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Bryant & May: Peculiar Crimes Unit #9
Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood
On a rainswept London night, the wealthy unscrupulous Robert Kramer hosts a party in his penthouse just off Trafalgar Square. But something is wrong. The atmosphere is uncomfortable, the guests are on edge. And when Kramer's new young wife goes to check on their baby boy, she finds the nursery door locked from the inside.
Breaking in, the Kramers are faced with an open window, an empty cot, and a grotesque antique puppet of Mr Punch lying on the floor. It seems that young Noah Kramer was thrown from the building, but the child was strangled, and the marks of the puppet's hands are clearly on his throat...what's more, there was a witness.
It's a perfect case for the Peculiar Crimes Unit. As John May and his team interrogate the guests, Arthur Bryant heads into the secret world of automata and stagecraft, illusions and effects. His suspicions fall on the staff of Kramer's company, who have been employed to stage a gruesome new thriller in the West End. As a second impossible death occurs, the detectives uncover forgotten museums and London eccentrics, and take a trip to a seaside Punch & Judy show.
Then Bryant's biographer suddenly dies. Was it a tragic accident, or could the circumstances of her death be related to the case? There's just one hour left to solve the crime, but Bryant has buried himself away with his esoteric books. The stage is set for a race against time with a surprising twist...
Breaking in, the Kramers are faced with an open window, an empty cot, and a grotesque antique puppet of Mr Punch lying on the floor. It seems that young Noah Kramer was thrown from the building, but the child was strangled, and the marks of the puppet's hands are clearly on his throat...what's more, there was a witness.
It's a perfect case for the Peculiar Crimes Unit. As John May and his team interrogate the guests, Arthur Bryant heads into the secret world of automata and stagecraft, illusions and effects. His suspicions fall on the staff of Kramer's company, who have been employed to stage a gruesome new thriller in the West End. As a second impossible death occurs, the detectives uncover forgotten museums and London eccentrics, and take a trip to a seaside Punch & Judy show.
Then Bryant's biographer suddenly dies. Was it a tragic accident, or could the circumstances of her death be related to the case? There's just one hour left to solve the crime, but Bryant has buried himself away with his esoteric books. The stage is set for a race against time with a surprising twist...
351 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
Christopher Fowler
244 books1,246 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Christopher Fowler was an English novelist living in London. His books contain elements of black comedy, anxiety and social satire. As well as novels, he wrote short stories, scripts, press articles and reviews.
He lived in King's Cross, on the Battlebridge Basin, and chose London as the backdrop of many of his stories because any one of the events in its two-thousand-year history can provide inspiration.
In 1998 he was the recipient of the BFS Best Short Story of the Year, for 'Wageslaves'. Then, in 2004, The Water Room was nominated for the CWA People's Choice Award, Full Dark House won the BFS August Derleth Novel of The Year Award 2004 and 'American Waitress' won the BFS Best Short Story of the Year 2004. The novella 'Breathe' won BFS Best Novella 2005.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Christopher Fowler was an English novelist living in London. His books contain elements of black comedy, anxiety and social satire. As well as novels, he wrote short stories, scripts, press articles and reviews.
He lived in King's Cross, on the Battlebridge Basin, and chose London as the backdrop of many of his stories because any one of the events in its two-thousand-year history can provide inspiration.
In 1998 he was the recipient of the BFS Best Short Story of the Year, for 'Wageslaves'. Then, in 2004, The Water Room was nominated for the CWA People's Choice Award, Full Dark House won the BFS August Derleth Novel of The Year Award 2004 and 'American Waitress' won the BFS Best Short Story of the Year 2004. The novella 'Breathe' won BFS Best Novella 2005.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 300 reviews
December 4, 2014
This may be my favorite of the Peculiar Crime Unit series books yet. A locked room crime. The London theater world and the ultra rich. A gorey and sex filled play. Oh so many things to consider. Once again Arthur Bryant and John May lead their cohorts into a battle of sorts to find a killer. And now they are operating in high social circles which might impede an investigation.
There were areas of London society where even the law
was powerless. The gap between rich and poor was not just
one of wealth but of accountability. (p 85)
And Bryant thinks to himself:
Artifice and reality...they combine more easily than
we realise. TV shows pretend to offer realism but they hide
hide as much as they show. Fiction, on the other hand, can
contain fundamental human truths. And sometimes it's
possible to step back and forth between these two worlds
just by opening the correct door, by finding the key that
will unlock mysteries. So much of London is masked; unspoken
rules protect the privileged, unseen codes hide the guilty.
What a crafty lot we are! (p 86)
There is always more going on than the mystery at hand.
Definitely recommended.
There were areas of London society where even the law
was powerless. The gap between rich and poor was not just
one of wealth but of accountability. (p 85)
And Bryant thinks to himself:
Artifice and reality...they combine more easily than
we realise. TV shows pretend to offer realism but they hide
hide as much as they show. Fiction, on the other hand, can
contain fundamental human truths. And sometimes it's
possible to step back and forth between these two worlds
just by opening the correct door, by finding the key that
will unlock mysteries. So much of London is masked; unspoken
rules protect the privileged, unseen codes hide the guilty.
What a crafty lot we are! (p 86)
There is always more going on than the mystery at hand.
Definitely recommended.
April 8, 2015
Review fro Badelynge.
Christopher Fowler's wonderful creations, elderly detectives Bryant and May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit are called in to investigate the brutal killing of a young baby taken from its cot in a locked room, shaken to death and callously thrown out the window. And on the floor next to the cot lies a life size Mr Punch doll. As ever Bryant dives into the esoteric aspects of the case while May employs solid police work. The book kicks off with some documents detailing the history and function of the PCU complete with personnel files, and all seemingly compiled and perused by shadowy government types bent on closing down the unit.
Generally Bryant usually states that he doesn't do multi-tasking so he's severely hampered this time by being distracted by the suspicious death of his biographer. Luckily DS Janice Longbright agrees to help him get to the bottom of it so that he can get to grips with the main investigation. London's theatrical history and our own peculiar fascination with Punch and Judy over the centuries certainly give the old detective plenty of food for thought.
Fowler manages to pull off his own brand of alchemy that blends the outright absurd with hard reality but no matter how dark it gets there is always room for humour.
