The new Peculiar Crimes Unit mystery, Bryant and May: Wild Chamber by Christopher Fowler (Ballantine/Random House, digital galley) finds the two aging, eccentric police detectives tracking a possible serial killer knocking off victims in London parks. Lots of funny business, witty writing and a killer ending.
from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever

Christopher Fowler continues his Peculiar Crimes Unit series with Bryant and May : Wild Chamber. London, England's, private parks become the setting for a series of peculiar murders which fall to Bryant and May to solve. A bureaucrat is trying to privatize and lock up private and public parks in London and shut down Peculiar Crimes Unit. To find the perpetrator the detectives use wildly unusual tactics aided and abetted by London's unusual characters. Zany cast and implausible methods; a pleasure as usual. Read and enjoy

First Sentence: On a desolate rain-battered London midnight, the members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit went looking for a killer.

London has many private gardens, accessible only to the residents who live around them. The gardener also has a key but doesn’t expect to find the body of a woman who’d taken her dog for a walk. She has been strangled and neatly laid out on the path, her dog missing, and the garden locked before the gardener’s arrival. A second such body is found in a public park. At risk are more murders, the city’s parks being closed to the public, and the PUC disbanded. The clock is ticking.

An aerial chase, a traffic jam, a boy’s death and a man whose life implodes. This is an opening which captures one’s attention.

That Fowler uses a memo to provide a cast of characters is both helpful and clever. That the list includes “Crippen, staff cat,” and the subsequent memo brings readers up to date on the situation at the aptly-named Peculiar Crimes Unit truly sets the tone for what follows. Fowler’s books are not one’s normal police procedural, as the characters, particularly those of Arthur Bryant and John May, are anything but what one would normally find. Fowler gives us something unique with present-day crimes overlain with an education into obscure historical facts and writing which increases one’s vocabulary. But never fear; this book is anything but dry or boring.

Fowler is skilled at juxtaposing historic London over that of the present day in a way that contributes to the plot. Part of that is an explanation as to how Bryant became a detective. Fowler creates evocative descriptions—“The wind was high in the trees, breathing secrets through the branches.—and observations—“Looking down on King’s Cross you’d have noticed an odd phenomenon: Every other roof was covered in white frost, forming a patchwork quilt, an indicator of which properties were owned by overseas investors and which had warm families inside.” But yes, unfortunately, there are also quite a few completely unnecessarily portents.

It is hard to say which is more enjoyable; the cast of strange and fascinating characters of Bryant’s acquaintance, the vast abundance of arcane and historical information—who knew it was Arthur Sullivan of Gilbert and Sullivan, who wrote the music to “Onward Christian Soldiers--, the members of the PUC itself, or the plot which brings all these facets together into a perfect gem of a book with a well-done plot twist. We are even given a definition as to what is a murder mystery—“A murder mystery,’ she told Bryant…’is an intellectual exercise, a game between reader and writer in which a problem is precisely stated, elaborately described, and surprisingly solved.”—and Fowler does just that.

“Bryant & May: Wild Chamber” is a murder mystery in the best sense. All the clues are provided if we but see them. The best part of the book is the very last line, but that one will have to read for themselves.

BRYANT & MAY: WILD CHAMBER (Pol Proc-Bryant & May-London-Contemp) – VG+
Fowler, Christopher – 14th in series
Bantam – December 2017

Another great entry in a very enjoyable series. Solving unusual crimes using unusual methods is the Peculiar Crimes Unit's modus operandi. And esoterica of London itself is once again included in the story as part of the investigation process. Also, the future of the PCU itself is again in jeopardy as it is being challenged to meet "productivity" goals if it is to remain in operation.

This time the parks of London move front and center, as a seemingly pointless murder is committed in one of the many small private, locked parks the city's more prosperous residents enjoy. Slowly more crimes are committed and other parks are involved until a panic begins to rise (fanned by unscrupulous modern profit seekers with a scheme that seems all too real). Along the way, Fowler treats his readers to a history of London's parks and green spaces over the city's long history. As always these segments both enlighten and offer occasional moments of humor. In addition to providing this wide range of information on London's parks and the meaning of park lands in general, there is also a running "gag" of sorts on the multitude of craft beers available now. I didn't notice this til quite late in the book, but then, I'm not a beer drinker. Keep track as you read and you will have another piece of fun.

