Dear fellow, it was one of our most truly peculiar cases. I remember as if it was yesterday. It was late in As strikes and blackouts ravaged the country during Edward Heath's 'Winter of Discontent', sundry members of a wealthy, aristocratic family were being disposed of in a variety of grotesque ways - by reptile, by bomb, by haircut Jun 03, Keri rated it really liked it.
Starts off with a lively, two-prong bang: More curious and rather gruesome deaths occur, along with much dry wit but not overdone; kudos to Fowler for perfect pitch. Feb 15, Joseph Teller rated it really liked it Shelves: The events in the book are set in and basically are taken from Bryants biographer's attempt to gather case details from him about their more unusual cases.
Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler
In this case it involves a series of crimes that seem at first unconnected, and for which the motive and who is performing them appear to be out of reach of the detectives for nearly three quarters of the book. A man dressed in Edwardian garb defaces a painting in the National Gallery with Acid. A Guest at the exclusive Savoy Hotel is apparently fatally bitten by a Cottonmouth snake. A man explodes on a tube train. And thats just the beginning Definitely one of the better books in the series, though it does have a tiny fantastic element that one must be willing to suspend disbelief on.
Dec 16, Doug Beatty rated it really liked it Shelves: This one takes place in the 's and is one of the early cases when the PCU has first been formed There are several murders, each one seeming to be more bizarre than the last.
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And, a gentleman in Edwardian garb enters an art gallery and manages to destroy a painting that was on loan from Australia. Later, this same man turns up dead. In typical Fowler fashion, you find out more tidbits about London, watchmaking and Gilbert and Sullivan. And I have to tell you, without giving anything away, this has the most complex solution in any mystery novel I have ever read. And it is a solution that nobody could ever see coming! And it is quite exciting! Though, you have to read it a little more slowly than usual to be able to digest all that is going on.
It is definitely a good addition to the series! Dec 13, Colleen rated it liked it Shelves: Oh I like these books. This while not my favorite of the ones I've read was still engrossing. A suprisingly dense book--the paperback seemed slim when I started it, but it's pages--and I marathon read like of those in a setting. I was so baffled who the killer was, who was doing this picking off the descendents of a Victorian watchmaker that I wanted to keep going but it was so late and there were so many pages left.
Really much credit for the bulk of the book--it didn't feel superfluou Oh I like these books. These definitely do not. I like how chronologically they skip around too--this one is set in the early 70s, and many of the people who are in the other books his witch friend, his painter buddy make appearances. I don't think it's necessary to read these books in order either which is nice. And yes, the ending. I did not see at all who the culprit was. This book started out interesting enough and I was enjoying the story.
However, toward the end it went from a peculiar crime to a downright ridiculous tale. I don't even think I quite understood why all the murders were happening, either, it was so 'out there'. When there was action, the author did a wonderful job and I felt I was there with the wonderful descriptions and sense of place. However, one of the instances with a characters was so strange I just couldn't suspend my belief. Not to ment This book started out interesting enough and I was enjoying the story.
Not to mention the whole business with the automaton. I'm hoping this was a one-off book as I have a few more by this author on my TBR pile.
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I'd hate to think the same thing would happen in one of those stories and I'd feel cheated, rather fulfilled by a good story. Mar 12, Kyrie rated it really liked it Shelves: I think if I reread it, I might bump it up to "really liked it". There was so much going on and the bit at the end was very confusing to me, and a bit unreal. I haven't found the other ones to be quite so fanciful. Of course, this is supposed to be a memory of Bryant, so it's very possible the author let loose, figuring he could blame it on Bryant's imagination and embellishments.
I did laugh out loud at several swipes he took at the upper crust. Yes, upon rereading it, I gave it more stars. I t I think if I reread it, I might bump it up to "really liked it". I think reading the series in order is helping, although, I'm confused as to what order I'm reading them. Lol - enough of Bryant and my mind will be utter chaos.
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I liked the mix of modern times with Victorian times. I confess to not being a big Gilbert and Sullivan fan, so I'm sure I missed a lot of clever references. Maybe I should put those on my "to read" list?
Backstories To The Bryant & May Books No.2
Mar 12, Alistair rated it it was amazing Shelves: For some reason I equate these books to television programmes in my mind. The prologue is quiet simply wonderful and well worth a re-read. Plotting is goo For some reason I equate these books to television programmes in my mind.
Plotting is good, apart from the, IMHO, needless 17 year old and I guessed a perpetrator around half way in. When I read the outcome it made sense, but in a very fantastical way. Would I recommend this? Jan 29, Gypsi rated it really liked it Shelves: In this third book of the series, a spate of bizarre murders comes to their attention. In investigating these connected deaths, they find themselves researching a Victorian tontine, protecting the most crabby of families, and receiving unsolicited help from a nosy teenager.