My only slight niggle is that opening chapter. It's one of those 'let's lift a weird and exciting chapter from the end of the book and put it right at the start so the reader doesn't get put off by the sedate start.' I love all the slow build up so I don't think it was needed.
Prequel chapter aside I still had a good time with Bryant and May again.
Review from an advanced readers copy.
Christopher Fowler's wonderful creations, elderly detectives Bryant and May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit are called in to investigate the brutal killing of a young baby taken from its cot in a locked room, shaken to death and callously thrown out the window. And on the floor next to the cot lies a life size Mr Punch doll. As ever Bryant dives into the esoteric aspects of the case while May employs solid police work. The book kicks off with some documents detailing the history and function of the PCU complete with personnel files, and all seemingly compiled and perused by shadowy government types bent on closing down the unit.
Generally Bryant usually states that he doesn't do multi-tasking so he's severely hampered this time by being distracted by the suspicious death of his biographer. Luckily DS Janice Longbright agrees to help him get to the bottom of it so that he can get to grips with the main investigation. London's theatrical history and our own peculiar fascination with Punch and Judy over the centuries certainly give the old detective plenty of food for thought.
Fowler manages to pull off his own brand of alchemy that blends the outright absurd with hard reality but no matter how dark it gets there is always room for humour.
My only slight niggle is that opening chapter. It's one of those 'let's lift a weird and exciting chapter from the end of the book and put it right at the start so the reader doesn't get put off by the sedate start.' I love all the slow build up so I don't think it was needed.
Prequel chapter aside I still had a good time with Bryant and May again.
Review from an advanced readers copy.
May 31, 2017
Ninth in the Bryant & May quirky mystery series set in London and revolving around two detectives who should have retired years ago.
My Take
It's a dive into the history of Punch and Judy theatre, and it's fascinating as Salterton takes us back into its origins and purpose as well as who the cast is actually meant to represent. There's also a brief foray into censorship in London theatres by the Lord Chamberlain and historic bits of stage magic. It's very much like today when a new bit of technology arises and everyone has to play with it.
Each installment in the series has explored various aspects of history, particularly London's, and I believe that Oskar Kasavian's vendetta is part of the overall series arc along with Bryant and May's "pending" retirement. The series has also been Fowler's soapbox, as he expresses his own views on society, politics, policework, the human condition…and "the Disneyfication of the West End". I gotta say I agree with most everything he's said so far in the series. And it's why that third-person omniscient point-of-view is so useful, as it allows him to include those opinions.
It's the characters in the PCU that make this so much fun to read, well, that and Fowler's impossible mysteries.
Fowler makes such great use of the "report" (it's a cleverly disguised info dump) to fill the reader in on the characters and the back story of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. It seems that Fowler had a presentiment about Wikileaks as well, lol. I loved Fowler's note that the University of London is trying to offer a course that explains Bryant's methods, lol.
Bryant is fascinatingly rude; I'm taking notes.
Considering who the murderer turns out to be, who was digging through Baine's briefcase?
For a bit of domestic drama, Bryant has lost his case for his Chalk Hill factory abode and has to move. I can't wait to see how he "fits in" to his next home!
The Story
For the crew of the New Strand Theatre, the play The Two Murderers seems less performance than prophecy when a cast party ends in the shocking death of the theater owner’s son. The crime scene is most unusual, even for Bryant and May. In a locked bedroom without any trace of fingerprints or blood, the only sign of disturbance is a gruesome life-size puppet of Mr. Punch laying on the floor. Everyone at the party is a suspect, including the corrupt producer, the rakish male lead, the dour set designer, and the assistant stage manager, who is the wild daughter of a prominent government official.
It’s this last fact that threatens the Peculiar Crimes Unit’s investigation, as the government’s Home Office, wary of the team’s eccentric methods, seeks to throw them off the case. But the nimble minds of Bryant and May are not so easily deterred.
Delving into the history of the London theater and the disturbing origins of Punch and Judy, the detectives race to find the maniacal killer before he reaches his even deadlier final act.
The Characters
Arthur Bryant and John May are senior detectives who should have retired, but they enjoy their work too much. And besides, what else would they do? The incredibly rude and eccentric Bryant has handled almost every type of case there is, in a most odd manner, using psychics, healers, New Age fringe-dwellers, etc. Victor is his ancient Mini Cooper. Alma Sorrowbridge is Bryant’s West Indian housemate (and his former landlady).
May is the socially ept half of the team who loves dressing well, and loves the ladies. Brigitte is the divorced Frenchwoman May fears he's losing. Jane Upton is his ex-wife currently in an asylum. He is estranged from his son, Alex, to whom his granddaughter April fled ( Bryant and May Off the Rails ). Gwen Kaye is his married sister.
The rest of the Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) was…
…one of seven experimental units created during World War II. Since 1945, the PCU has been under fire by politicians and rescued by politicians. These days, the Home Office works to sabotage the PCU. Raymond Land is the acting head who has been trying to transfer out for years. His wife, Leanne, is constantly cheating on him, but he's unaware of it. Detective Sergeant Janice Longbright had been an Olympic javelin hopeful and has had a fascination for 1950s film stars and their style of dress. Her mother, Gladys Forthright, used to work for PCU, and her father, Harris, also worked for the Metropolitan Police. Crime Scene Manager Dan Banbury is also the IT tech with a ten-year-old son. Sergeant Jack Renfield flips back and forth on his support for the PCU and has a reputation as an old-school copper. He also has a thing for Longbright. Police Constables Meera Mangeshkar, Colin Bimsley, and Fraternity Ducaine are also quite loyal, although Meera has anger management issues and clashes with Bryant and May as well as filing complaints against them. Bimsley's father and uncle are also former PCU. Bimsley does have Diminished Spatial Awareness (DSA) and keeps trying to date Meera. It's that bet at the end that does it, lol. Bargepole was Bimsley's childhood cat that triggered the DSA. Fraternity was Liberty's brother ( Bryant & May on the Loose , 7). Crippen is a cat who survived.
Giles Kershaw is a forensic pathologist working as the St. Pancras coroner, but continues to help out the PCU. His brother-in-law was the last Home Secretary. Rosa "Mrs. Danvers" Lysandrou is the scary "housekeeper" at St. Pancras. Dr. Leo Hendrick is the resident coroner at Bermondsey.