I enjoy the pieces of London lore I pick up while reading these books. In this book, it's mentioned that St. Pancras Old Church was the site of a Roman encampment. Their temple converted to Christian in the year 313. And the sons of Bach, Benjamin Franklin, John Polidori, Mary Wollstonecraft, Dickens, Hardy, Byron and Shelley are buried in the church's graveyard. Quite a haul for one site!

This is another recommended read for those who enjoy a mystery with the sense of eccentricity fostered by Bryant and May and the wonderful grasp of London past and present shown by Christopher Fowler. I continue to love this series.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

BRYANT & MAY: WILD CHAMBER by Christopher Fowler is number 14 in a series of mysteries involving London’s Peculiar Crimes Unit. It’s fun and light-hearted, set in contemporary London, with this one involving murders in some of London's parks – the wild chambers of the title. Fowler has won acclaim and awards for this series, although WILD CHAMBER was the first I had read.

Bryant and May are long time partners and the former is especially eccentric, with a long list of equally bizarre acquaintances and a tendency towards hallucinations. At one point his supervisor tells him, "You can do some proper police work for a change and be a bit more realistic, instead of spending all of your time rooting about in filthy old books and talking to autistic academics." I love Bryant's response: "Reality is for those who lack imagination ..." And his colleagues clearly respect him and hold him in affection, often joining him for a pint at a local pub. That's one of the places where Fowler has fun with his readers, since the characters imbibe local brews such as Camden Liver Damage and Farmer's Arse Best Bitter. One can't help but smile and enjoy the surprises in this solid mystery which received starred reviews from both Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

BRYANT & MAY: WILD CHAMBER: A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery
Christopher Fowler
Bantam Books
ISBN 978-1101887066
Hardcover
Mystery

One of my favorite things about the end of the calendar year is the all but certain appearance of the next Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) book by Christopher Fowler. The PCU is Fowler’s one pony of a multitude of many tricks, one of which is providing an ensemble cast headed by Arthur Bryant and John May who in turn are supported by a number of steady, mildly quirky secondary characters. Fowler somehow makes the reader happy to see any of them on the page at any given moment even as whoever is absent is missed. How does he do that? And how has he done that, over the course of what is now fourteen books, with the publication of WILD CHAMBER? The answer is that each volume of the series also provides a tantalizing, smart, and clever mystery which beats at the story’s very core, the solution to which is found, at least in part, within the history and culture of London, one of the civilized world’s oldest and most interesting series. The result is addicting in every sense of the word. Not everyone has read a PCU book; I daresay, however, that if you read one you will read all of them and wait eagerly for the next one, just as I do.

That said, Fowler, who is incapable of writing badly in any event, somehow tops himself once again in WILD CHAMBER. The title takes its name from a term used to describe the integral units of London’s green space system, which is utilized at the beginning of the book to provide, at this late date, a variation on the mystery genre’s classic “locked room” puzzle. Suffice to say that the PCU, headed as always by Arthur Bryant and John May, are tasked from on high with solving the mystery of the murder of a woman in a London park. The failure of the team to do so immediately, as well as the occurrence of a second, similar murder, results in the threatened dissolution of the team (a common occurrence) as well as the execution of a plan to close the parks to the public and then reopen them on a pay-as-you-go basis. Bryant and May, who have partnered on the police force since at least the Second World War (that fact, as well as their respective ages, is no longer mentioned) each bring their own respective skill set to the story. May is a bit more grounded, while Bryant brings an off-the-charts data pattern recognition aptitude to the fore. May more often than not plays straight man to Bryant’s ability to randomly pull out of his pockets candies and tobacco brands that have not been made for decades as well as arcane facts and scattered London trivia out of his head and eclectic collection of reference books. The trivia occasionally escapes in the form of what are probably --- with Bryant, one never knows --- hallucinations in which Bryant obtains the answer, or at least the hint of one, from a conversation with a long-deceased historical figure. It’s an interesting way to solve a mystery, and Fowler, in his own fashion, finds a way to make it plausible, as a killer methodically makes his way through a series of connected victims for seemingly no reason at all. Leave it to Bryant and May to ultimately discern the who and the why.

