Customer Reviews

Bryant & May off the Rails: A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery (Peculiar Crimes Unit Mysteries (Bantam Hardcover))

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The Peculiar Crimes Unit was created "to handle serious crimes that could be considered a threat to public order and confidence." The PCU, which is kept afloat by senior detectives Arthur Bryant and John May, along with a small team of dedicated men and women, has suffered a serious setback. Inadequate security led to the escape of the "King's Cross Executioner" and the murder of a promising young constable, Liberty DuCaine. Operating in a decrepit old warehouse under Home Office Jurisdiction, the PCU is being pressured to recapture "Mr. Fox," the name by which the King's Cross Executioner is known, and to apprehend a second killer who is targeting passengers in the London Underground. Perpetually criticized for its non-traditional methods of detection, members of the PCU must once again prove that they have what it takes to get the job done.

In "Bryant and May off the Rails," Christopher Fowler's sense of humor is as wacky as ever. In a particularly droll passage, Raymond Land, the beleaguered Acting Temporary Unit Chief of the PCU, sends out a scattershot memo about a variety of unrelated matters including: the need to give the media a wide berth, the sudden resignation of April May (whose agoraphobia has recurred), and the hiring of two Turkish gentlemen, both named Dave, who are supposedly repairing the "electrics, woodwork and plumbing, while no doubt offering unsought-for advice on the policing of the capital." Naturally, the two Daves prove to be completely inept. Land adds, "There's a hole in the floor in Mr. Bryant's office. Don't go near it."

The rumpled and exasperating Arthur Bryant remains "acidulous, stubborn, insensitive, [and] opinionated." His dapper counterpart, John May, is the more reasonable and diplomatic of the pair. This time around, they have to discern what connection, if any, exists between the following events, all of which occur in the Underground: A businessman is robbed on his way to Paris, a young mother is pushed down the stairs to her death, a drug addict is stabbed, and a college student disappears. The PCU gathers evidence and follows leads, but there are far more questions than answers. For Bryant, this investigation hits close to home. He loves the London subway system; "he had always felt warm and safe in its sooty embrace...."

It is delightful to observe Bryant reveling in the city that he loves so dearly. As he gazes at coffee shops and tofu bars, he remembers the old days when "prophets and anarchists had held court." To him, the past is still fresh; "he basked in the neighborhood's sublime indifference to the passing of time and people." Dressed in an unkempt suit and ancient trilby, with false teeth, a hearing aid, pockets full of rubbish, and a mind filled with "a mad scramble of ideas," it would be easy to dismiss him as a doddering and irrelevant old man who is out of step with all that is current. Yet his ability to connect the dots has him spotting associations that others overlook.

The plot is, as usual, byzantine. The reader must be patient while a host of disparate clues are slowly laid out before us, but even the most observant sleuth would have difficulty guessing where the story is headed. Although "Bryant and May off the Rails" is not particularly coherent or realistic, it is a colorful look at the rich and varied history of London's tube stations. It is also an entertaining adventure in which Bryant, May, the tough-as-nails DS Janice Longbright, and other members of the PCU stretch themselves to the limit to catch one or more killers.

There is a serious message here, as well: The PCU may be more necessary than ever in today's sterile urban environment. Sadly, we live in a climate where self-centered and alienated people rarely look out for one another, and in such circumstances, a serial killer like Mr. Fox can operate with impunity. To succeed, detectives must stretch themselves and become more like magicians: "We're supposed to specialize in finding out what isn't there." This unconventional series may confound those readers who are more comfortable with linear works of fiction. On the other hand, "Bryant and May off the Rails" and its predecessors will appeal to those who are fascinated by London lore and by the convoluted and mysterious workings of the human mind.