The Home Office (HO) has…
…purview over the PCU with Leslie Faraday, your typical sleazoid bureaucrat, the HO Liaison with the PCU. Miss Queally is his personal assistant. Oskar Kasavian is an intimidating supervisor with Internal Security and practically panting at the bit to get the PCU shut down. Sabotage, blackmail, murder, whatever works. Lucy Clementine is a plant.
The cast and associates of The Two Murderers include…
…billionaire Robert Julius Kramer is a real estate mogul who sees a parallel with Punch's sociopathy and his own ambitions. Judith is his second wife; Stella was his first. Noah is their eleven-month-old son. Gloria is the nanny. Gregory Baine is the producer and Kramer's accountant; Susan is his girlfriend. Della Fortress and Marcus Sigler are the leads. Russell Haddon is the director; Naida is his drunk girlfriend. Ella Maltby is in charge of set design and comes from a long line of model makers. She's creative, but gruesome. Ray Pryce wrote the play, sort of. Barnesly is the stage manager; Gail Strong has just been hired as the assistant stage manager. She's also the wayward daughter of the Public Buildings Minister and the granddaughter of the Lord Commissioner of the Treasury. Mona Williams and Neil Crofting are aging actors playing bit parts. Larry Hayes is the wardrobe master. Mohammed al-Nahyan is the carpenter. Jolie Christchurch is the front-of-house manager. Mrs. Blimey is the cleaner at the theatre.
Irma Bederke works in the Human Resources Department of Farcom and is the Kramers' neighbor. Cruikshank Holdings is a private, illegal nest egg. Amir Sahin is a workman at the Cannon Street Station. Mick Leach is the foreman. Edgar Digby is Maltby's lawyer.
Punch and Judy and…
…various automata. The full iconic Punch and Judy cast includes Punch, Judy, their Baby, the Beadle, Scaramouche, Toby, Pretty Poll, a Clown, a Courtier, an Archer, the Police Constable, the Doctor, Jim Crow the black servant, the Tradesman, the Distinguished Foreigner, the Alligator, the Blind Man, the Ghost, Jack Ketch is the Hangman, Mephisto the Devil, and Death.
Madame Blavatsky was found up in the attic of the current PCU office. Yeah, that office fits right in with Bryant's interests. It was once used by the Alistair Crowley's Occult Revivalist Society for their meetings.
Dudley Salterton, a ventriloquist, does Punch and Judy shows in Broadstairs and owns a dilapidated waxworks museum. He's also the foremost authority on Punch and Judy in Britain and a former academic at the British Museum. Nimrod Granville, who runs Pollock's Toy Museum, is the last working expert on Victorian theatrical toys. And his talk about those Victorian toys' endurance will make you cry. Maggie Armitage is the Grand Order Grade IV White Witch of the Coven of St. James the Elder and yet another of Arthur's consultants (and friends). Daphne is a member of the coven and seeing sprites.
Anna Marquand is Bryant's biographer and freelances for Icarus, the publisher who plans to publish Bryant's book. She also transcribes for the Classical Studies Department. Rose Marquand is her lazy, selfish mother. Sheena is a young woman who volunteers to help Rose out. The Hagans are neighbors and the local four-generation criminal family. Joseph is the father. Ashley Hagan particularly scares her. Bunny is the youngest daughter.
Tooting Bec is a public swimming pool. Donna is the cashier and a friend of Anna's. The Ladykillers Café with its 1950s theme is near the PCU office and popular with the team. Brenda and Yvonne are its twenty-something owners. Janet Ramsey is the editor of Hard News, a gossip daily ( Ten Second Staircase , 4). Alex Lansdale is the theatre reviewer for Hard News.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a soft blue-violet, sponged and stenciled with a proscenium arch in a darker shade. The title and author's name are in a script font in black and frame a cartoonish Punch and Judy act that represents events in the story. Yep, even the graphics that surround the deep rust curtained stage with its pointed knife, the skeleton dangling from the "B" in the title, the theatrical comedy and tragedy masks, the pitchfork, and the bag of popcorn are part of the act. The series information is in a scrolly frame in the front center of the stage floor.
The title is a bid for revenge, in The Memory of Blood for family wronged.
My Take
It's a dive into the history of Punch and Judy theatre, and it's fascinating as Salterton takes us back into its origins and purpose as well as who the cast is actually meant to represent. There's also a brief foray into censorship in London theatres by the Lord Chamberlain and historic bits of stage magic. It's very much like today when a new bit of technology arises and everyone has to play with it.
Each installment in the series has explored various aspects of history, particularly London's, and I believe that Oskar Kasavian's vendetta is part of the overall series arc along with Bryant and May's "pending" retirement. The series has also been Fowler's soapbox, as he expresses his own views on society, politics, policework, the human condition…and "the Disneyfication of the West End". I gotta say I agree with most everything he's said so far in the series. And it's why that third-person omniscient point-of-view is so useful, as it allows him to include those opinions.
It's the characters in the PCU that make this so much fun to read, well, that and Fowler's impossible mysteries.
Fowler makes such great use of the "report" (it's a cleverly disguised info dump) to fill the reader in on the characters and the back story of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. It seems that Fowler had a presentiment about Wikileaks as well, lol. I loved Fowler's note that the University of London is trying to offer a course that explains Bryant's methods, lol.
I can get into this:"Clutter, either mental or physical, is the sign of a healthy curiosity."I am SO healthy…Once you get past the report, we start at the end with a modified reverse chronology plot beat and segue into a locked-room mystery that ends with a twist of a surprise ending. And yet, as difficult as this was to figure out, as intriguing as was Punch's history, and with that connection Meera makes toward the end ( The Victoria Vanishes , 6) — he should've left it alone, but all that poking and attacking... — which only makes me want to dive into The Invisible Code , 10, it was a bit tedious.
Bryant is fascinatingly rude; I'm taking notes.
Considering who the murderer turns out to be, who was digging through Baine's briefcase?
For a bit of domestic drama, Bryant has lost his case for his Chalk Hill factory abode and has to move. I can't wait to see how he "fits in" to his next home!
