Customer Reviews

Full Dark House

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Christopher Fowler has had a long and distinguished literary career. FULL DARK HOUSE is the tenth of his published novels. He has also written and published over 100 works of shorter fiction, most of which appear in nine different collections, as well as MENZ INSANA, a fine graphic novel. Fowler's work is quite diverse; while it may stray into the mystery, suspense or even dark fantasy genres, he is impossible to pigeonhole.

FULL DARK HOUSE is an excellent example of this. There are elements of mystery (ala Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie), police procedurals, horror, history and suspense aplenty here. There is also Fowler's trademark quirkiness. One never knows what to expect. So it is that while FULL DARK HOUSE is the first of a projected series of mysteries featuring Arthur Bryant and John May, it deals with their first, and last, case.

We learn over the course of FULL DARK HOUSE that Bryant and May have a long history together. They met up as the result of the establishment of the London Peculiar Crimes Unit in 1940, at the height of the German bombing of London. The founding of PCU occurred partly from necessity and partly for publicity. Given the frequency of the bombing to which the London populace was subjected, the actions of some of its citizenry became more and more bizarre, resulting in what was referred to with British understatement as "peculiar crimes." Bryant and May, assigned to the unit, became friends; their personal and professional relationship has lasted over 60 years, with Bryant's unorthodox methodology and May's more traditional police work complementing each other nicely.

Fowler begins FULL DARK HOUSE in modern London with ... well, a bang, literally, when the headquarters of the London Peculiar Crimes Unit explodes with Arthur Bryant in it. May is aware that his partner, in the days preceding his demise, had been poking around in the files of their very first case and that somehow he apparently awakened the spirit of a murderer who has now eliminated one of them and seems determined to take the life of the other. May begins retracing Bryant's movements in the few days preceding the explosion, examining Bryant's cryptic, almost indecipherable notes and recalling the events of their first active case in November 1940.

Bryant and May were brought to London's Palace Theater to investigate the bizarre death of a dancer on the eve of the presentation of a controversial production of "Orpheus in Hell." There was initially the possibility that the death might have been an accident; yet, as more deaths occur, by increasingly violent means, the two men were drawn to the conclusion that they are dealing with a cunning, unknown killer with a diabolical motive. As May reviews the events that occurred decades before against the backdrop of war-torn London, he gradually comes to realize that an individual from that investigation has unexpectedly and inexplicably reappeared to wreak havoc once again.

Fowler does a breathtaking job of recreating war-torn London from without and within the Palace Theater, capturing not only the stoic resignation of the public to the horrific bombing but also the theatrical elements of the era. Fowler's descriptions of the theater, from the staging areas, the offices and the costumes to the actors themselves, are simply incredible. While he obviously conducted an incredible amount of research in the writing of this book, that fact does not fully credit Fowler's almost magical ability to transport the reader back in time, to make the passages in the novel read as if they were diary entries written as the bombs fell.

The conclusion of FULL DARK HOUSE is also nothing less than wonderful. I had to take a bit of license here not to reveal it, but I doubt anyone reading FULL DARK HOUSE will object; the journey here is the equal of the destination. Fowler also liberally sprinkles cryptic references to other historical Peculiar Crimes Unit cases, enough so that his readership can expect several more volumes of Bryant and May mysteries in the future.

FULL DARK HOUSE is an ambitious and challenging beginning to what will hopefully be a long-running series.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

What an interesting use of contrasts. Fowler brings to life 1940s London during the Blitz offset by the Millennium Eye; the chaos of the streets during the Blitz and the insularity of a theatre; traditional police procedure versus use of a medium; a difficult, quirky detective offset by a personable classic investigator. I felt the plot was overly complex and the story slow at times, but I was held in the story by the strong writing, humor, and the relationship between the two protagonists. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, but when you take into account its ingredients-- London 1945, London present day, the Blitz, the theatre, murder, a murderer who seemingly can walk through walls, and two detectives in the Peculiar Crimes Unit-- you've got to keep on reading to see how the author manages to pull off all the plot elements and still keep the reader involved. And he does, beautifully. I am looking forward tho the next installment of Bryant and May, the two detectives.

This is a detective story of sorts, but don't read this book expecting the usual type of mystery story. Of course there are crimes to be solved, and an investigation to be carried out, with lots of plot twists and all the usual trappings of detective fiction. There is an ensemble of odd characters, eccentric heroes and twisted villains. There is also a very atmospheric evocation of life during the air raids on London during World War II. I thought that all of this was very well-done and interesting. But what really hooked me into this book was the obvious love the author (and his characters) have for the deep history and diverse people of London. Every bit of the book is alive with strange and fascinating London lore, and fortunately for the readers of this series, that is an inexaustable well of material that even the finest fiction can't match.

This book is not for everyone, but if you like quirky fiction that operates according to its own laws, and takes you to places you might never find on your own,you may enjoy this book (and series) as much as I did.

