Christopher Fowler Livres

It was the kind of story that barely made the news.When 91-year-old Amelia Hoffman died in her top-floor flat on a busy London road, it's considered an example of what has gone wrong with modern society: she slipped through the cracks in a failing system.But detectives Arthur Bryant and John May of the Peculiar Crimes Unit have their doubts. Mrs Hoffman was once a government security expert, even though no one can quite remember her. When a link emerges between the old lady and a diplomat trying to flee the country, it seems that an impossible murder has been committed.Mrs Hoffman wasn't the only one at risk. Bryant is convinced that other forgotten women with hidden talents are also in danger. And, curiously, they all own models of London Bridge.With the help of some of their more certifiable informants, the detectives follow the strangest of clues in an investigation that will lead them through forgotten alleyways to the city's oldest bridge in search of a desperate killer.But just when the case appears to be solved, they discover that Mrs Hoffman was smarter than anyone imagined. There's a bigger game afoot that could have terrible consequences. It's time to celebrate Bryant and May's twentieth anniversary as their most lunatic case yet brings death and rebirth to London's most peculiar crimes unit.

A hotel offers a taboo service for its troubled clients. A young man must wind a thousand clocks before sunset. A vampire library attacks its readers. A shy young man loses a dog and discovers the cutlery of the Marquis de Sade. A lottery winner soon wishes he hadn't won. Deranged office workers take over a building. Incarceration, incantations, revenge, romance and the end of the world - twice. Personal Demons are Christopher Fowler's tales of the the fantastic and the wilder side of modern urban living. They reflect the rich and various talents of a writer called 'ghoulishly irresistible' by The Times.

"When a prominent politician is crushed by a fruit van making a delivery, the singular team of Arthur Bryant and John May overcome insurmountable odds to reunite the PCU and solve the case in the brainy new mystery from acclaimed author Christopher Fowler. On a spring morning in London's Strand, the Speaker of the House of Commons is nearly killed by a van unloading oranges and lemons for the annual St. Clement Danes festival. It's an absurd near-death experience, but the government is more interested in investigating the Speaker's state of mind just prior to his accident. The task is given to the Peculiar Crimes Unit--the only problem being that the unit no longer exists. Its Chief, Raymond Land, is tending his daffodils on the Isle of Wight and senior detectives Arthur Bryant and John May are out of commission; May is undergoing surgery for a bullet wound and Bryant has been missing for a month. What's more, the old unit in King's Cross is being turned into a vegetarian tapas bar. Against impossible odds, the team is reassembled and once again what should have been a simple case becomes a lunatic farrago involving arson, suicide, magicians, academics and a race to catch a killer with a master plan involving London churches. Joining their team this time is Sidney, a young woman with no previous experience, plenty of attitude--and a surprising secret"--

And, as the legend has it, when the ravens leave, the nation falls...Soon it seems death is all around and Bryant and May must confront a group of latter- day bodysnatchers, explore an eerie funeral parlour and unearth the gruesome legend of Bleeding Heart Yard.

And so begins an investigation that will test the members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit to their limits, setting Arthur Bryant off on a trail that leads to Bedlam and Bletchley Park, and into the world of madness, codes and the secret of London's strangest relic.

The river Thames is London's most important yet neglected artery. At the Peculiar Crimes Unit, Arthur Bryant and John May find themselves dealing with an impossible crime committed in a very public place. In an adventure that's as twisting as the river upon which it's set, will there be anything left of the Peculiar Crimes Unit when it's over?

Detectives Arthur Bryant and John May delve into the mysterious death of ninety-one-year-old Alice Hoffman, a former government security expert. Initially deemed an accident, their investigation reveals her ties to a diplomat and hints at a larger conspiracy involving a group of skilled women. As they navigate London's hidden corners, the duo uncovers a web of deception that challenges their assumptions. This case marks a pivotal moment for the Peculiar Crimes Unit, intertwining past and present in a thrilling exploration of international intrigue.

An original and horrific slice of urban terror from one of the masters of the genre. All is not well at SymaxCorp. The work is piled high, people are toiling overnight to meet deadlines, and the supervisors are keeping their beady eyes on everyone. But staff are complaining of feeling sick, and the last health and safety officer disappeared one evening never to be seen again. It's down to new boy Ben, together with temp Miranda, kick-boxing Meera and overweight June to try and get to the bottom of the problem. As colleagues are progressively transformed into mindless, blood crazed zombies, Ben and his friends discover that there really is something in the air... Winner of the 2005 British Fantasy Award for Best Novella

In every detective's life there are cases that can't be discussed. This book presents eleven of these previously unseen investigations that required the collective genius and unique modus operandi of Arthur Bryant and John May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit - investigations that range from different times and a variety of places.