The Story
For the crew of the New Strand Theatre, the play The Two Murderers seems less performance than prophecy when a cast party ends in the shocking death of the theater owner’s son. The crime scene is most unusual, even for Bryant and May. In a locked bedroom without any trace of fingerprints or blood, the only sign of disturbance is a gruesome life-size puppet of Mr. Punch laying on the floor. Everyone at the party is a suspect, including the corrupt producer, the rakish male lead, the dour set designer, and the assistant stage manager, who is the wild daughter of a prominent government official.
It’s this last fact that threatens the Peculiar Crimes Unit’s investigation, as the government’s Home Office, wary of the team’s eccentric methods, seeks to throw them off the case. But the nimble minds of Bryant and May are not so easily deterred.
Delving into the history of the London theater and the disturbing origins of Punch and Judy, the detectives race to find the maniacal killer before he reaches his even deadlier final act.
The Characters
Arthur Bryant and John May are senior detectives who should have retired, but they enjoy their work too much. And besides, what else would they do? The incredibly rude and eccentric Bryant has handled almost every type of case there is, in a most odd manner, using psychics, healers, New Age fringe-dwellers, etc. Victor is his ancient Mini Cooper. Alma Sorrowbridge is Bryant’s West Indian housemate (and his former landlady).
May is the socially ept half of the team who loves dressing well, and loves the ladies. Brigitte is the divorced Frenchwoman May fears he's losing. Jane Upton is his ex-wife currently in an asylum. He is estranged from his son, Alex, to whom his granddaughter April fled ( Bryant and May Off the Rails ). Gwen Kaye is his married sister.
The rest of the Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) was…
…one of seven experimental units created during World War II. Since 1945, the PCU has been under fire by politicians and rescued by politicians. These days, the Home Office works to sabotage the PCU. Raymond Land is the acting head who has been trying to transfer out for years. His wife, Leanne, is constantly cheating on him, but he's unaware of it. Detective Sergeant Janice Longbright had been an Olympic javelin hopeful and has had a fascination for 1950s film stars and their style of dress. Her mother, Gladys Forthright, used to work for PCU, and her father, Harris, also worked for the Metropolitan Police. Crime Scene Manager Dan Banbury is also the IT tech with a ten-year-old son. Sergeant Jack Renfield flips back and forth on his support for the PCU and has a reputation as an old-school copper. He also has a thing for Longbright. Police Constables Meera Mangeshkar, Colin Bimsley, and Fraternity Ducaine are also quite loyal, although Meera has anger management issues and clashes with Bryant and May as well as filing complaints against them. Bimsley's father and uncle are also former PCU. Bimsley does have Diminished Spatial Awareness (DSA) and keeps trying to date Meera. It's that bet at the end that does it, lol. Bargepole was Bimsley's childhood cat that triggered the DSA. Fraternity was Liberty's brother ( Bryant & May on the Loose , 7). Crippen is a cat who survived.
Giles Kershaw is a forensic pathologist working as the St. Pancras coroner, but continues to help out the PCU. His brother-in-law was the last Home Secretary. Rosa "Mrs. Danvers" Lysandrou is the scary "housekeeper" at St. Pancras. Dr. Leo Hendrick is the resident coroner at Bermondsey.
The Home Office (HO) has…
…purview over the PCU with Leslie Faraday, your typical sleazoid bureaucrat, the HO Liaison with the PCU. Miss Queally is his personal assistant. Oskar Kasavian is an intimidating supervisor with Internal Security and practically panting at the bit to get the PCU shut down. Sabotage, blackmail, murder, whatever works. Lucy Clementine is a plant.
The cast and associates of The Two Murderers include…
…billionaire Robert Julius Kramer is a real estate mogul who sees a parallel with Punch's sociopathy and his own ambitions. Judith is his second wife; Stella was his first. Noah is their eleven-month-old son. Gloria is the nanny. Gregory Baine is the producer and Kramer's accountant; Susan is his girlfriend. Della Fortress and Marcus Sigler are the leads. Russell Haddon is the director; Naida is his drunk girlfriend. Ella Maltby is in charge of set design and comes from a long line of model makers. She's creative, but gruesome. Ray Pryce wrote the play, sort of. Barnesly is the stage manager; Gail Strong has just been hired as the assistant stage manager. She's also the wayward daughter of the Public Buildings Minister and the granddaughter of the Lord Commissioner of the Treasury. Mona Williams and Neil Crofting are aging actors playing bit parts. Larry Hayes is the wardrobe master. Mohammed al-Nahyan is the carpenter. Jolie Christchurch is the front-of-house manager. Mrs. Blimey is the cleaner at the theatre.
Irma Bederke works in the Human Resources Department of Farcom and is the Kramers' neighbor. Cruikshank Holdings is a private, illegal nest egg. Amir Sahin is a workman at the Cannon Street Station. Mick Leach is the foreman. Edgar Digby is Maltby's lawyer.
Punch and Judy and…
…various automata. The full iconic Punch and Judy cast includes Punch, Judy, their Baby, the Beadle, Scaramouche, Toby, Pretty Poll, a Clown, a Courtier, an Archer, the Police Constable, the Doctor, Jim Crow the black servant, the Tradesman, the Distinguished Foreigner, the Alligator, the Blind Man, the Ghost, Jack Ketch is the Hangman, Mephisto the Devil, and Death.
Madame Blavatsky was found up in the attic of the current PCU office. Yeah, that office fits right in with Bryant's interests. It was once used by the Alistair Crowley's Occult Revivalist Society for their meetings.
Dudley Salterton, a ventriloquist, does Punch and Judy shows in Broadstairs and owns a dilapidated waxworks museum. He's also the foremost authority on Punch and Judy in Britain and a former academic at the British Museum. Nimrod Granville, who runs Pollock's Toy Museum, is the last working expert on Victorian theatrical toys. And his talk about those Victorian toys' endurance will make you cry. Maggie Armitage is the Grand Order Grade IV White Witch of the Coven of St. James the Elder and yet another of Arthur's consultants (and friends). Daphne is a member of the coven and seeing sprites.
Anna Marquand is Bryant's biographer and freelances for Icarus, the publisher who plans to publish Bryant's book. She also transcribes for the Classical Studies Department. Rose Marquand is her lazy, selfish mother. Sheena is a young woman who volunteers to help Rose out. The Hagans are neighbors and the local four-generation criminal family. Joseph is the father. Ashley Hagan particularly scares her. Bunny is the youngest daughter.
