Mystery/Thriller -- 4 stars
Audiobook Narration -- 5 stars
Peculiar Crimes Unit Series - Book 12
Book: It's the week before Guy Fawkes night; and a corrupt banker has brought London's disenfranchised out into the streets to protest. Under cover of the demonstrations, people who are seemingly disconnected are being killed, each burned in some way. ----- If you haven't experienced the Bryant and May books, you are in for a treat. Bryant and May are well past retirement age, but they continue to run the Peculiar Crimes Unit with their staff of misfit detectives and one frustrated supervisor. Every time the stories seem to be sliding into the supernatural, Arthur Bryant, who is a walking encyclopedia of esoteric facts on archaic London, manages to come up with an unexpected and completely down to earth solution. This one is no different, though it takes a while for The Burning Man to take off. This one has a sad ending that works because the characters have become like family--funny, frustrating, imaginative, stubborn, and always original. Each book in the series is a stand alone mystery, but to really enjoy the humor (that only gets funnier as the series continues) start at the beginning with Full Dark House.
Narration: I chanced upon this series years ago while scouring the library for a book to fill the time on a long train trip. Tim Goodman's characterizations are so completely charming and fun to listen to, that I've never actually read one of the physical books. He completely captures the dry sense of humor and the ridiculousness of the entire idea of a Peculiar Crimes Unit while at the same time giving the books the sense of brooding darkness any good London mystery needs.
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