If I had my way, Fowler’s name would be a household one and Bryant and May, with their PCU colleagues, would have a fan base on the order of Doctor Who’s. Indeed, a television series has been discussed in the past, but ultimately shelved. Perhaps it is time for a second look, or for a graphic novel, or something. Absent that, if you have even a remote interest in well-written, carefully plotted, and delightfully populated mystery novels you should be reading Christopher Fowler’s PCU mysteries, and you should start with WILD CHAMBER. Seriously. Very strongly recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2017, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

Oh, how I love this series. Spending time with Bryant and May and the other members of the Peculiar Crime's Unit is never wasted time. From the first page the reader knows there is something unique about this group. Which is exactly how it needs to be because the crimes they solve are waaaay out there, not at all the usual sort of crimes other police forces encounter. This time the crime involves the beloved green spaces of London, both open to the public and those that are gated. The first murder occurs in a garden version of a locked room and another follows. On top of the usual weirdness that is par for the course, the clock is ticking and failure to solve the mystery will shut the doors of the PCU forever. Hah, that's been tried before.
If you are new to the wonderful world of Bryant and May and the PCU, by all means read this entry out of order then, as soon as you have closed the book, go get the rest of the series and be prepared to set aside many days or weeks, even -it is, after all 13 more books you are going to enjoy - to immerse yourself in some great writing.

This is the 15th book for Christopher Fowler's quirky Peculiar Crimes Unit, fronted by the delightfully weird duo, Bryant & May. Published 5th December, 2017 by Random House, it's available in hardcover, ebook and audio versions.

I've never really found anything that is similar to the PCU novels. They all have an impossible crime feeling with weird/supernatural overtones which are completely exploded by the time the denouement rolls around. Christopher Fowler is a masterfully gifted writer. The novels are truly top drawer, finely crafted, and obey the generally accepted commandments of mystery writing. And they are funny. Good heavens, they're funny. I read Wild Chamber during my commute and the book often surprised laughter out of me. (In fact, I wound up recommending the books to several people who were curious what could possibly be so laugh-out-loud funny on my work commutes).

One thing that has surprised me about this series is how very good it was from the start. There aren't all that many series I can think of which start off really strong and find their stride from book 1. Honestly there are only a handful of series which haven't seriously flagged (or pooped out) for me after more than a dozen books. One gets the feeling that many authors are feeding contractual obligations after that many books and, well, 'phoning it in'. That is emphatically not the case with Fowler. He's still brilliantly funny and the books are absolutely full of quirky trivia, generally delivered by Arthur Bryant. If only I could spend some hours in Bryant's library, I would die happy. In fact, the entire ensemble cast is filled with well developed characters, and the dialogue is pitch perfect.

The author is prolific and dependably, consistently, good at writing.

The PCU books, generally speaking, function very well as standalone novels and this one would make a good start on the series for readers who are not previously familiar with the books.

Wonderful series, great book. I enjoyed it so much.

Five stars

In "Bryant and May: Wild Chamber," by Christopher Fowler, an unidentified assailant takes the life of a well-to-do businesswoman in a locked garden to which access is restricted. Other murders follow, but the officers of the Peculiar Crime Unit are stymied in their efforts to pinpoint a motive and make an arrest. Although Senior Investigator Arthur Bryant occasionally has spells during which he hallucinations about the past ("the dreams feel very real when they happen"), he is on the road to recovery after a health crisis threatened to end his career. Bryant, who is old, doddering, and perpetually disheveled, still makes incomprehensible statements that baffle his listeners; leaves debris wherever he goes; and consults experts who possess arcane knowledge and, in some cases, "mystical" powers, to assist him with his inquiries. The dedicated and conscientious employees of the PCU put in long hours in a run-down building that is a safety hazard. Moreover, there are powerful officials hoping to shut their unit down for good. Among them is the obnoxious and self-serving Home Office Liaison Officer, Leslie Faraday, who hatches a nefarious scheme that he believes will hasten the PCU's dissolution.

Above all, what keeps us coming back to the adventures of Bryant, his urbane partner, John May, and their colorful colleagues, is Fowler's laugh-out-loud humor. Raymond Land, the ineffectual head of the PCU, whom Arthur regularly insults in a variety of languages, is struggling to survive as chief of a team whose members operate under a strange set of rules. Land is recently divorced and gets no respect from anyone, particularly his subordinates. Fowler's dialogue is witty, sarcastic, and satirical, but keep your dictionary handy, as the author is fond of British slang and uses esoteric words such as "parkour,"wombles," "aleatoric," and "petrichor." In addition, he enriches his narrative with historical facts, myths, and legends about London's parks and gardens.