Tooting Bec is a public swimming pool. Donna is the cashier and a friend of Anna's. The Ladykillers Café with its 1950s theme is near the PCU office and popular with the team. Brenda and Yvonne are its twenty-something owners. Janet Ramsey is the editor of Hard News, a gossip daily ( Ten Second Staircase , 4). Alex Lansdale is the theatre reviewer for Hard News.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a soft blue-violet, sponged and stenciled with a proscenium arch in a darker shade. The title and author's name are in a script font in black and frame a cartoonish Punch and Judy act that represents events in the story. Yep, even the graphics that surround the deep rust curtained stage with its pointed knife, the skeleton dangling from the "B" in the title, the theatrical comedy and tragedy masks, the pitchfork, and the bag of popcorn are part of the act. The series information is in a scrolly frame in the front center of the stage floor.
The title is a bid for revenge, in The Memory of Blood for family wronged.
January 15, 2021
Wonderful wonderful Bryant and May novel! One of the best and I'm reading A LOT of them. This one involves puppets!!
A digression: I LOVE PUPPETS. (I'll stop with the caps now.) As a young girl and well into my teens I had about 60 puppets. Store-bought, hand-made, including some marionettes. (One an 'expensive' marionette my sister bought for me in Italy. Hooray!) I wrote plays for them, staged them with my best friend - she had about 20 puppets of her own - and it all makes up some of the best, sweetest, most wonderful memories of my childhood, and so...
Back to the book: Murders are happening which seem to revolve around an entire cast of Punch and Judy puppets, originals, held in a collection by a rather bold and arrogant would-be theatrical king. He's bought an old building which was once a theater and now is staging plays in it. The first one involves double murders and gory, Gothic undertones - the young millennials love it! However, death is happening to cast members and those surrounding the production, each in ghastly horrible ways and each with a Punch and Judy puppet nearby.
(Yeah I love this stuff, eat it up with sauce on top.)
Senior Detective Arthur Bryant, elderly and frumpy member of the PCU, (a special unit in London which investigates serious crimes that might endanger the public or embarrass those in power), and his (also elderly) partner John May, a more urbane and by-the-book detective, are sent to investigate. We've got old buildings here, and buildings-being-built as the new overtakes the old in Old London. There are so many possible suspects in this one! Each one fascinating and each with a separate story about 'what happened' the night of the first murder, which took place in an elegant high-rise.
Bryant and May are up to their usual tricks this time, making trouble for their superiors, and doing all they can - officially, creatively, whatever it takes - to sort this one out. This includes consorting with a white witch, looking up the long and very complex history of the Punch and Judy shows - (And who knew Punch was little more than a sadistic narcissist and egotist?) - and dealing with the usual run-around of inconsistent and unreliable 'witnesses.' Loved it.
Did I say loved it? I DID!
Five stars
A digression: I LOVE PUPPETS. (I'll stop with the caps now.) As a young girl and well into my teens I had about 60 puppets. Store-bought, hand-made, including some marionettes. (One an 'expensive' marionette my sister bought for me in Italy. Hooray!) I wrote plays for them, staged them with my best friend - she had about 20 puppets of her own - and it all makes up some of the best, sweetest, most wonderful memories of my childhood, and so...
Back to the book: Murders are happening which seem to revolve around an entire cast of Punch and Judy puppets, originals, held in a collection by a rather bold and arrogant would-be theatrical king. He's bought an old building which was once a theater and now is staging plays in it. The first one involves double murders and gory, Gothic undertones - the young millennials love it! However, death is happening to cast members and those surrounding the production, each in ghastly horrible ways and each with a Punch and Judy puppet nearby.
(Yeah I love this stuff, eat it up with sauce on top.)
Senior Detective Arthur Bryant, elderly and frumpy member of the PCU, (a special unit in London which investigates serious crimes that might endanger the public or embarrass those in power), and his (also elderly) partner John May, a more urbane and by-the-book detective, are sent to investigate. We've got old buildings here, and buildings-being-built as the new overtakes the old in Old London. There are so many possible suspects in this one! Each one fascinating and each with a separate story about 'what happened' the night of the first murder, which took place in an elegant high-rise.
Bryant and May are up to their usual tricks this time, making trouble for their superiors, and doing all they can - officially, creatively, whatever it takes - to sort this one out. This includes consorting with a white witch, looking up the long and very complex history of the Punch and Judy shows - (And who knew Punch was little more than a sadistic narcissist and egotist?) - and dealing with the usual run-around of inconsistent and unreliable 'witnesses.' Loved it.
Did I say loved it? I DID!
Five stars
January 25, 2022
I'm surprised that this is only the fifth of the Bryant and May books I have read. The Peculiar Crimes Unit takes on London's drama circle when the first death of an infant kicks off a series of more to be solved if not prevented. The the two main crime solvers are always at odds but the team relies on one of them coming to the rescue at the end with the grand solution. Government officials play a part in misleading and aiming to bring the PCU to its end, but that is not how it all works out.
Original, wacky and melodramatic scenes carried to extremes that mostly bring a smile.
Original, wacky and melodramatic scenes carried to extremes that mostly bring a smile.
July 16, 2016
I am determined to read all the Bryant and May Peculiar Crimes Unit books!! This series is so delightful and is somewhat like the Nero Wolfe books in that the story is secondary to the perfectly drawn characters. The author is a master of the ingenious and slightly cock-eyed style of writing that makes each book a joy even if the plot is totally insane and could never happen in the real world.
In this book, the Peculiar Crimes Unit is called into a case which seems to revolve around the historic puppets Punch and Judy and has dark ties to the British theater. Several murders occur and the pressure is on the Unit from the Home Office since high ranking persons are dying like flies. Never fear, the murderer will be revealed by the way (s)he smokes a cigarette!!! (That seems like a spoiler but trust me, it isn't).
Another winner from Christopher Fowler.
In this book, the Peculiar Crimes Unit is called into a case which seems to revolve around the historic puppets Punch and Judy and has dark ties to the British theater. Several murders occur and the pressure is on the Unit from the Home Office since high ranking persons are dying like flies. Never fear, the murderer will be revealed by the way (s)he smokes a cigarette!!! (That seems like a spoiler but trust me, it isn't).
Another winner from Christopher Fowler.