This is a 'frame' story, one that begins and ends in the present and works back into the past of many years ago, during the blitz in London. There are returns to the present throughout, but it is the past which dominates and fascinates as we get a sense of what it must have been like during that horrific time in London history.
The author tells an absorbing tale while evoking for us the overlying fear and sense of helplessness, as well as the courage of Londoners. The darkness that prevailed, the smell of smoke and ash, the ruins of store fronts, the gaping holes in streets...this is the backdrop as John and Arthur pursue a shadowy killer through an old dark theatre. The workings of theatre life are also well done. Given what is going on in the world, our detectives pause to wonder if one lone murderer matters very much in a London full of death and destruction, but they must stop him, nevertheless. Lots of plot twists and turns, murders, flights into the bowels of the old theatre, as well as into the fog of a blackout, as our detectives attempt to unravel the secret of the mythological clues the killer leaves behind.
I loved the history, the revelation of what it must have been to live in the daily horror of bomb blasts--and best of all I loved the company of those two lovable, eccentric, elderly detectives. From the moment Fowler puts the thought in May's head that Bryant resembled a young Alec Guiness, he nailed him for the rest of the series. I saw him first as Guiness was in 'Great Expectations' (as Herbert Pockets), then as he was much later in 'Scrooge', and even with a hint of 'The Lady Killers' scarf-draped criminal genius. That Guiness image will stay with me as I continue to read through this series.
I've finished 'The Water Room' and now am into 'Seventy-Seven Clocks.' Maybe by the time I have finished this one, Fowler will have a new one out. I certainly hope so as I am so enjoying these two marvelous fun characters who have made me laugh out loud and shiver in suspense. Not your traditional police procedural novels, these stories seem more character driven, yet with plenty of mystery story.

World War II rages and London shudders under the blitz, but the public must be assured that things are normal, that crime doesn't pay, and that the police are on the job. One police grout, the Peculiar Crimes Unit is established to handle the odd and different cases and staffed by one of the most peculiar of England's police--Arthur Bryant. When new detective John May joins, the two set off in search of a body missing its feet and discover a theater production set to explode.

With a modern wrapper centered around a bombing that destroys the Peculiar Crimes building and survivor John May's attempts to make sense of his partner's death--a death that seems linked to their first case together, FULL DARK HOUSE spends most of its time in the past--when May and Bryant were young, when censors could still close down plays for showing too much of a chorus-girl's thighs, and when people could lose themselves in London and only be found when they decided themselves.

Author Christopher Fowler combines straightforward police procedural investigation with a bit of mysticism, numerous allusions to classical mythology, and a strange theater that truly becomes a character in this strange story. May and Bryant's differences (May is logical, Bryant a believer in the occult) deepens their partnership and allows the two of them to argue their way to a solution to the strange crimes. Because the severed feet are only the beginning of the deaths associated with this play.

I thought FULL DARK HOUSE went a little slowly from time to time and I'm still not sure that the modern 'wrapper' added a lot to the story, but May, Bryant, their unfortunate love lives, and the oddly haunted theater add up to solid entertainment.

The plot is a trifle filled with chapters that end in 'come on there isn't a moment to lose' sort of artificial suspense, but the enjoyable partnership of the somewhat otherworldly Bryant and the down to Earth May, a much more plausible Holmes and Watson, with more wit as well more than makes up for it.

Setting his mystery in blitz-ravaged London and evoking its atmosphere of night bombing raids and their aftermath in the city streets, along with a risque operatic production trying to make its opening night, Fowler concocted a tanatlizing background for a mystery. He stirs into this already promising mix a stretch of 60 years, a span that presents a boyish pair of detectives during wartime London, and later at the end of their careers (octogenarian detectives?!?! there's a novel twist) in the multicultural London of the 21st century. Back and forth we go between then and now, and not always with the greatest clarity.

The plot involves a "peculiar crimes unit" headed up by the disheveled and eccentric Bryant. He's a well-drawn character and the dialogue between him and May, as well as the out-of-sorts authoritarian Biddle, is enjoyable. But in the end, the various plot elements that are meant to sustain the "peculiar crimes unit" don't really add up. Fowler didn't seem to have the nerve to have the seances and clairvoyants (beloved of Bryant) actually lead us into the realm of the uncanny - throwing the reader (not to mention May and Biddle) into uneasy terrain. He pulls back. May's encounter with a clairvoyant's summoning up of a "deceased personage" could've been a presence or a poltergeist, but - naw - it's just a kitchen accident caused by a nearby train. Even the accident's meaning lacks motivation from the summoned spirit.

A lot of late 20th century British humor, especially in film, seems to hope that if your mise-en-scene accumulates enough eccentric caricatures in the narrative, and go through a routine in a ripe, slightly surreal atmosphere (Fowler's decaying London theatre), you've done your job. Well not quite, old chap.

The Bryant & May series has continued, I see, and I hope that Fowler will take a clue from a British detective fiction writer like P.D. James. She is the same age as the characters Bryant and May, and is a master at convincingly weaving (not just stirring in along the way) character, dialogue, motivation, locale on the way to a compelling denouement/conclusion. Blend that approach with the spot on humor found in the American Anglophile mysteries of Martha Grimes and Fowler's promising ideas and authorial voice will find its mark.

This is the book that got me hooked! The ascerbic wit; spooky locales, funny, endearing characters and interesting history; make this the kind of book that is hard to put down.
I can't wait to get to the next book in the series.

Wow! This was fun! The combination of the theater, Greek myth and the Blitz all at once makes for a cracking, good read. The several main characters are appealing - you root for their success against the forces of darkness...