The complicated story deals with a high flying investor, Jeremy Forester, who is brought low by hubris and ambition; his beautiful and materialistic wife; their child's nanny, who secretly pines for him; and a gardener who, at first glance, is the most obvious suspect. Fowler wows us with his prodigious research, impressive command of language, and skill at juggling myriad characters and plot lines. The solution to the crime, alas, is ridiculously far-fetched. Nevertheless, there are many rewards along the way, including an intriguing cast, insane shenanigans, and an exhilarating spirit of fun that permeates the novel. Those who have come to appreciate Fowler's inimitable writing style and unique perspective will enjoy Wild Chamber immensely.

Nailed it, once again. I always laugh or at least chuckle during parts of each of these books, but this time, near the end, I was straight up laughing loudly with the antics the Peculiar Crimes Unit did to keep their specialized police unit from being shuttered.

This isn't your average series and definitely not your run of the mill police series. They are all oddballs in one way or another and yet, as a team, they come together with their own individual quirks and skills to always get their man while fighting their Home Office foe that wants to shut them down. The two head detectives are well past retirement age and one is even now having hallucinations of Samuel Pepys and past Queens. They still never fail to pull the thin odd thread that gets their man or woman while pulling their reader through obscure departments of the British Library, hanging out with Wiccans and cult film buffs, or finding out the mystery of the mummy they found in the basement of building they inhabit while using its sarcophagus as a prop for jokes until then.

I also love how the reader gets to learn a lot of the history of old London through Bryant's, the Lead Detective, arcane knowledge of its history and now with his hallucinations....it's even better. (I should feel bad, even he seems to enjoy them though)

This time there is a killer of women in the parks and besides tracking the killer, the reader gets to learn the history and just how important the various parks are to the city of yesterday and today, especially when their foe in the Home Office uses the case to excuse locking them all up to public access with an idea of privatising their security and maybe pocketing a few bob in the process. Even the title is pulled from the parks, in that they used to call them "Wild Chambers" which makes a lot of sense in a densely populated city, they were these often gated open spaces filled with wildlife, both animal and human surrounded by a hustling and bustling ever-rising city.

You can pick up just about any book in this series and not be lost. I think however to really enjoy the fullness of the growth and their characters, it is best to start from the beginning. Their growing talents and curmudgeonliness make for more fun. (Just my opinion)

A series of seemingly unconnected murders in London's parks is assigned to the PCU team. Bryant and May (and company) are in fine form. Fowler has the knack of balancing intricate mysteries with laugh-out-loud humor.

Having read most of the Bryant and May books, I have to admit I can't resist these two old guys. This installment is in classic form, will a well-executed plot and the usual cast of odd and distinctly British characters. It's fun from beginning to end, and proof that Fowler has lost none of his spark despite writing over a dozen books in his quirky, engaging series.

For those who have never had the great pleasure of reading a Peculiar Crimes Unit mystery by Christopher Fowler, it might be difficult to explain their great appeal.

This is a truly unique series, and this 14th entry is as wonderful as ever. The PCU is charged with investigating crimes that might cause public notoriety or upheaval. The detectives are not well-respected or well-funded, and exist on the fringes of both the London official police scene and polite society. A sub-plot in most later books has to do with the imminent bureaucratic destruction of their unit, and this one is no exception.

The plots to these books are often quite bizarre and crafty. In this outing, a young woman is found strangled in a small private park in London. Subsequent deaths connect the victims by the tragic accidental death of a child some time before.

But the beauty of these novels in the characters. The heart of the PCU is Arthur Bryant, a brilliant, vague, exasperating, and odd elderly man whose thought processes are so outside the norm that he is able to solve crimes that are obscurely irrational to anyone else. His co-hort John May is everything Arthur isn't -- attractive, rational and businesslike.

The use of language and the random introduction of fascinating historical trivia are delightful and time spent with the PCU is a treasure. Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review. I can't recommend this series highly enough.

Bryant and May along with the rest of the PCU team got a peculiar crime of murder in a private park. The problem is that they seem to have too many and yet too few suspects. Then a link to an old case surfaces and links this murder and subsequent murders in strange ways. Adding in Leslie Faraday mucking about to make money and kill off the PCU just adds a time table to the pressure to solve the case for Bryant who just manages to deliver the murderer in the end. An interesting outing from the PCU.

