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36th out of 36 books
—
8 voters
Bryant & May Off the Rails (Bryant & May #8)
They've been given just one week to find a killer they'd caught once before . . .
Arthur Bryant, John May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit are on the trail of an enigma: a young man called Mr Fox. But his identity is false, his links to society are invisible and his home yields no clues. All they know is that somehow he escaped from a locked room and murdered one of their best...more
Arthur Bryant, John May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit are on the trail of an enigma: a young man called Mr Fox. But his identity is false, his links to society are invisible and his home yields no clues. All they know is that somehow he escaped from a locked room and murdered one of their best...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
June 24th 2010
by Doubleday
(first published 2010)
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Author..................... Christopher Fowler
Narrator.................. Tim Goodman
Abr/Unabr.............. Unabridged
Genre................... Fiction - Mystery
Series Name..............Bryant and May
Position in Series.... ..8 (2010)
Total Runtime......... 10 Hours 48 Mins
Blurb: The most enigmatic detectives in British crime fiction since Holmes and Watson return in their eighth wickedly entertaining and intriguing investigation...
Arthur Bryant, John May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit are on the tra...more
I love this series of books about the Peculiar Crimes Unit, featuring Bryant and May. How many mysteries involving murders also make you laugh out loud? The rag-tag group of detectives led by Bryant/May are constantly in danger of being unemployed as the "powers that be" are never quite sure what to make of the Unit's methods of investigation.
In this edition, killings in the Underground, which begin with a seemingly accidental fall, escalate as the Unit desperately tries to make a connection wit...more
In this edition, killings in the Underground, which begin with a seemingly accidental fall, escalate as the Unit desperately tries to make a connection wit...more
This is part two of the Mr. Fox story with a group of university students thrown in just to confuse matters. April May is in Toronto with her uncle recovering from another bout of agoraphobia and the unit has acquired a pair of Turkish workers, both named Dave, who are much more interested in what the unit is doing than they are in getting a proper job done on the electrical and carpentry repairs in the abandoned factory the unit is using as a headquarters. I enjoy the way these outsiders seem t...more
First Sentence: With regard to your apprehension of the hired assassin operating in the King’s Cross area, this so-called ‘King’s Cross Executioner’ chap, thank you for acting so quickly on the matter, although it’s a pity he subsequently managed to give you the slip.
A killer known as Mr. Fox has been captured by Detectives Arthur Bryant and John May, but escaped, murdering one of their colleagues in the process. A body has been discovered in a station of London’s Underground. Was Mr. Fox the ki...more
A killer known as Mr. Fox has been captured by Detectives Arthur Bryant and John May, but escaped, murdering one of their colleagues in the process. A body has been discovered in a station of London’s Underground. Was Mr. Fox the ki...more
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Cumbria Library service has teamed up with an audiobooks publisher to allow members to download audiobooks for 21 days. This was my first attempt, and despite taking about three days to download (we got our broadband tweaked and hey presto, it downloaded), I got there. I decided on this on a whim. I've not read any Christopher Fowler before and liked the names. I then googled Christopher Fowler and found an interesting article http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent... about how we created the ser...more
I love the Bryant and May stories, they have acharm all of their own, this one kicks off straight away after the last one finished, continuing the story of Mr Fox.
there's a fantastic bit near the beginning that goes
"Arthur Bryant, have you met him before??If not,imagine a tortoise minus its shell, thrust upright and stuffed into a dreadful suit.give it glasses, false teeth and a hearing aid,and a whispy band of white hair arranged in a straggling tonsure.
fill its pockets with rubbish, old penni...more
there's a fantastic bit near the beginning that goes
"Arthur Bryant, have you met him before??If not,imagine a tortoise minus its shell, thrust upright and stuffed into a dreadful suit.give it glasses, false teeth and a hearing aid,and a whispy band of white hair arranged in a straggling tonsure.
fill its pockets with rubbish, old penni...more
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Having read Bryant & May On The Loose by Christopher Fowler for the Transworld Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to give the next book in the series a go.
