the latter is just a ploy to sell plastic orange pumpkins and costumes.) Fire is examined both as something real and as symbolic, a purifying agent, a chance for rebirth. I got to spend time with characters I’ve come to know and love, and I had a wonderful time doing it.

The Invisible Code by Christopher Fowler

Reviewed by Jeanne

The PCU (Peculiar Crimes Unit) has always had to scramble to exist. They infuriate those in power with their unorthodox method of doing things and their even more unorthodox personnel—never mind that they get things done.  It’s the way they get things done that’s the problem. Arthur Bryant is a historian, not a policeman, with an imagination that tends to run a bit toward the occult and knowledge of London history that would put Britannica to shame. Besides, he’s not nearing retirement age, he’s tottered past it and is lurching toward eternity.  His partner John May is younger which isn’t saying much at all. The rest of the staff are a motley crew as well, mostly people who didn’t quite fit in with the regular force.  None of them seem to have much respect for authority or proper procedures, which is why the PCU always seems to be on the verge of being shut down.

Now, however, they’ve been handed a case which could make the Unit’s existence a good deal less precarious, providing they can reach a successful conclusion.  Oscar Kasavian, an old enemy of the PCU who has tried to shut them down repeatedly, has approached them with a personal problem.  His beautiful young wife has been behaving very strangely for reasons he can’t understand, claiming to be chased by demons and harassed by witches.  She’s even causing some public scenes, which could not only end Kasavian’s career but could damage international relations.

Bryant and May accept the case, with a condition:  they also want to investigate the case of a young woman who was found dead in a church. There’s no apparent cause of death, but also no reason why a healthy young woman would expire sitting in a pew. There may or may not be a connection with Sabira Kasavian, but one way or the other the PCU is going to solve these cases.

This is the second Bryant and May mystery I’ve read and I enjoyed it even more than the first, despite the fact that I’m not reading these in order as is my wont.  They’re not exactly traditional mysteries.  Actually, they’re not traditional anything, being a mixture of mystery, thriller, puzzle, historical survey, and humorous tale with a splash of the paranormal thrown in for good measure.  The protagonists aren’t action heroes but senior citizens with aches and pains, false teeth, and first hand memories of WW II. There are a lot of good one-liners, but the stories aren’t farce.  Neither are cases solved through supernatural intervention but through detective work; the reader can generally accept or deny any supernatural aspect.

My favorite parts of the books are when Bryant stops to give a bit of history of a place in London, usually going all the way back to Roman times.  His seemingly endless knowledge of various sites makes me want to visit that old church or investigate that street. These digressions are more teaser than tedious, usually leaving me to go look up the history of Bletchley Park or the Hellfire Club or an artist to fill out details. The use of folklore and archetypes in Bryant’s summations delights me and the way Fowler combines the fantastical possibilities with reality is a marvel.  I’d recommend the books on those aspects alone, but the books are also pretty darn good mysteries as well. And they make me laugh and want to read passages out loud to unsuspecting bysitters.

These books aren’t going to charm everyone but they certainly captivate me with their wit, knowledge, puzzles, and characters I relate to more and more every day.

P.S. Yes, there is a cat and the name is Crippen.  Why are you not surprised?

Bryant and May on the Loose by Christopher Fowler

Reviewed by Jeanne

Having stepped on a few toes too many, the Peculiar Crimes Unit has been disbanded and its members scattered hither and yon—at least until a headless corpse is discovered in a politically sensitive area at a politically sensitive time.  The Powers That Be grudgingly decide to let May reassemble the team-- not an easy task when some have gone on to other jobs and Bryant has taken to his bathrobe and books. They have less than a week to solve the case, and they have to do so without any real authority, no access to official channels and an office without a working toilet but with a rather large pentagram.While May and most of the others spend their time following the money trail, Bryant gets sidetracked by a report of some crackpot wearing antlers made of cutlery who may or may not have anything to do with the case.

Such is the premise for Bryant and May on the Loose, the seventh in Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May series. This was the first time I’d tried a book in this series and I harbor the very strong suspicion that if I had deliberately set out to pick the worst possible place to start, it would be this book.  There are too many characters I’m supposed to know about already and I had trouble keeping them all straight.  There were a number of scenes which I knew were probably Very Significant but I didn’t know why.  On the other hand, I did keep reading because I enjoyed the writing and the fascinating bits of London history that were constantly being dropped.  I don’t recall ever hearing about the Saint Pancras Old Church before, but it plays a major role in the story; if I ever get to London, I want to pay a visit.

By the end I was admiring the way that Bryant and May both reached a conclusion through very different routes:  one from the realm of superstitions and strange forces and the other from very solid, non-mystical means, and no way to saying which one was right.  In fact they were both a bit right and both a bit wrong:  that’s quite a balancing act.

If you like your mysteries to be very British, with large dollops of history, folklore, clever observations and humor, this series might just be the ticket for you.  Personally, I’m intrigued enough to try another in the series and would recommend the series-- though I'd suggest starting with an earlier book.