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London Bridge Is Falling Down
London Bridge Is Falling Down: A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery
1 of 1 copy available
The brilliant duo of Arthur Bryant and John May uncovers a nefarious plot behind the seemingly innocuous death of an old lady—and when the case leads them to London Bridge, it all comes down on the Peculiar Crimes Unit.
When ninety-one-year-old Amelia Hoffman dies in her top-floor flat on a busy London road, it’s considered an example of what has gone wrong with modern society: she slipped through the cracks in a failing system.
But detectives Arthur Bryant and John May of the Peculiar Crimes Unit have their doubts. Mrs. Hoffman was once a government security expert, though no one can quite remember her. When a link emerges between the old lady and a diplomat trying to flee the country, it seems that an impossible murder has been committed.
Mrs. Hoffman wasn’t the only one at risk. Bryant is convinced that other forgotten women with hidden talents are also in danger. And, curiously, they all own models of London Bridge.
With the help of some of their more certifiable informants, the detectives follow the strangest of clues in an investigation that will lead them through forgotten alleyways to the city’s fabled bridge in search of a desperate killer.
But just when the case appears to be solved, they discover that Mrs. Hoffman was smarter than anyone imagined. There’s a bigger game afoot that could have terrible consequences.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
December 7, 2021 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780593356227
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780593356227
- File size: 5288 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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July 1, 2021
Here's another peculiar crime for detectives Arthur Bryant and John May, whose escapades have won their creator the CWA's Dagger in the Library Award. Ninety-one-year-old Alice Hoffman has died a lonely death in her top-floor flat, evidently a victim of social-services negligence. But our detectives know that Alice was a government security expert who once worked with their unit, and soon they learn that she was helping a diplomat escape the country. In fact, she belonged to a group of women doing below-the-radar serves for the government, and the entire group may be in danger.
Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Starred review from October 4, 2021
Fowler’s excellent 20th Peculiar Crimes Unit mystery (after 2020’s Oranges and Lemons) finds the London police unit yet again at risk of being shut down. To avoid that fate, the PCU’s lead detective, über-eccentric Det. Chief Insp. Arthur Bryant, takes advantage of a loophole. Since the Home Office can’t reassign unresolved homicide cases to other police departments, Bryant searches for a recent fatality that can somehow be made into an open PCU murder inquiry. He finds one in the case of 91-year-old Amelia Hoffman, a shut-in who apparently died from natural causes, though someone hastened her demise by canceling food deliveries and check-ins by her caregiver. Along with his longtime partner, Det. Chief Insp. John May, Bryant delves into what he believes is a key clue, a souvenir of London Bridge that was thrown out of one of Hoffman’s windows. The trail leads to some surprising revelations about the PCU’s past and several indisputable murders. As always, Fowler does a masterly job of balancing humor with an ingeniously crafted plot. Devoted fans will be more than satisfied. Agent: Howard Morhaim, Howard Morhaim Literary.
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