Bryant & May Off The Rails follows the aging, octogenarian detectives as they search for killer who has escaped their clutches and they only have one week to do it in, otherwise the Peculiar Crimes Unit will be shut down. While they search for one murderer it seems like another may be on the loose as a young mother falls down a tube s...more
Bryant & May Off The Rails follows the aging, octogenarian detectives as they search for killer who has escaped their clutches and they only have one week to do it in, otherwise the Peculiar Crimes Unit will be shut down. While they search for one murderer it seems like another may be on the loose as a young mother falls down a tube s...more
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After seeing Christopher Fowler talking at a recent event, I decided to try another Bryant & May book as he said the first one isn't typical of the series. The books are designed to work as stand-alone tales as well as a series so I thought I'd try the other adventure we owned, which turned out to be book eight.
This is slightly less stand alone than some as it follows on closely from the events of book seven, but worked perfectly fine for me.
The Peculiar Crimes Unit is on the brink of being...more
This is slightly less stand alone than some as it follows on closely from the events of book seven, but worked perfectly fine for me.
The Peculiar Crimes Unit is on the brink of being...more
This book follows on from the previous installment so although not essential it would really help to read that one first. The two heroes are wonderful creations and quite different from the usual young, thrusting, driven souls who populate crime stories on both TV and in print. Greying around the temples to say the least and one imagines moving at a sedate pace, say the speed of a ocean going liner than a racing yacht they wander around a realistic London full of building sites, old disused tunn...more
Fowler is good at spookiness, so it’s no surprise that he takes full advantage of the possibilities of the London Underground: disused, secret tunnels, memories of past disasters and suicides, eccentric (and worse) passenger behavior. With the involvement of some house-sharing students in Mecklenburgh Square, he brings the locations even more firmly into the part of London I know best, so that I was distracted by the relocating of a restaurant, wondering if that exposed a lie about a student’s a...more
I'm liking this series better as it continues! Is the author getting better at crazy plot devices and ironic character development? Or, as I get into old age, am I just more sympathetic to really old and crazy characters? Aurthur Bryant is just a dear! and John May, with his now tantalizing hints of a tragic past, is becoming even more interesting. The other members of the team are also developing their personalities in interesting ways. And the continuing movement of the Unit into shadier and s...more
Set mostly in the London Underground, detectives Arthur Bryant and John May are working under pressure. The last murderer they captured has killed a young policeman and escaped. They have only one week to retake him or the unit will be shut down. Their only clue is that he seems to have some unbreakable tie to King’s Cross Station. In their pursuit they keep stumbling over bodies in the Underground. The setting is well researched and intriguing (especially after recently reading Neil Gaiman’s “N...more
Second book I've read of Fowler's outside-the-box team which randomly manages London's Peculiar Crimes Unit. I'm a sucker for British murder mysteries and these are so involved that the resolution seems imposible until the very end. In addition, there are moments of both whimsy and broad comedy - perhaps "wacky" describes them best. I guffawed when, in a previous book, one inspector has "cautioned" a suspect (in the US we would say "read the riot act" to...) steps back and falls through a large...more
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
My first impression of Bryant and May was extremely positive. The mystery begins right from the start of the book and is genuinely intriguing while the use of language is often amusing and sometimes almost poetic. The cast of characters is handled well. Arthur Bryant is an amusing central character who is written with consistency. May on the other hand seemed to be slightly underplayed for an eponymous character, although this didn't really detract fr...more
My first impression of Bryant and May was extremely positive. The mystery begins right from the start of the book and is genuinely intriguing while the use of language is often amusing and sometimes almost poetic. The cast of characters is handled well. Arthur Bryant is an amusing central character who is written with consistency. May on the other hand seemed to be slightly underplayed for an eponymous character, although this didn't really detract fr...more
