Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood
    Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood
    Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood
    Audiobook11 hours

    Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood

    Written by Christopher Fowler

    Narrated by Tim Goodman

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The death of a child and what seems to be a murderous puppet make a perfect case for Bryant and May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit. As John May and his team interrogate the suspects, Arthur Bryant heads into the secret world of illusions and stagecraft. As a second impossible death occurs, the detectives uncover forgotten museums and London eccentrics. The stage is set for a race against time with a surprising twist…
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherW. F. Howes Ltd
    Release dateJan 1, 2012
    ISBN9781407497181
    Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood
    Author

    Christopher Fowler

    Christopher Fowler is the award-winning author of more than forty novels and short-story collections, including the Bryant & May mysteries and he is the recipient of the 2015 Dagger In The Library.

    More audiobooks from Christopher Fowler

    Related to Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood

    Titles in the series (7)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    Crime Thriller For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Andrew Caldecott

      Jul 17, 2019

      Andrew Caldecott
      3 min read

    • Article

      Infamy! Infamy!

      Jul 26, 2023

      Infamy! Infamy!
      3 min read

    • Article

      Shots From The Shires

      Sep 24, 2020

      Shots From The Shires
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Capitol Riot Is Part Of A Growing Battlefield – The ‘Grey Zone’

      Jan 13, 2021

      “There’s a maxim that if you want to boil a frog, you don’t just drop it into boiling water, because it’ll jump straight out again”, Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb explains. “You put it in cold water and you slowly bring the water up to boil. By

      4 min read

    • Article

      Reviews

      Aug 17, 2023

      Reviews
      5 min read

    • Article

      49 Days Later

      Apr 5, 2024

      49 Days Later
      13 min read

    • Article

      Justice Is Not Racist

      May 25, 2023

      Justice Is Not Racist
      7 min read

    • Article

      Murder He Wrote

      Jan 1, 2021

      Murder He Wrote
      12 min read

    • Article

      Who Is Winning The Infowar, Covid Lessons For The Next Pandemic And Ferry Staff Get A Sinking Feeling

      Mar 25, 2022

      If nothing else, Vladimir Putin’s packed stadium rally in Moscow last week revealed there is no shortage of Russian people who believe the Kremlin’s grotesquely doctored version of the “special operation” in Ukraine. But it’s not just a matter of sta

      2 min read

    • Article

      Reporting On The Troubles

      Oct 31, 2019

      Reporting On The Troubles
      8 min read

    • Article

      Of Crudeness and Truth

      Jan 12, 2018

      Of Crudeness and Truth
      4 min read

    • Article

      Brighton Hell

      May 3, 2023

      Brighton Hell
      3 min read

    • Article

      Commentary: An Assault On Notions Of Right And Wrong

      Jul 9, 2018

      To anyone who had eyes to see and a half-working moral compass in 1991, the Handycam video of Rodney King's beating by four Los Angeles Police Department cops showed brutality, sadism and torture. The primitive violence insulted the heart. But then c

      3 min read

    • Article

      Sounding the Alarm

      Nov 22, 2019

      WHISTLE-BLOWING HAS LONG been a vital weapon against public and private wrongdoing in America. Just as FBI whistle-blower Mark Felt called out Richard Nixon’s systemic criminality and Karen Silkwood disclosed the massive risks of nuclear power, so to

      1 min read

    • Article

      Sounding the Alarm

      Nov 23, 2019

      WHISTLE-BLOWING HAS LONG been a vital weapon against public and private wrongdoing in America. Just as FBI whistle-blower Mark Felt called out Richard Nixon’s systemic criminality and Karen Silkwood disclosed the massive risks of nuclear power, so to

      1 min read

    • Article

      Trump Makes Captain Queeg Look Like Captain Kirk

      Sep 29, 2019

      Only the ball bearings were missing. The reference, for those who don't know, is to Humphrey Bogart's performance as the emotionally unstable Captain Queeg in the 1954 film "The Caine Mutiny." In a pivotal scene, Bogart vividly etches the captain's m