November 23, 2012
ehhhhhhhhh, it was cute but ... i think what happens with some of these series mysteries is that once you get past the initial surprise and delight of the funny characters and situations they start to feel empty. I felt that way with the fourth Flavia De Luce and I've felt that way with the past couple Bryant and Mays. And there used to be more character development in the early books, this one is just kind of a silly plot with nothing much else.
August 4, 2012
This is the first book I've read in the series (#8), and I enjoyed it enough to now go and start from the beginning.
Two seemingly doddering detectives in London head up the PCU (peculiar crimes unit): Bryant (a real eccentric) and May. This murder mystery is set in the world of London Theater and puppetry, two things that I'm very interested in, so that is what interested me in the first place.
There are enough twists and turns, and non-linear thinking, leading to the end, that it kept me engrossed and wondering. That right there is enough for me on many levels: too often the writer reveals too much along the way, making the ending easy to guess. Add in a lot of humorous moments, character development of all characters great and small, and this was just an enjoyable read. Lots of little esoteric pieces of information thrown in, and a story plot that has it's roots here but will be (I assume) picked up in the next (last?) volume.
If you're an anglophile, like dry humor, are open to eccentric thinking, then give this a shot.
Two seemingly doddering detectives in London head up the PCU (peculiar crimes unit): Bryant (a real eccentric) and May. This murder mystery is set in the world of London Theater and puppetry, two things that I'm very interested in, so that is what interested me in the first place.
There are enough twists and turns, and non-linear thinking, leading to the end, that it kept me engrossed and wondering. That right there is enough for me on many levels: too often the writer reveals too much along the way, making the ending easy to guess. Add in a lot of humorous moments, character development of all characters great and small, and this was just an enjoyable read. Lots of little esoteric pieces of information thrown in, and a story plot that has it's roots here but will be (I assume) picked up in the next (last?) volume.
If you're an anglophile, like dry humor, are open to eccentric thinking, then give this a shot.
September 29, 2016
The Peculiar Crimes Unit delves into the world of the theatre as they investigate the death of a baby removed from his cot, strangled and thrown out of the window of a room locked from the inside while downstairs the launch party for a new play has assembled numerous members of a theatre company, all of whom are now suspects. Examining the body and what little evidence was left behind, it soon becomes apparent that the crime scene was an elaborately staged display meant to indicate that the child was strangled not by a human, but by an antique puppet of Mr Punch left lying next to the cot - which is impossible... right?
My second foray into the quirky and most definitely peculiar world of the PCU and its cases - and just as entertaining and intriguing as the first. I'll definitely be reading more of these.
My second foray into the quirky and most definitely peculiar world of the PCU and its cases - and just as entertaining and intriguing as the first. I'll definitely be reading more of these.
March 18, 2015
I enjoyed this mystery, felt it was one of the better ones, EXCEPT for a baby getting killed. I found that very disturbing, thus the lack of more stars.
I enjoyed the history behind the Punch and Judy and the history of London Theater.Madame Blavatsky was a hoot. My favorite quote in the book was one of her fortunes: Nobody Does Yoga in Wales.
There was also another murder not really relating to the case. It is a definitely to be continued thread.
I enjoyed the history behind the Punch and Judy and the history of London Theater.Madame Blavatsky was a hoot. My favorite quote in the book was one of her fortunes: Nobody Does Yoga in Wales.
There was also another murder not really relating to the case. It is a definitely to be continued thread.
December 13, 2020
This was just as good as usual except for the actual culprit. The journey as usual was fascinating.
February 2, 2019
I'm beginning to lose patience with our beloved old guy detectives. In this novel I do not approve of the murder victims, except one of them, and when that one dies, I wish he had died in a much more horrible fashion, and more slowly.
And it really bothers me how crucial details are kept away from readers until the last minute. But, I'll give one extra star because at least the killer had been a suspect all along, not some stranger who was never in the story until being miraculously presented as the murderer. I REALLY hate it when mystery stories do that.
Oh, and another bonus half-star for being the Only Book I have read To date that features the blessed word "culs-de-sac"!
And it really bothers me how crucial details are kept away from readers until the last minute. But, I'll give one extra star because at least the killer had been a suspect all along, not some stranger who was never in the story until being miraculously presented as the murderer. I REALLY hate it when mystery stories do that.
Oh, and another bonus half-star for being the Only Book I have read To date that features the blessed word "culs-de-sac"!
October 15, 2022
The Memory of Blood is very good, but perhaps not one of the best in this series, which is often absolutely brilliant.
Here, Bryant and May and the PCU investigate a horrible murder in which the young son of a wealthy impresario is thrown from the window of a locked room during a part for cast, crew and backers of a play. A figure of Mr Punch is found by the bed, and as others die a link to the Punch & Judy tradition begins to emerge.
As always, this is very well written, exceptionally well-researched and full of entertaining characters. It is by turns funny, gripping, touching and exciting. However, it’s not an absolute favourite of mine, possibly because the background this time isn’t about the arcane history of London but about Punch & Judy. This is interesting, but doesn’t have quite the same atmospheric appeal as some books. Arthur is his usual self (“eccentric” doesn’t begin to cover it) but doesn’t consult quite the usual range of misfits, mystics and oddballs.
Nonetheless, this is a very enjoyable read which I can recommend warmly. It will stand on its own, but I think you get a good deal more form the books if you read them in order – and I’m already looking forward to the next.
Here, Bryant and May and the PCU investigate a horrible murder in which the young son of a wealthy impresario is thrown from the window of a locked room during a part for cast, crew and backers of a play. A figure of Mr Punch is found by the bed, and as others die a link to the Punch & Judy tradition begins to emerge.
As always, this is very well written, exceptionally well-researched and full of entertaining characters. It is by turns funny, gripping, touching and exciting. However, it’s not an absolute favourite of mine, possibly because the background this time isn’t about the arcane history of London but about Punch & Judy. This is interesting, but doesn’t have quite the same atmospheric appeal as some books. Arthur is his usual self (“eccentric” doesn’t begin to cover it) but doesn’t consult quite the usual range of misfits, mystics and oddballs.
Nonetheless, this is a very enjoyable read which I can recommend warmly. It will stand on its own, but I think you get a good deal more form the books if you read them in order – and I’m already looking forward to the next.