As with the other two PCU books, the plot of Seventy-Seven Clocks is bizarre and convoluted, but in a good way, keeping the reader guessing. Bryant and May are engaging characters, giving much personality to the novel. The interwoven plot of the teenager, Sam, added an extra dimension. This is a fun novel for readers that appreciate a far-fetched but enjoyable mystery. May 18, Susan in NC rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Hence, the name of their police unit, the "Peculiar Crimes Unit".
Other readers have criticized the book as slower or not as good as the first two, but I really enjoyed it; it did drag in some parts, but I found the same with the first two - overall a fun, exciting, fast-moving read with great, laugh-out-loud dialogue in parts. I look forward to reading "Ten Second Staircase", the next book in the series. Another adventure with the PCU. I always end up learning something historical in these novels. This time it was Victorian England. I was totally engrossed in this mystery which had some pretty dark aspects to it. There didn't seem to be as much light hearted humor.
There were some scenes I actually had a hard time picturing. I did lose some fingernails along the way. Feb 24, Ann rated it really liked it. Bryant and May are called when a series of bizarre murders begin and it seems that all of the victims are members of the same family.
They are all members of the Watchmakers Guild and the detectives need to find out why and who is targeting the family before they are all wiped out. This was stranger than the other two episodes but very enjoyable. Jul 12, Harriet rated it liked it. I normally love these Bryant and May but this one was just too long, it went on and on.
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If I didn't usually like them so much, I probably would not have stuck it out. I've read them out of sequence and the Water Room is my favorite and this one my least favorite. I would like to have them adapted for TV as only the Brits can do. A series that never ceases to entertain, and this is no exception. I'm not ordinarily a fan of authors that wear their politics on their sleeve, but some of Fowler's asides cracked me up so much that I simply had to forgive it.
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Apr 02, Kathy Davie rated it really liked it. The case of the Seventy-Seven Clocks took place in My Take It's a Gilbert and Sullivan opera all on its own, beginning with a clever but ruthless man who intended to ensure his family's wealth through the centuries. It's also an opportunity for Fowler to take the piss out of the upper classes and skewer the middle-class for their own greed and ambition.
It is curious how nicely Fowler manages to tie today in with cases that took place in the past. I find it a fascinating look back at how technology and detecting has evolved through the years. There was a brief look-in at Victorian nipples in pre-Raff paintings, lol, a briefer summary of what the Gilbert and Sullivan operas were satirizing, a short history on the London Guilds, and the Whitstable history certainly provides a window into the history of the treatment of laborers and anyone not us.
Jerry sounds like a spoiled brat with abandonment issues, although I did not like the sound of her parents and figured Jerry had her reasons. Does she ever have her reasons. I can't believe her mother laid all this on her all these years with this on her conscience. I'm not too thrilled with her father either. If Jack knows why Jerry was being sent to the therapist, why does he get so happy with her new job?
As for that mother. Gwen blaming her daughter for all her antics when it was Gwen who set her own daughter up and then went into denial about what was happening. Speaking of Jerry, I don't understand why Bryant allowed her to get away with so much. It didn't make sense. In fact, Jerry's antics are more Keystone Kops, even though Jerry ends up being quite useful, and it does lead her to discover the truth about what happened when she was The cops are trying to save their lives, and they treat them like dirt!
And those stupid Whitstables do everything they can to thwart the protection and then whine when another of 'em gets killed. The behavior of that little girl and the adults' reaction to it alone is almost enough that I'd'a been tempted to leave them to their just deserts. Obviously it would only have been an improvement for the rest of us. Jerry does have that insight into the upper-class attitude the Whitstables throw out: They're used to being deferred to.
I do love that Bryant pens them all up in Peter and William's house and…gasp…they'll have to make their own beds! I do enjoy reading about the holidays and their original origins. How they were cleaned up by the Church. I must confess I like the idea of a "marvelously rowdy pagan celebration". It's a confusing mess of ill-manners and theories that only gets worse when Charles Whitstable joins the story with his hints and comments.
The Story A painting on loan to the National Gallery, The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius by John William Waterhouse, is damaged beyond repair by an elderly vandal clad in Victorian garb, setting off an international incident that threatens to derail the Common Market talks and draws Bryant into a series of bizarre murders — art vandalism, venomous poison, and an exploding suspect are only the start — at the Savoy Hotel.
The Characters Detective Inspector Arthur Bryant is the peculiar one, the one who dresses like a bum, has no social graces, kills technology, and has an elliptical, unorthodox approach to investigating. Alma Sorrowbridge is Bryant's landlady; Hiawatha is her mongrel cat. Detective Inspector John May is the fashionably dressed balance with his methodical research, gregariousness, and his intense interest in the ladies. They survive as a team, as the… …Peculiar Crimes Unit because… …their success rate is quite high. The unit itself was a special, experimental police unit formed during World War II to handle particular cases which required specialized handling, but soon evolved into those that were potentially embarrassing for the government.