Good read. It's fun to have 2 detectives in their 80's still going strong. The Peculiar Crimes Unit is in danger of being shut down. A murderer has excaped right under their noses and killed one of their own. And when people start dying in the underground the detectives are at a loss to find a motive or any clues. There's a wonderful twist. Fowler, like a magician, gets you to watch one hand while the other hand is doing some "magic". I loved the twist ending. The 2 detectives are so different a...more
This is the second of Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit series that I have read. I was particularly looking forward to reading it as it centers around the London Underground system (the Tube), and I just spent time in London last November. The mysteries are intriguing, the characters believable and the dialogue witty. It's obvious that Fowler loves his home city of London, and injects interesting facts and history about the city in his stories. I also love that the stories are clean--no...more
I thought I had already reviewed this - a bit convoluted but Mr. Fox leads the unit on a serious chase to find and stop him. Bryant and May are running the unit out of a nearly abandoned and definitely run down building that was once occupied by satanic worshippers...or something like that. There are a string of murders that might be connected to Mr. Fox and these involved a house of University Students - the previous (and current) murders come full circle and there is a historical connection as...more
This series featuring the Peculiar Crimes Unit and it's diverse and wacky detectives has become one of my favorites, and this one was no exception. Centered around King's Crossing and the tube and train systems, the two elderly detectives Arthur Bryant and John May and their team--whose very existence is still threatened--are after the elusive serial killer Mr. Fox, who killed one of their team and escaped from custody. I just can't describe what a treat this series is--the dry humor, the writin...more
Another great mystery in the Bryant and May series. One of the things I like most about this series is the depth of information about London. I love the archane historical bits and pieces. This book gives rich detail about the London Tube system and weaves it all into a mystery about several murders that take place in-and-around the underground. Fowler really knows how to spin out multiple threads that don't seem to relate and then weave them together.
I really don't want to spoil it for other re...more
I really don't want to spoil it for other re...more
I discovered Christopher Fowler by chance at the library last month. He's kind of a like a less gruesome PD James, and also not quite as well written, but extremely enjoyable if you like a fun mystery. The protagonists are two old men--Bryant and May--who are the lead detectives for the esoteric "Peculiar Crimes Unit," an obscure detective unit that deals with socially sensitive or potentially disruptive crimes. Bryant is eccentric, May is deliberate, but they work well together. This novel has...more
Fowler has done it again. These two characters are a wonder and a surprise. A first class mystery with humor and flair. Can't resist!
In this book, Arthur Bryant and John May and the other members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit have been saved as a department but they have only one week to recapture a murder that they had caught and lost. Its a funny, intriguing case surrounding the London underground; I had a hard time putting it down and yet didn't want the story to end. Bryant and May may be old...more
In this book, Arthur Bryant and John May and the other members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit have been saved as a department but they have only one week to recapture a murder that they had caught and lost. Its a funny, intriguing case surrounding the London underground; I had a hard time putting it down and yet didn't want the story to end. Bryant and May may be old...more
Review from Badelynge
Christopher Fowler's brilliantly conceived british detective series continues. This one has quite a lot of mess to clean up from the previous book. Mr Fox is back on the loose after his escape from custody and the Peculiar Crimes Unit is reeling from the death of one of their own. Bryant and May must use every resource available to bring the killer in or it's curtains for the unit.
London bleeds from these books. With so many writers setting thier story in London these days,...more
Christopher Fowler's brilliantly conceived british detective series continues. This one has quite a lot of mess to clean up from the previous book. Mr Fox is back on the loose after his escape from custody and the Peculiar Crimes Unit is reeling from the death of one of their own. Bryant and May must use every resource available to bring the killer in or it's curtains for the unit.
London bleeds from these books. With so many writers setting thier story in London these days,...more
I liked this book, as I have the previous Bryant and May books. I do have to suspend my disbelief since they often solve the mysteries through such intuitive choices that I can't follow them. Love the various characters that people the Peculiar Crimes Unit and the various characters called on to help out.