October 29, 2023
I'm reading this for the second time to put it into the sequence properly.I'll review it again later.
Well, the third time, then.
Puppets are always a little disturbing, like clowns. We don't have the tradition of Punch and Judy here, perhaps because we don't have entertainments on our beaches, not even donkey rides. Funny that.
In this series something may look eerie or supernatural but it is finally explained in "normal" terms, so we don't really believe that Mr. Punch could have killed the baby and thrown him out the window, even if it does fit the puppet plot. On the other hand, how else could it have happened. This is a true locked room mystery and the solution is quite skillful (on the part of the killer and the author.)
As well as the "proper" mystery we also have Bryant publishing his "memoirs", which is confusing since Mr. Fowler has told us that the books are Bryant's memoirs and that he doesn't always remember things as they really were. It doesn't bear thinking about too much. His editor dies, too, and he may never really recover from that as he regarded her very fondly.
Oskar Kasavian is there and we are really beginning to worry about his nature - demon - vampire - or just weird bureaucrat? His animus toward the PCU is intense and there is going to be a showdown some time soon.
There was one passage where we were told in breathless tones something we'd already been told several chapters earlier but I suppose any author is allowed one bit like that. I really have to sit down and figure out what cantilevered breasts are. I have a pretty good idea but it is such an extreme phrase that it's worth contemplating for a bit. That is one thing I like about Chris Fowler, his use of language. He adds layers of historical, artistic and literary background to his descriptions and makes the material so much more entertaining.
and here I am again, but I do like this one.
Well, the third time, then.
Puppets are always a little disturbing, like clowns. We don't have the tradition of Punch and Judy here, perhaps because we don't have entertainments on our beaches, not even donkey rides. Funny that.
In this series something may look eerie or supernatural but it is finally explained in "normal" terms, so we don't really believe that Mr. Punch could have killed the baby and thrown him out the window, even if it does fit the puppet plot. On the other hand, how else could it have happened. This is a true locked room mystery and the solution is quite skillful (on the part of the killer and the author.)
As well as the "proper" mystery we also have Bryant publishing his "memoirs", which is confusing since Mr. Fowler has told us that the books are Bryant's memoirs and that he doesn't always remember things as they really were. It doesn't bear thinking about too much. His editor dies, too, and he may never really recover from that as he regarded her very fondly.
Oskar Kasavian is there and we are really beginning to worry about his nature - demon - vampire - or just weird bureaucrat? His animus toward the PCU is intense and there is going to be a showdown some time soon.
There was one passage where we were told in breathless tones something we'd already been told several chapters earlier but I suppose any author is allowed one bit like that. I really have to sit down and figure out what cantilevered breasts are. I have a pretty good idea but it is such an extreme phrase that it's worth contemplating for a bit. That is one thing I like about Chris Fowler, his use of language. He adds layers of historical, artistic and literary background to his descriptions and makes the material so much more entertaining.
and here I am again, but I do like this one.
May 24, 2016
Another cracking read, with the elderly detectives and their team taking on the tragic death of a baby. For this story, they return to the world of the theatre and have to solve the apparent locked room murder of the child by the sinister Punch of Punch and Judy fame.
Meanwhile, a subplot concerning Bryant's memoirs sets up a future plotline and holds the promise of explaining the persistent malice of Whitehall official, Oskar Kasavian, who has plotted throughout the series to shut down the Peculiar Crimes Unit.
Meanwhile, a subplot concerning Bryant's memoirs sets up a future plotline and holds the promise of explaining the persistent malice of Whitehall official, Oskar Kasavian, who has plotted throughout the series to shut down the Peculiar Crimes Unit.
January 18, 2020
Always on the verge of being shut down by those who see them as embarrassments, the PCU manages to pull themselves together once again. One of the most engaging detective teams in modern fiction.
March 7, 2020
Bryant and May solve it once again!
April 3, 2021
Enjoyed both the mystery and the eccentric characters that brought the story to life!
January 10, 2022
Fowler’s descriptive and diological wit continue to make the Bryant and May series a delight. Never knowing where Bryant’s next quirky move or friend will take the reader is only magnified by his Sherlockian revelation of the tales villain. What fun!
May 30, 2022
Focus is on Punch and Judy, their forms, history, uses etc. Themes of anarchy, power, pride, revenge. Suspense drawn out to the nth degree. Fascinating as usual.
June 17, 2023
Sometimes poignant, sometimes laugh out loud. Always a great puzzle and excellent writing
August 10, 2016
First Sentence: The following undated document appeared on Wikileaks and is now the subject of a government investigation.
During the cast party, someone has murdered the theater owner’s infant son. The bedroom is locked from the inside and neither blood nor fingerprints are found; only the life-sized puppet of Mr. Punch, lying on the floor.
A cast of characters is always helpful, but usually not very inventive. From Page One, it is clear this will not be your usual read with your usual characters and each is fully developed and fascinating. They are not necessary all people you’d want to know, but each becomes real in your mind. The Peculiar Crimes Unit team, including their long-suffering superior Raymond Lamb, is colorful and imaginative.
You are immediately caught up in the author’s voice; his observations of the English and the wonderful wry humor…”People described Salterton as ageless in a way that wasn’t intended as a compliment. He seemed to exist somewhere between post-menopause and post-mortem.” Throughout, the author punctuates the story with simple statements of truth…”The gap between rich and poor was not just one of wealth but of accountability.” His use of language is to be savored… ”This, then, was Arthur Bryant at work, his furrowed forehead bowed beneath the yellow light of the desk lamp, a shambling Prospero residing over the desiccated pages of his literary arcane, stirring fresh knowledge into the heady stew of ideas that filled his brain.” The dialogue is excellent with some of the exchanges between Bryant and May left to flow unhampered by interruptions of so-and-so said.
The crime itself is anything but ordinary. It is, at times, gruesome. It is also a wonderful entre into the behind scenes working of a theater and the history of Punch and Judy. Fowler is particularly good and teaching the reader about things you didn’t even know you wanted to know.
“Memory of Blood” is a very good book, filled with humor, imagination, suspense, and wonderful characters. I am very happy to say there are, as of now, two more book after this…and eight wonderful books before it.