Mr. fowler has created an ensemble of quirky and unusual characters in this series. The geriatric detectives and the Peculiar Crimes unit are wonderful, in my opinion. The plots are clever and very British as well. One can enjoy the little "factoids" about obscure London history that the author cleverly weaves within the storyline and plot. It is not ponderous to read any of these stories and the characters while not all likeable they are entertaining and fit nicely together.
This installment weaves a rather dark tale ( as others are too) with the premise of a repeat villain. Pick up any from the series you won't be dissapointed.

I plunged into the eighth Peculiar Crimes Unit novel by Christopher Fowler without having read any of the earlier books in the series. I found Bryant & May Off the Rails to stand well on its own, and Fowler's writing is clever and funny throughout. Senior detectives Arthur Bryant and John May find their special unit threatened with dissolution following the death of a colleague when a murderer in custody escaped. The setting for the latest novel is the London Underground, especially King's Cross Station, and there's a haunting aspect to this world below ground that provides the perfect atmosphere for a crime novel. The stakes are high for Bryant & May, and joining them on this adventure was great reading entertainment. Any reader who enjoys clever mystery writing will likely appreciate this novel and this series.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

As author Christopher Fowler notes at the beginning of his acknowledgments to BRYANT & MAY OFF THE RAILS, every Bryant & May novel is self-contained. This is true, even if the current book is somewhat of a sequel to BRYANT & MAY ON THE LOOSE. Fowler does a magnificent job of immediately bringing new readers up to speed on the various and sundry personalities making up the eternally-threatened Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU), which in turn is headed up by the oddest of odd couples, those octo-somethings named Arthur Bryant and John May.

OFF THE RAILS begins almost where ON THE LOOSE left off. The Peculiar Crimes Unit is reeling from the escape of the serial murderer known only as Mr. Fox, who killed one of its own in the course of his escape. This gives the powers-that-be an excuse to cut off PCU's funding, though an 11th-hour miracle provides them with a week's grace to bring Mr. Fox back into custody and hopefully to justice. At the same time, the death of a young woman that might be an accident but is probably a murder occurs in the London Underground --- what we in the colonies would refer to as the "subway" --- and the team is charged with making a determination concerning that incident too. Fowler sticks with what has worked so well for him in the past, bringing the eccentric methods of Bryant into play with the by-the-book investigations of the squared-away May to follow a tortuous path that on this occasion leads them to a motley group of college students, each of whom easily could be responsible for the death.

At the same time, the PCU discovers an eerie connection between Mr. Fox and a horrific event that took place in the London Underground decades before. When Mr. Fox attempts to murder one of his former colleagues in an underground hallway, and one of the suspicious college students disappears while boarding a subway train, it appears that the investigative paths that the PCU is pursuing are about to cross. And do they ever. Before OFF THE RAILS is over, one of London's longest-standing mysteries will be solved and justice will be done, though at least one of the regular characters in the series will experience some disappointment, however minor.

If you have any interest at all in mysteries or histories, you should be reading the Bryant & May books. Fowler's prose is shot through with humor, dry and otherwise, which plays a part in relieving the grimness of some of his subject matter. At the same time, he sets his stories in the most fascinating areas of one of the world's greatest cities. I can't imagine visiting London without all of the Bryant & May volumes at hand and taking a (very long) walking tour through the pages of each and all. And of course, there are the characters themselves, all memorable in their own ways.

OFF THE RAILS also is unique to the series in a small but important way. Fowler addresses an issue in these books that is peculiar to series fiction: characters who don't age rapidly. Robert B. Parker's Spenser, for example, was a veteran of World War II when first introduced in 1973. This seemed at odds with the vigor that Spenser displayed at the dawn of the 21st century. Parker dealt with it by no longer mentioning Spenser's service. Given the problem created by the ages of Bryant and May, and their years together on the PCU, Fowler deftly and ingeniously gives himself a decade's worth of breathing room, in a manner that will leave you chuckling. That alone is worth the price of admission, though you will get so much more.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

The only reason that I did not give this version of the Bryant & May series a five-star rating is that I found the ending to be a little confusing. I cannot say more without giving away the surprise. However, I still highly recommend any book in this series. The author continues to delight with Bryant's esoteric knowledge and May's down to earth reactions. Long live the quirkiest, most delightful detective series to exist. I cannot wait for the next one.

