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Bryant & May and the Burning Man book cover
Bryant & May and the Burning Man
2015
First Published
4.19
Average Rating
416
Number of Pages

Part of Series

No case is too curious for Arthur Bryant and John May, London’s most ingenious detectives. But with their beloved city engulfed in turmoil, they’ll have to work fast to hold a sinister killer’s feet to the fire. In the week before Guy Fawkes Night, London’s peaceful streets break out in sudden unrest. Enraged by a scandal involving a corrupt financier accused of insider trading, demonstrators are rioting outside the Findersbury Private Bank, chanting, marching, and growing violent. But when someone hurls a Molotov cocktail at the bank’s front door, killing a homeless man on its steps, Bryant, May, and the rest of the Peculiar Crimes Unit is called in. Is this an act of protest gone terribly wrong? Or a devious, premeditated murder? Their investigation heats up when a second victim is reported dead in similar fiery circumstances. May discovers the latest victim has ties to the troubled bank, and Bryant refuses to believe this is mere coincidence. As the riots grow more intense and the body count climbs, Bryant and May hunt for a killer who’s adopting incendiary methods of execution, on a snaking trail of clues with roots in London’s history of rebellion, anarchy, and harsh justice. Now, they’ll have to throw themselves in the line of fire before the entire investigation goes up in smoke. Suspenseful, smart, and wickedly funny, Bryant & May and the Burning Man is a brilliantly crafted mystery from the beloved Christopher Fowler. Praise for Christopher Fowler’s ingenious novels featuring the Peculiar Crimes Unit “A brilliant series.”—The Denver Post “Fowler, like his crime-solvers, is deadpan, sly, and always unexpectedly inventive.”—Entertainment Weekly “Mr. Fowler’s small but ardent American following deserves to get much larger. And The Invisible Code is a delightful introduction to his work... The Invisible Code has immense charm, but its plotting will satisfy serious mystery fans... Best of all are the two main characters, particularly Bryant, whose fine British stodginess is matched perfectly by the agility of his crime-solving mind.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times, on The Invisible Code “Picture a television series that is a rough mash-up of Law & Order, The X-Files, and Monty Python’s Flying Circus . . . and you have the Peculiar Crimes Unit... These stories are witty, challenging, engrossing, informative and incredibly well-written.”—Bookreporter “Spiced with a little screwball-comedy dialogue and a touch of the occult.”—The Washington Post, on The Memory of Blood “May and Bryant make a stellar team.”—The Wall Street Journal “Fowler reinvents and reinvigorates the traditional police procedural.” —The Boston Globe

Avg Rating
4.19
Number of Ratings
2,342
5 STARS
40%
4 STARS
42%
3 STARS
15%
2 STARS
2%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads

Author

Christopher Fowler
Christopher Fowler
Author · 57 books

Librarian 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.

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