Seventy-Seven Clocks: A Bryant & May Mystery (Bryant & May Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Christopher Fowler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bryant & May Mysteries | Publication Date: November 29, 2005

The odd couple of detection—the brilliant but cranky detectives of London’s Peculiar Crimes Unit—return in a tense, atmospheric new thriller that keeps you guessing until the final page. This time Bryant and May are up against a series of bizarre murders that defy human understanding—and a killer no human hand may be able to stop.

A mysterious stranger in outlandish Edwardian garb defaces a painting in the National Gallery. Then a guest at the exclusive Savoy Hotel is fatally bitten by what appears to be a marshland snake. An outbreak of increasingly bizarre crimes has hit London—and, fittingly, come to the attention of the Peculiar Crimes Unit.

Art vandalism, an exploding suspect, pornography, rat poison, Gilbert and Sullivan musicals, secret societies…and not a single suspect in sight. The killer they’re chasing has a dark history, a habit of staying hidden, and time itself on his side. Detectives John May and Arthur Bryant may have finally met their match, and this time they’re really working against the clock….

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 1973, Fowler's bloody and compelling third mystery to feature eccentric London detectives Arthur Bryant and John May details how the pair first joined Scotland Yard's Peculiar Crimes Unit. The murders Bryant and May investigate more than fit the unit's mission to handle cases outside the norm—an elderly lawyer is found poisoned in a hotel lobby, apparently from a snake bite, while other victims are killed by toxic makeup and a starved tiger. The odd sleuthing couple find that these terrifying crimes are all connected with the strange Whitstable family, whose Victorian patriarch founded a bizarre group called the Alliance of Eternal Light. Fans of the previous books in the series, Full Dark House and The Water Room, will appreciate the portrait of a younger Bryant and May, but even they are likely to feel let down by the far-fetched solution. Still, that won't erase the pleasure of a twisty thriller, full of action and plot surprises.
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Review

"Highly unusual ... exciting and original.... It starts with a violent death in the lobby of the legendary Savoy Hotel and quickly expands to include art vandalism, Gilbert and Sullivan, and a host of other peculiarities."—Chicago Tribune

"A twisty thriller, full of action and plot surprises."—Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (November 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553587153
• ISBN-13: 978-0553587159
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher Fowler was born in Greenwich, London. He is the multi award-winning author of thirty novels and ten short story collections, and the author of the Bryant & May mystery novels. His first bestseller was 'Roofworld'. Subsequent novels include 'Spanky', 'Disturbia', 'Psychoville' and 'Calabash'. His books have been optioned by Guillermo Del Toro ('Spanky') and Jude Law ('Psychoville'). He co-founded Creative Partnership, a company that changed the face of film marketing, and spent many years working in film. His memoir of growing up without books, entitled 'Paperboy', was highly acclaimed.

He has written comedy and drama for BBC radio, including Radio One's first broadcast drama in 2005. He writes for the FT and the Independent on Sunday, Black Static magazine and many others. His graphic novel for DC Comics was the critically acclaimed 'Menz Insana'. His short story 'The Master Builder' became a feature film entitled 'Through The Eyes Of A Killer', starring Tippi Hedren and Marg Helgenberger. In the past year he has been nominated for 8 national book awards. He is the winner of the Edge Hill prize 2008 for 'Old Devil Moon', and the Last Laugh prize 2009 for 'The Victoria Vanishes'.

Christopher has achieved several pathetic schoolboy fantasies, releasing a terrible Christmas pop single, becoming a male model, writing a stage show, posing as the villain in a Batman graphic novel, running a night club, appearing in the Pan Books of Horror, and standing in for James Bond.

His short stories have appeared in Best British Mysteries, The Time Out Book Of London Short Stories, Dark Terrors, London Noir, Inferno, Neon Lit, Cinema Macabre, the Mammoth Book of Horror and many others. After living in the USA and France he is now married and lives in King's Cross, London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the first two in the series., February 8, 2006

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seventy-Seven Clocks: A Bryant & May Mystery (Bryant & May Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I absolutely loved the first two books of this series. The writing was such that I'd read passages aloud to others. This didn't have that same cache'. There didn't seem to be as much interaction between the two protagonists until well into the book. Fowler loves introducing twists to the plot which is fun, but the solution to the mystery really strains credibility. There is a secondary protagonist in Sam Gates, a receptionist at the Savoy, but the outcome of her fear of the dark really bothered me. I enjoyed the story, but didn't feel it was nearly as good as the first two books.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Revisiting "Darkest Day", June 15, 2006

By 

OolooKitty (los angeles, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seventy-Seven Clocks: A Bryant & May Mystery (Bryant & May Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

It would have been nice if somewhere, anywhere, in this book -- the copyright date, the title page, a note to the reader, anything -- it might have been mentioned that this is little more than a reworking of an early Bryant/May mystery, "Darkest Day". I always enjoy Fowler's books, but not so much that I need to buy them twice over.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange, Fascinating Mystery, May 16, 2006

By 

Melissa McCauley (North Little Rock, AR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seventy-Seven Clocks: A Bryant & May Mystery (Bryant & May Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Arthur Bryant and John May are the odd and perfectly mismatched detectives of London's peculiar crimes unit. A lawyer dies of a snake bite in the Savoy lobby, an eccentric aristocrat blows up on the tube, a starved tiger eats a family in their own home. Methodical May and Unconventional Bryant must track down a mystery rooted in Victorian superstition and class distinctions that are causing bizarre deaths in the present. Impossible to put down, a thinking person's mystery, full of deeply satisfying history and folklore, not just mutilated bodies like most mysteries nowadays.