In many ways this series appears to have been written by Colin Cotterill or Jasper Fforde. It can be madcap at odd times when you keep in mind that the two protagonists of the title are both 'purported' to be in the eighties (or seventies depending on whether you believe the author or the first book). So from the beginning acknowledgements where Fowler states that, "every B&M novel is self-contained", then starts off practically where "One the Loose" left off, we are subjected to all kinds of pandering to the public and the characters themselves.

Lets look at the characters: Raymond Land is still the 'acting temporary unit chief' has all the skills of 'John Cleese' in Fawlty Towers. If Arthur Bryant was in a 'senior' community they'd make sure he wore an ankle bracelet to keep track of him. John May is an eighty-something ladies man. Janice Longbright dresses like a post-WW2 'movie starlet', but no criminal or character ever comments on her wardrobe. The rest of the crew: Renfield, Mangeshkar, Bimsley and Kershaw are there to do the "real" police work and could be "red shirts" except that one of them doesn't die in each episode.

As this is the continuance of "OTL", we are still trying to find the elusive murderer Mr. Fox. They spend an inordinate amount of time trying to track down his identity, while all the while Bryant is busy trying to learn 'card tricks' that make some sense at the end of the book but was a waste of space to most of the story. The five student 'malafactors' who are the most likely suspects in a murder on the Underground are written as if by a curmudgeon uncle who can do no better than complain about the 'state' of higher education in this day and age. The five are like cookie-cutter characters from a bad TV movie on "USA".

The ending is so predictable that this could have been a 'vanity' book where you can insert the names of your friends, with a "Colonel Pepper in hte library with a candlestick" ending. Just to pedestrian for a Fowler book, in fact you could say that this book left a 'fowl' odor.

Zeb Kantrowitz

Quirky, funny and entertaining contemporary crime thriller featuring the fictitious Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) of the London Police led by senior citizen detectives, Bryant and May. The PCU, out of favor as always with their more conventionally-minded superiors and other police units, are on the trail of a serial killer operating in and out of the London Underground. Non-traditional sleuthing, the hallmark of the Bryan and May series, is front and center here as the intrepid but squirrelly detectives track Mr. Fox--a psychopath who escaped justice an earlier episode--and other bad guys slaughtering innocents in the depths of the tube. There is a lot of interesting history and information about the London transport system and the city itself built into this highly original crime thriller. As usual, author Christopher Fowler supplies an interesting cast of characters to play off the principals as well as an inventive plot that has plenty of veerings and red herrings. The conclusion is fine, though it neglects to tie off part of the mystery completely. Maybe Mr. Fowler has something more in mind for PCU? You can bet on it.

Overall, a good fun read and not a bad introduction to the series.

The London based Peculiar Crimes Unit elderly lead detectives Arthur Bryant and John May, capture the King's Cross Executioner, who sliced off the heads of his victims. However, before they could bring this Mr. Fox to justice, he escapes (see Bryant & May on the Loose).

The brass is horrified by their failure especially since Fox murdered a constable as he fled custody. There is a new move to retire the senior PCU leaders and end funding for the unit. As time is running out, the team seeks to recapture the elusive sly Mr. Fox who they believe is the culprit behind lethal incidents in the London Underground in which a single mother fell down a stairwell to her death and an intoxicated student disappeared and is assumed dead.

This excellent Peculiar Crimes Unit police procedural will grip readers from the start to finish as the history of the unit's members, specially their geriatric leaders, enhance a strong contemporary mystery. Amusing yet also perplexing as the baffled senior pair and their subordinates wok the Fox fiasco while the brass want the senior pair retired and the unit shut down permanently. Christopher Fowler's talent is affirmed by the audience not having to read the previous Fox fable, though it is worth doing, as Bryant & May are on the case.

Harriet Klausner