Wild Chamber is the 14th entry in the Bryant & May Peculiar Crimes Unit Series. Arthur Bryant and John May are the original detectives with the PCU, which was founded in WWII to handle cases that might cause "national scandal or public unrest." In their most recent outing, a killer seems to be targeting women in London's public parks. While the PCU's misfit team struggle to find a connection with all the cases, a politician takes the opportunity to close the public parks and pin the blame on the PCU in order to shut them down. This may be the PCU's last case if the brilliant but irascible Bryant can't find the connection in time.

The more I read Christopher Fowler's series, the more I love it. I discovered the books just a few years ago, have read the more recent books, and am slowly working my way through those I have missed. Even though I am missing quite a bit of background, the books stand on their own and it was easy for me to understand and enjoy them. Fowler has created a team of detectives like no other - Bryant's gruffness and inexplicable methodology are balanced perfectly with May's sophistication and personality. The cases are twisted and complicated, but all seems to work out in the end, and Fowler does play fair with the reader by providing a set of clues which could lead one to solve the murders before Arthur Bryant does - although that is very unlikely. I enjoy his style of writing which makes me feel as though I am visiting old friends.

There is a lot of humor in each book, but the cases themselves are dealt with seriously with some social issues thrown in as well. It is Golden Age of detection with a lot of characterization thrown in, as we are allowed to get to know each one of the PCU and their particular foibles.

I love this particular quote from the book:

RAYMOND LAND: If anyone else starts winding me up they’ll soon discover the less forgiving side of my nature. I can be a right Dr Jekyll when I have to.

BRYANT: You do know that Mr Hyde was the bad one?

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The latest instalment of the series featuring the elderly detectives Bryant and May and their colleagues in the Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU). The wild chambers in the title refers to the various parks in London, which feature heavily in the book as Christopher Fowler continues to give potted histories and oddball facts about London and its peoples through the ages. Indeed Arthur Bryant has vivid hallucinations following some lifesaving treatment and meets various characters in these who help him solve the case, including a cameo by a young Queen Elizabeth II.

The PCU are tasked with catching a possible serial killer who makes their kills in the parks of London. In the background the PCU’s arch enemy Leslie Faraday plots to close the PCU down and all the PCU characters are back including Bryant’s suave partner John May, along with constables Colin and Meera with their ongoing ‘will they, wont’ they’ become an item. There is an added character this time as an exchange German policewoman, Steffi Vesta, joins the team hoping to pick up some good policing tips!

Christopher Fowler cleverly uses the characters in his books to make comments on the current social and cultural landscapes in London, a city he loves and that comes across in his writing. If you have never read a Bryant & May novel you are missing out and this is a good a place to start as any. They are a winning mix of ‘cosy crime’ with a supernatural edge and a good dose of humour.

"Still ... [Peculiar] ... After All These Years"

Sometimes you just want what you want. And this series, like Bryant and May themselves, is dependable and reliable. So many mystery writers, after a string of successful books, feel compelled to change things up - maybe more graphic violence, or more kitchen sink drama, or some character mental collapse, or extreme sexual violence, or "ripped from the headlines" topics.

But Fowler resists this impulse. Bryant and May are getting older; we get a bit more backstory and sidestory, but they remain what they have been, and they are always interesting company. This book, like the others in the series, is a congenial mix of mystery, badinage, inside jokes, and fascinating digressions about the history and the nature of London.

Whether you are a newbie or a loyal fan, this book fits nicely into the Bryant and May canon, and as always is entertaining and satisfying.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Who would think that a mystery novel could be written involving the history of London’s parks and gardens and be solved by PCU’s own May and Byrant. With the help of Byrnt’s idiosyncratic and unpredictable mind , the unit manages to solve the mystery. Enjoyed Byrant’s use of archaic slang in order to issue disparaging remarks. Good to hear that Bryant and May will return!

My favorite curmudgeon, Arthur Bryant, and his partner, John May, return! Always on the brink of being closed down, the Peculiar Crime Unit, and of course Arthur's odd intuitive reasoning and crime solving, once again bring the killer to justice. I enjoy the office politics/Raymond Land's incompetent "leadership" as much as I enjoy the actual crime solving. Yes, the PCU is ALWAYS on the brink of being shut down, and ALWAYS just in the nick of time our elderly duo and their cohort solve the crime, but it's still good fun, and I laugh aloud at the way Arthur's mind works.

Completely enjoyable, this latest in the series focuses on the newly recovered Arthur Bryant. Dry wit, a take on homelessness and parks in London and a bewildering mystery all add up to a highly satisfying read.