When I started the series I was dismayed to learn the ages of Bryant and May since I anticipated their "ends." I'm glad to say that Fowler allows them no signs of ending; I look forward to their...more
When I started the series I was dismayed to learn the ages of Bryant and May since I anticipated their "ends." I'm glad to say that Fowler allows them no signs of ending; I look forward to their...more
Off the Rails picks up where On the Loose ended, still searching for Mr. Fox. So be sure to read On the Loose first, or you'll miss a lot. Off the Rails has lots of Underground action, lore and history which drive the action. Arthur Bryant is still quick with a quip and gruff enough to have a woman call him rude. His answer, "It (rudeness) helps pass the time" is pure Bryant. There is less May in this one, as Longbright moves her story along to fill the gap.
Well worth your time, as is the whole...more
Well worth your time, as is the whole...more
Nov 23, 2012
rabbitprincess
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bibliotheque,
2012
In the 8th volume of the Bryant and May chronicles, our detecting partners are tracking down an old nemesis, Mr Fox, whose spiritual home is the underground (and Underground) of London. Mr Fox had been arrested by the Peculiar Crimes Unit but escaped in dramatic fashion, and now the PCU must recapture him in a week or else the unit will be disbanded for good.
For me the real treat of this book, besides Arthur Bryant's habitual cantankerousness, the crackling dialogue allotted to everyone in about...more
For me the real treat of this book, besides Arthur Bryant's habitual cantankerousness, the crackling dialogue allotted to everyone in about...more
Bryant and May Off The Rails is the eighth Bryant and May novel and unlike a lot of the others this is virtually a sequel to the previous book and is one of the few that cannot be read independently and out of order as a lot of what this book is about is directly linked to Bryant and May On The Loose.
The majority of this book is set on the London Underground (as you might have guessed from the title) and there are lots of very interesting insights into the history of the underground, what it me...more
The majority of this book is set on the London Underground (as you might have guessed from the title) and there are lots of very interesting insights into the history of the underground, what it me...more
I love this series. By this time the dectectives Arthur Bryant and John May are positively elderly, which makes actually getting to a crime scene or remembering certain details more of a challenge. Nonetheless, they are more brilliant, and endearing, than ever in this latest outing. By all means, don't stint yourself on this fabulous series--start at the beginning with "Full Dark House." By the time you've finished, the publication of the next Bryant & May mystery will have become one of the...more
It took me a while to get used to the quirky semi-humorous style, and a lot longer to get used to the fact that it is set in the present, because somehow the title and cover had convinced me it was historical. After that I enjoyed it a lot; it's well-plotted, plenty of clues to a complex ending, with some satisfying reversal of motifs. Plus plenty of trivia about the London underground that I didn't expect to find so interesting...
I really enjoy this series. In this one the detectives are trying to track down Mr. Fox, the serial killer and master of disguise and deceit.
There is the usual slapstick — which is to say the highly unusual slapstick. Social commentary on college students. Interesting info on the London subway, flash mobs, and other subjects new to me.
Less angst than some of the others, which is fine by me. We have Henning Mankell for that.
There is the usual slapstick — which is to say the highly unusual slapstick. Social commentary on college students. Interesting info on the London subway, flash mobs, and other subjects new to me.
Less angst than some of the others, which is fine by me. We have Henning Mankell for that.
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This is one of my all time favorite mystery series, and I say that as someone who has been reading the genre since about age 8. I love the mix of humor, obscure London history, and eccentric characters in this series. Strangely, I like the more convoluted ones better - this particular installation is a bit more straightforward - but I've read most of the books in this series and would highly recommend any of them.
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Christopher Fowler is an English novelist living in London, his books contain elements of black comedy, anxiety and social satire. As well as novels, he writes short stories, scripts, press articles and reviews.
He lives in King's Cross, on the Battlebridge Basin, and chooses London as the backdrop of many of his stories because any one of the events in its two thousand year history can provide ins...more
More about Christopher Fowler...
He lives in King's Cross, on the Battlebridge Basin, and chooses London as the backdrop of many of his stories because any one of the events in its two thousand year history can provide ins...more
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