The Peculiar Crimes Unit is kind of a renegade police unit. They do things their own way and take cases that the regular detectives don't want or are just too weird. I found that this book reminded me of Scooby Doo mysteries: a bit of Paranormal that has to have a reasonable explanation. It took a while to build the stories and the characters, but by the end I was very interested to see what the outcome would be. I will definitely check out more in the series.

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This is Book 1 of the Peculiar Crimes Unit series.

I dont know what I was expecting when I started this book, and Im not sure how to describe it now that I have finished. It is quirky but not overtly ridiculous, serious but not too much so. The Peculiar Crimes Unit does solve the strange and unexplained cases, but the paranormal is more of a side show rather than the central attraction. Its not really the X-Files gone Neil Gaiman, but its also more than just a Sherlock Holmes with a better sense of humor.

In all, I thought that Fowler did a great job of breathing life into his two main characters, Arthur Bryant and John May. I liked them immediately. They are so different in temperament and taste, but they complement each other perfectly.

The plot, while long, was still interesting and engaging. There were certainly elements that required a mild stretch of reality or a momentary suspension of belief, but in this slightly off-center gumshoe murder mystery, it seemed to fit. There is the slightest whisper of a fantasy novel to be found in the plot, so those murder mystery purists who want their stories to be a bit more cut and dry will probably find adequate enough reason to complain.

In all, I thought it was a fun read with enjoyable characters and a worthy mystery. I look forward to checking out the other books in this series.

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A long book, but one that keeps your interest. It jumps back and forth between modern day London and London in 1940 during the blitz. Most of the story is set in 1940, and that was certainly more interesting. As well as the mystery surrounding weird murders in a huge theater, the evocation of London being bombed was very effective.

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These two old coots are detectives in a special London branch of the police. They investigate odd and demanding cases. Good picture of London, interesting characters of courtly May and "codgerly" Bryant. Fun writing, twisted plots. This is set in the theatrical world of WW II.

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At one point in this novel one of the characters says (paraphrased) "That's a bit Agatha Christie, isn't it?". If you're a fan of the grand dame of the Brit mystery, it's conceivable that you might enjoy this; otherwise you can expect to be pulled by the elbow through plot twists that range from the implausible to the preposterous. Character development is pathetically thin, the writing is in general cliché-ridden and fairly dull. The novelistic equivalent of the most stale TV sit-com you can imagine. To be read in bed, with your light on a timer (set it for twenty-five minutes, you will be drowsy in five, gone in ten).

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Second in the series I have read, enjoyed both.

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Liked it. Liked the characters. Odd, fit the title.

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Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A robust murder mystery and police procedural in which the past comes back to haunt the present.

When a bomb destroyed the London offices of the Peculiar Crimes Unit early one Sunday morning, founder and lead detective Arthur Bryant had been seen already inside, still at work from the night before. Work was Arthur's life, after all. His long-time partner and second-in-command, John May, was devastated by his sudden death; their personal and working relationship stretched back decades to WWII during the Blitz.

Despite his grief, May pulls himself together, determined to find the bomber and bring them to justice and avenge his friend's death. His investigation immediately focuses on their current cases. But as he backtracks Bryant's movements on his last days and the cases he was working on, the clues seem to lead him to London's the Palace Theatre, the location of May's very first case with Bryant more than a half-century earlier. Bryant had always been interested in the supernatural; was his death a matter of a ghost from the past returning to wreak death and destruction in the present?

If you're interested in a puzzling mystery and a realistic story of living in London during the Blitz, Full Dark House is for you. The author recreates wartime London with the populace already amid nightly bombing raids by the Germans, sudden death, destruction, sleepless nights, rationing, and the indomitable spirit of the British people.

The mysteries are intriguing, and the circumstances in the Palace Theatre are palpably tense throughout the book. The murders are pretty unusual and kept me wondering when the next shoe (or body) would drop. I know I'll have an extra shiver or two the next time I visit a theater.

I enjoyed the two main characters, though; with the complex storylines and two full investigations running, I didn't get a complete picture of who these men really are. Arthur Bryant is quirky and interested in myriad subjects, willing to experiment, and has a secret personal tragedy in his past. He reminded me of CSI's Gil Grissom if he'd been operating in 1940s London. John May is the steady, normal one. Together, we are told, they balanced each other out to create a very successful investigating partnership for the Peculiar Crimes Unit. I also liked that some of the supporting characters in the present-day part of the story were the children of former Peculiar Crimes Unit members active at the time of the flashback crime.

However, this book felt long and seemed to drag at times. There were two crimes and two timeframes, and this is the setup for a series, so I'm also feeling it is to be expected, so I plan to read the next book in the series.

I recommend FULL DARK HOUSE to mystery readers that enjoy a full-on, step-by-step investigation in their stories, historical mysteries, or mysteries set in London during WWII or in a theatre setting.

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The cover of this book says it's "The first Bryant & May mystery". I was slightly taken aback when the story starts off with the death of elderly detective Arthur Bryant in a bomb attack (this is not a spoiler). If there's more books about the two detectives, shouldn't they be both alive? But there are plenty of ways to get around that. The story flashes back to a particular theater in London during the Blitz of WWII. Actors are being killed, the theater seems to be haunted, and the new Peculiar Crimes unit is on the hook to solve it.
The descriptions of wartime London are great. The characters had a lot of promise, I can certainly see how this became a long series. But the mystery in this book didn't hold my attention. I know I am somewhat humor-challenged; the cover blurb implied this is a wacky "madcap" mystery, but if it is, it bypassed me. I did find the scenarios with Detective Biddle mildly amusing. I thought the solution of the theater murders was rather far-fetched, and I wasn't surprised by another twist of the plot. I am not a theater-goer so perhaps there were a lot of references I didn't get.
All in all, it was worth reading if just for the WWII setting. I might pick up the next one to see how I like it.

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"Edgy, suspenseful, and darkly comic, here is the first novel in a riveting new mystery series starring two cranky but brilliant old detectives whose lifelong friendship was forged solving crimes for the London Police Department's Peculiar Crimes Unit. In Full Dark House, Christopher Fowler tells the story of both their first and last case and how along the way the unlikely pair of crime fighters changed the face of detection."

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