A strange story - but I rather liked it. John May and Arthur Bryant are the head of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. They are a relatively obscure unit in London, dealing with the obscure crimes very few know about. They are both aging and are afraid the unit will be closed when they are gone. Their acting supervisor has decided he is closing the office down, so Arthur talks John into helping him take stuff to a spiritualist gathering. He borrows a van from a neighbor and he and John set off. Unfortunately, the only map Arthur has is a pre-WWI map. There is a rare blizzard blowing up - soon he and John are stranded in a snowstorm. The roads are all closed with the cars piled up and blocked in by the snow. There are other people caught on that road in the storm, too. A woman and her son - and a man pursuing her who killed his mother many years ago. Then a driver of a van is killed and John and Arthur have to try to find the killer. But there's something a little strange about the story the woman tells before she disappears with her son into the storm. Meanwhile, at the Peculiar Crimes office, Raymond Land has decided that he will not shut down the offices after all. But the staff discover the medical examiner dead in the morgue with the door locked and no forced entry or exit. So, the staff are trying to solve the crime because it looks like an inside job, like one of them killed him. The Detective, has been calling Arthur and John to consult. Arthur finally tells her that he and John won't be around forever and he will not solve the case for her, although he has figured out what happened. A member of the Home Office has it in for the unit because of something they know about him and he wants to close them down. So, he has arranged for a royal visit when he knows everything will be turned upside down. He is hoping they will insult the Princess Beatrice a connection of the ruling family and he will be able to close them down. All of the action takes place over just a few days. The story is told in chapters from the various points of view. So you know pretty well what four people are thinking. And in their thoughts is the clue to the killer - but it still completely blindsided me. Of course, I'm usually taken by surprise. I don't try to figure it out before the ending, but you often can tell which way the story is trending. Not this time.....This is the 3rd book in the series, so now I guess I will have to go back to read the first...
#5 in the Bryant & May "Peculiar Crimes Unit" mystery series set in London. In this episode, acting director Raymond Land closes the unit for a week while the computers and electronics are updated, so Bryant convinces May to accompany him to a spiritualist convention out in the rural west country. The two elderly detectives set off and run into a horrendous snowstorm that leaves them stuck in a ditch and stranded along with dozens of other travelers--one of whom is a murderer, as they discover when they find the body of a truck driver with his throat slashed. Meanwhile, back in London, the unit's pathologist Oswald Finch dies while beginning an autopsy on a young girl, a drug addict who is more than what she seems. His death comes just days before his impending retirement, and the remaining staff must figure out if it was murder (only they have keys and the door was locked!), suicide or a bizarre accident. Communicating with their senior colleagues by mobile phone, DS Janice Longbright must finally begin to put all the teachings of her mentors to work to solve the crime--before a royal visit scheduled last minute by their nemesis, Oscar Kasavian, could derail the unit once and for all. Enjoyable read as always with crazy characters, well-plotted mysteries, red herrings galore, and plenty of laughs. Though I was sad at the death of crotchety old Finch, his demise was an interesting puzzle for the Unit to solve.
Do You like book White Corridor (2007)?
I believe the person who gave me this book was told it was supposed to be similar to Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series. It is not. It is about police detectives and it takes place in Europe but that is about where the similarities end. The book is about two detectives who are close to retirement and work in a crime unit that deals with the odd crimes the regular units don't want to deal with which allows them teh use of unconventional methods to solve them. While reading the book, the author takes you down the path, building the story, but when the crime is solved, the reader almost gets whiplash because the conclusion is so far in the opposite direction from where the book had lead you. Truly a WTF reaction. While I was reading it, the building of the story was mostly interesting, although because I don't have any knowledge of things British, I probably missed out on some of the funnies. I think there are far too many potentially good books out there that I would not recommend anyone waste their time with this one.
—Keri
This is a rather odd entry in the Bryant & May series. When the PCU is confronted with a most unusual locked room mystery, Bryant and May are trapped in a blizzard. Why is this important? Well, the dead body belongs to crusty coroner, Oswald Finch. Furthermore, it looks like an inside job. Can the PCU solve the mystery without its heart and soul?Also, there’s a secondary suspense plot playing out in the blizzard, which is completely bizarre. In my opinion, this entry is just not up to snuff. Bummer.
—Jeanne
This is the best one so far in this series. Bryant and Mays are stranded in Dartmoor in a blizzard. There is a serial killer among the stranded motorists along with them. In London, Oswald Finch, the forensic pathologist, is found murdered in his locked laboratory. There is the body of a young girl on the table and it looks as if Finch was just beginning his autopsy. The team must solve his death, even if it looks as if it is one of the team themselves, before a royal visit takes place. Bryant and May try to help via telephone but they have their hands full trying to save a young boy from the serial killer. An excellent book.
—Ann
