The Memory of Blood

Christopher Fowler's acclaimed PeculiarCrimes Unit novels crackle with sly wit, lively suspense, and twists aschilling as London's fog. Now the indomitable duo of Arthur Bryant and JohnMay, along with the rest of their quirky team, return to solve a confoundingcase with dark ties to the British theater and a killer who may mean curtainsfor all involved.

For the crew of the New Strand Theatre, the play The Two Murderers seemsless performance than prophecy when a cast party ends in the shocking death ofthe theater owner's son. The crime scene is most unusual, even for Bryant andMay. In a locked bedroom without any trace of fingerprints or blood, the onlysign of disturbance is a gruesome life-size puppet of Mr. Punch laying on thefloor. Everyone at the party is a suspect, including the corrupt producer, therakish male lead, the dour set designer, and the assistant stage manager, whois the wild daughter of a prominent government official.

It's this last fact that threatens the Peculiar Crimes Unit's investigation, asthe government's Home Office, wary of the team's eccentric methods, seeks tothrow them off the case. But the nimble minds of Bryant and May are not soeasily deterred. Delving into the history of the London theater and thedisturbing origins of Punch and Judy, the detectives race to find the maniacalkiller before he reaches his even deadlier final act.

Whip-smart and endlessly entertaining, The Memory of Blood is aningeniously intricate mystery from the deliciously inventive ChristopherFowler.

Christopher Fowler is theacclaimed author of sixteen previous novels, including the award-winning FullDark House and six other Peculiar Crimes Unit mysteries: TheWater Room, Seventy-Seven Clocks, Ten Second Staircase, White Corridor, TheVictoria Vanishes, and Bryant & May on the Loose. Helives in London, where he is at work on his next Peculiar Crimes Unit novel.