THE MEMORY OF BLOOD (Pol Proc-Bryant and May-England-Contemp) – VG
Fowler, Christopher – 9th in series
Bantam Books, 2011
During the cast party, someone has murdered the theater owner’s infant son. The bedroom is locked from the inside and neither blood nor fingerprints are found; only the life-sized puppet of Mr. Punch, lying on the floor.
A cast of characters is always helpful, but usually not very inventive. From Page One, it is clear this will not be your usual read with your usual characters and each is fully developed and fascinating. They are not necessary all people you’d want to know, but each becomes real in your mind. The Peculiar Crimes Unit team, including their long-suffering superior Raymond Lamb, is colorful and imaginative.
You are immediately caught up in the author’s voice; his observations of the English and the wonderful wry humor…”People described Salterton as ageless in a way that wasn’t intended as a compliment. He seemed to exist somewhere between post-menopause and post-mortem.” Throughout, the author punctuates the story with simple statements of truth…”The gap between rich and poor was not just one of wealth but of accountability.” His use of language is to be savored… ”This, then, was Arthur Bryant at work, his furrowed forehead bowed beneath the yellow light of the desk lamp, a shambling Prospero residing over the desiccated pages of his literary arcane, stirring fresh knowledge into the heady stew of ideas that filled his brain.” The dialogue is excellent with some of the exchanges between Bryant and May left to flow unhampered by interruptions of so-and-so said.
The crime itself is anything but ordinary. It is, at times, gruesome. It is also a wonderful entre into the behind scenes working of a theater and the history of Punch and Judy. Fowler is particularly good and teaching the reader about things you didn’t even know you wanted to know.
“Memory of Blood” is a very good book, filled with humor, imagination, suspense, and wonderful characters. I am very happy to say there are, as of now, two more book after this…and eight wonderful books before it.
THE MEMORY OF BLOOD (Pol Proc-Bryant and May-England-Contemp) – VG
Fowler, Christopher – 9th in series
Bantam Books, 2011
May 28, 2012
I thought hooray, another Peculiar Crimes Unit book to take away the taste of stupid formula thrillers and self-righteous political preaching masquerading as novels.
Seriously. I'm having a good baseball season and a really good trout season, but reading season has been rough lately.
Anyway, I'm giving this one four stars mostly out of loyalty to Mr. Fowler, who stubbornly insists on writing books for adults. (As opposed to adult books, which nobody does anymore. Alas.)
It's a little creaky. The main and secondary plots are grafted together. The characters are a little flat. The book didn't make me laugh out loud.
But a so-so Fowler is miles above the best, oh, let's see, what was that stupid made-up writer, Richard Castle? Or Jim Harrison puking up some Sixties indignation. Or Kellerman's latest connect-the-dots thriller.
Seriously. I'm having a good baseball season and a really good trout season, but reading season has been rough lately.
Anyway, I'm giving this one four stars mostly out of loyalty to Mr. Fowler, who stubbornly insists on writing books for adults. (As opposed to adult books, which nobody does anymore. Alas.)
It's a little creaky. The main and secondary plots are grafted together. The characters are a little flat. The book didn't make me laugh out loud.
But a so-so Fowler is miles above the best, oh, let's see, what was that stupid made-up writer, Richard Castle? Or Jim Harrison puking up some Sixties indignation. Or Kellerman's latest connect-the-dots thriller.
November 19, 2015
A good enough locked-room mystery with some interesting history of Punch & Judy but perhaps a little less quirky than some other books in the series. The absence of Edna Wagstaff is made up for by the presence of Madame Blavatsky. There were also very few dictionary words in this book. What's more, a couple words that would have qualified as dictionary words were discussed by the characters in the book in such a way as to supply the reader with a definition. How wimpy is that? So I was left with only:
page 18 penumbral
page 28 eidetic
page 67 defenestration (which I actually knew because fenestration is an architectural term, although defenestration is not the opposite because without fenestration, you can't have defenestration, which is funny unless it happens to you)
page 108 meretricious
page 18 penumbral
page 28 eidetic
page 67 defenestration (which I actually knew because fenestration is an architectural term, although defenestration is not the opposite because without fenestration, you can't have defenestration, which is funny unless it happens to you)
page 108 meretricious
January 6, 2012
Another chapter in the Peculiar Crimes Unit files. Eccentric detectives follow up on crimes with a supernatural twist.
The most refreshing thing about these investigators is their lack of baggage. Eccentric they may be - but they get on with the job in hand without the emotional setbacks so many fictional sleuths seem obliged to cart around with them.
Christopher Fowler writes as always with such style, humour and amazing skill.
The most refreshing thing about these investigators is their lack of baggage. Eccentric they may be - but they get on with the job in hand without the emotional setbacks so many fictional sleuths seem obliged to cart around with them.
Christopher Fowler writes as always with such style, humour and amazing skill.
February 20, 2012
I love Fowler's books. They always have a love of London (my home town) and London history/lore. This one has more of English cultural history as opposed to just London history. Bryant and May are wonderfully developed characters. Their relationship is one of long standing friendship that goes back over decades. It shows differently in this book than others in the series. Somehow more restrained, more trust between them. Anyway, I'm a fan so can't help but love the stories.
September 9, 2023
I’ve read this twice I think, once as a ebook and now as an audiobook. Wonderful narrator - and a terrific volume in the Bryant and May series. All the usual esoteric information and a tricky plot with twists and turns. Chris Fowler was a wonderful author in many genres and I and the rest of his fans miss him.
November 21, 2012
not as quirky,or outlandish as some of the earlier books, in fact there seemed to be very little of the usual odd goings on... but still a great story, with two of my favourite characters... who get better with each book.
a simple who dunnit really, with small list of suspects, but the reveal as always comes with those tiny clues I never, as the reader, pick up on.
looking forward to next one.
a simple who dunnit really, with small list of suspects, but the reveal as always comes with those tiny clues I never, as the reader, pick up on.
looking forward to next one.
May 2, 2015
The Memory of Blood is a smart, well written mystery with a kooky cast of characters. PCU is brought in on the case when a murder takes place behind a locked door and an antique Punch Doll is the only evidence left at the scene. The story is peppered with intriguing plot twists and plenty of red herrings to keep
the reader engaged. I definitely recommend this book if you enjoy mysteries.
the reader engaged. I definitely recommend this book if you enjoy mysteries.
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