Twelfth in the series and a darker story than most from the start, with the burning to death of a homeless man who dossed down in the doorway of a bank. Set against a backdrop of violent protest against that very same bank, which has been broken by insider dealing, at first it appears that the killing was accidental, but the Peculiar Crimes Unit, brought in to identify the dead man, soon realises it was deliberate, and link it to another fire related death.

This time, the unit is beset by the hostility of their former boss, Leslie Faraday, an incompetent civil servant who has just been promoted and is once again in control of their budget, and a senior policeman who is their new liaison officer but is working against them. More worrying, Arthur Bryant appears to be experiencing a diminution in his always remarkable mental powers.

The build up of crimes and race against time to prevent escalating attacks is good as ever, members of the unit not being immune from danger, and the ending is very poignant. I only had a slight problem with the slightly flat note when the culprit is finally apprehended - because of his dry reaction which contrasts to the emotion glimpsed in his point of view previously. That was the one point that kept this from being a 5 star read. ( )

was just as intricate as the other books in the series that I've read or listened to. No, I did not figure out the killer. This book resolves two romantic relationships in the Peculiar Crimes Unit. The end would have been almost unbearably sad had I not known there have been other books written later, one of which I'd read.

The horrific deaths of the various victims involve heat or fire. (At least two were rescued.) A giant wicker man set alight on Guy Fawkes Night is one method the killer used. When the killer is interviewed, the reason for the murders was appalling. ( )

I came across these books by accident. This is the second Bryant and May I have read. Great stories, great characters. Love them ( )

This was another book that I struggled to get into. I generally liked the relationship between Bryant & May, but didn't really enjoy the story. The pace seemed slow. This may have been a product of right book, wrong time and if I go back and pick it up again it might click. I'm glad I sampled it but I don't know if I will try it again and doubt I'd read more in the series.

This is a different book and one of a series on the eponymous detectives. They and the unit they work in are eccentric and different.

I started this book slowly and took a while to get into it but I think that was just down to me.

The setting is London and mostly in the square mile - aka the City or the financial district. The book is replete with the history of London and Londoner's courtesy of one of the main two characters. It also brings quite a bit of recent historical social context to the story - think of the 1 v 99%. One bug I have is the user likes to use obscure words - okay I'm duly impressed but unsure if it's at all helpful - even if very accurate - so again I'm torn.

The story is quite a bit different than most thrillers and nicely paced and enjoyable. I'd recommend reading it - unsure if I'll read others i the series. ( )