Sergeant Janice Longbright 's marriage is off; Ian made her choose between husband and career. Oswald Finch is the pathologist who's been with the unit since the beginning. Raymond Land is still their acting superintendent terrified of not closing cases and too much publicity. Geraldine " Jerry" Gates is rebelling against her parents, afraid of the dark since she was 14 , and lying to her therapist.
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Gwen and Jack Gates are her social-climbing parents who expect their daughter to join the family firm. Wayland is the therapist Jerry's mother insists she sees and the one who reports back to her mother on Jerry's sessions. Joseph Herrick is a dreadlock'd African-American with heavy motorcycle boots who has come to England to design stage sets for a new play. Kaneto Miyagawa is a patron of the arts and is the boss of the Tasaka Corporation in Japan, which is putting up the money for the play. The Whitstables James Makepeace Whitstable was the founding father for the wealth of the Whitstables.
Maximillian Jacob , a lawyer with Jacob and Marks Leo is the partner in Norwich, is the family lawyer for the Whitstables: William ; the drunken Peter , a major; and, their unmarried sister, Bella , who is on the outs with her brothers. She's a member of a society, the Savoyards , that supports Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Oliver Pettigrew , an estate agent, is one of the Savoyards. More of the family include Alec and Beattie Whitstable with their son Royston Carlyle ; Mina Whistable is bedridden; Edith Eleanor Whitstable , the daughter of Charles and Rachel , is an outsider and a contemporary of Mina's; Samuel , Edith's husband, died of cancer; Jack and Harry are their sons; Steven and Jeffrey are Harry's sons and live with their grandmother; Pippa is worried about her horse, Gawain ; Nigel is worried about his sweater; and, Susan.
Charles Whitstable is based in India and appears to be the head of the family. Berta is his mother. Delilah is her granddaughter. Michelle Baskin is nanny to Daisy Whitstable. Her stepbrother Tarquin has already been packed off to boarding school. Isobel is their mother; Luke , the son of Oliver and Peggy , is Daisy's father. Christian and Deborah chose to stay home with their children, Justin and Flora.
We obey the landowners' creed: If it's attractive you shoot it; if it's ugly you marry it. Alison Hatfield is the public-relations officer for the Watchmakers. The very uncooperative Mr. Tomlins is the guild secretary for the Goldsmiths. Malcolm Rand is the custodian and reports to Tomlins. Today it is a philanthropic trust.
Rajeev was James' Indian servant. Nicholas is the jerk with whom Jerry works at the Savoy. Sandra is a waitress for the shareholders meeting. David Carreras is the Australian minister for the arts. Leslie Faraday is the newly appointed junior arts minister and has absolutely no clue about art. James Smith and Sons sell custom canes. Maurice was Major Whitstable's usual barber. Eric is the stand-in. Andy has quite the underhanded business going. Peregrine Summerfield is an art historian and friend of Bryant's.
His wife, Lilian , left him. Reg Lugsea is Bryant's very knowledgeable butcher; Phil is his apprentice. Maureen , Nigel is the resident numerologist, and Katherine call her Freya these days are part of the coven. Denjhi is flabbergasted at the actions of her husband, David. A tontine was a deadly Victorian insurance policy. The Cover and Title The cover is a deep rusty red blackening at the edges with a London map superimposed on top of it along with odd bits of swirls and clock hands.
There's a clock at the top right, kitty-corner from Big Ben and its tower with a ragged silhouette of Westminster. One mustachioed face stares out at us on the left, while on the right, a woman, in profile, is looking up. The title refers to the Seventy-Seven Clocks required to run the abomination. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Christopher Fowler is an English novelist living in London, his books contain elements of black comedy, anxiety and social satire.
A mysterious stranger in outlandish Edwardian garb defaces a painting in the National Gallery. Then a guest at the exclusive Savoy Hotel is fatally bitten by what appears to be a marshland snake. An outbreak of increasingly bizarre crimes has hit London—and, fittingly, come to the attention of the Peculiar Crimes Unit.
From the Paperback edition. It starts with a violent death in the lobby of the legendary Savoy Hotel and quickly expands to include art vandalism, Gilbert and Sullivan, and a host of other peculiarities. But life always seems livelier whenever Arthur Bryant and John May are on a case! Also in Peculiar Crimes Unit. Also by Christopher Fowler. See all books by Christopher Fowler. Inspired by Your Browsing History. Praise "Highly unusual … exciting and original…. Looking for More Great Reads? Download our Spring Fiction Sampler Now.
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