By the time a series reaches its 12th novel, it can lose some of its spark. Not so, it seems, with Christopher Fowler’s Bryant & May which features the Peculiar Crimes Unit. In The Burning Man our favourite pair of ageing detectives are dealing with a London in turmoil after yet another banking crisis, with masked men raising hell on Guy Fawkes Night. When a homeless man is found dead, the job looks a lot easier than those they normally face. All they need to do is identify him. But soon another one is killed – using molten tar – and then there’s a bombing. Is someone using the riots as cover for a vendetta? Arthur Bryant thinks so and he and May might just come into conflict with the establishment as they get to the bottom of it.
“Do not expect everything to be laid out like a clearly signposted trail of breadcrumbs. It’s cerebral, yet remains highly accessible and engaging,” said Keith Nixon in our full review. You can read an interview with the author here.
