I randomly stumbled onto this series a few years ago while I was browsing for books at a local used book store. I read the first couple of books and thought they were really fun and unique. A little Sherlock Holmes meets the modern era with detectives Bryan and May. But like so many long standing mystery series, the task of keeping up can feel overwhelming.
When I started the series it was already about 10 books in, and while I enjoyed the books, other books also caught my eye. Now flash forward a couple of years and the series is now publishing the 17th book! I am so pleased to see this series has stood the test of time and captured readers attentions as it did mine.
I have read a few of the other books published later but I do still want to go back and catch up in the series. This is a series that you can jump around in for the most part so if you are curious about the books then I would say just dive right in! I plan on reading this one later this year but for now, enjoy my special feature of the latest Bryant and May novel, Oranges and Lemons, out now!
Summary
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 accidentally killed by a van unloading oranges and lemons for the annual St. Clement Danes festival. It’s an absurd way to die, 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. (summary from Goodreads)
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