      2 min read

    • Article

      Fault Lines

      May 3, 2024

      Fault Lines
      3 min read

    • Article

      Crime On The Home Front

      Nov 26, 2020

      Crime On The Home Front
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood

    4/5

    115 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      In Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit series, the PCU is the red-headed stepchild of London policing, despite the fact that its case clearance rate is stellar and its budget tiny. The PCU's unpopularity with the police and government establishment is largely due to its chief, Arthur Bryant. Bryant is an ancient, shambling man in soup-stained clothing, who is fascinated by history, the occult and odd phenomena, but lacks any people skills or ability to deal with the real world. After losing track of his car countless times, his solution is to make a habit of parking it in places that make people really angry, since that means when he's searching for it, people will remember having seen it. His way of dealing with a potentially troublesome journalist is to pretend to show her an iron maiden torture device, lock her in it and stroll off, forgetting all about her.Bryant's principal colleague and best friend is John May, who is as dapper as Bryant is disheveled, and spends much of his time smoothing over ruffled feathers after Bryant has mistakenly been allowed to speak to witnesses or superiors. Other members of the PCU staff register on the misfit scale too, just at a much lower level than Bryant.In this latest PCU book, the team has been called in on a ghastly case of the murder of a theater producer's infant son while a party was in full swing downstairs. What puts this crime within the PCU's remit is its circumstances. The boy was throttled and thrown out a sixth-story window without anyone having witnessed any part of the crime. The boy's nursery door was locked from the inside, but there is no evidence of a person having been in the room or left it. The crime scene is turned from puzzling to grotesque and eerie by the Punch puppet on the floor near the crib, and the fact that the impressions on the boy's neck match Punch's wooden hands.While the rest of the PCU interview the party guests (all theater people), construct timelines and analyze alibis, Arthur Bryant immerses himself in the arcana of puppetry, stage props and devices, and the history of the theater and of London buildings. He consults with carnies and Wiccans, and even a Victorian automaton of the seer Madame Blavatsky.Bryant has a few other matters to distract him along the way. He and his housekeeper are being evicted from their longtime residence immediately--actually, it's only "immediately" because Bryant has spent months successfully avoiding paying any attention to the notices and his housekeeper's warnings. On another front, Bryant is dismayed when the appealing young woman who is helping him with his memoirs is killed, and a CD of high inflammatory and top-secret material culled from the memoir goes missing. To round off the distractions, hints begin to appear that someone in government is taking steps to discredit the PCU badly enough to force it to disband.Bryant is convinced that a psychological drama is being played out by the staging of the murder and the use of the Punch puppet. The killer is trying to send a message--but what is the message, and for whom is it intended? Bryant's conviction grows as other guests at the party are murdered; their deaths also bizarre and apparently staged with reference to the Punch and Judy plays. As more time goes by with no solution in sight, Bryant risks it all on one throw of the dice. He will have his murderer by midnight or retire.There is nobody like Christopher Fowler for combining dark, even horrifying, crime with comedy. Within seconds after wincing at a description of a crime scene, you may burst out laughing at one of Bryant's scathing quips.Despite the contemporary setting and the use of modern forensic tools, PCU books harken back to classic mysteries, where a careful analysis of the clues and the suspects' movements--and the ability to spot red herrings and deceit--allow the reader to engage in the detection of the killer alongside the PCU team. Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood also provides the bonus of a great deal of information about the history of Grand Guignol plays and puppetry. I never had any particular interest in those subjects before, but I was fascinated. Now that's the sign of a masterful writer.This is the ninth book in the Peculiar Crimes Unit series, but if you haven't read the previous books, you'll be fine starting with this one. Bryant & May and the Invisible Code, the next book in the series, will be published in the UK in August, 2012. I'm not sure what the US publication date will be, but I would guess March 2013.
    • 4/5
      For the fans of the Peculiar Crimes Unit, a new Bryant and May mystery is great news. In The Memory of Blood, the PCU is teetering on the brink again, tolerated but never accepted by its peers in London’s Metropolitan Police Force. And Home Office has its own reservations about the men and women of the PCU.A tragic locked-room death at a party hosted by a theatrical director at his home … and the finding of the puppet character Punch at the scene … are enough to bring the PCU into the investigation. Everyone who is part of the production of Two Murderers is suspected, and one of them is the daughter of a higher up in British government. That makes it even more imperative for the PCU to be leading the charge to find the murderer. Of course, there are more murders, each one involving puppet characters from Punch and Judy. What could be going on?Bryant and May are at their eccentric best. If they aren’t the two oddest heroes in British mysteries, I don’t know who else could be. And author Christopher Fowler brings new readers up to speed in a quick lesson – in the form of a classified Home Office document reprinted as a preface to the book. The document outlines the “findings” of an investigation into the PCU, giving brief critical bios of each of the principal characters. To those who haven’t read any Bryant and May mysteries, it’s hard to relate exactly what makes them so satisfying. They can be light-hearted and tragic, funny and frustratingly complex. They’re superbly written, well plotted, and peopled with amazing characters – so much so that they’re a breeze to read, and funny to boot.
    • 3/5
      This was an entertaining and enjoyable read - an old-fashioned detective story set in contemporary London, with a bit of social commentary and some interesting historical excursions into the history of Mr Punch. Although this is the first I've read in this series, there were a lot of familiar memes from police TV shows and other books - multiple murders, a special unit with enemies in high places, an incompetent boss, an oddball main detective character who keeps his hunches to himself until the big reveal. At first I thought it was going to be a paranormal story like the Ben Aaronovitch series I read last year (where Mr Punch also made an appearance), but it isn't and I think I enjoyed it more because of that.
    • 4/5
      This is another fine entry in the Bryant & May/Peculiar Crimes Unit series. "The Memory of Blood" begins with the shocking murder of an infant, and everyone in the cast and crew of a new play, "The Two Murderers," is a suspect. More murders follow, and our detective duo and their dutiful cohorts are on the case, following their leads, and navigating twists and turns towards zeroing in on the murderer. Fowler sprinkles his usual delightful helping of history into the mix, London theatre and the origins of Punch and Judy puppet shows form the backdrop of this mystery, which adds fun and flavor to this fast-paced read.
    • 4/5
      Christopher Fowler uses his successful, witty, and intelligent template as Detectives May and Bryant continue to work to preserve The Peculiar Crime Unit. As usual, the upper levels of the police department are trying to demolish it and the partners work to prove its necessity.THE MEMORY OF BLOOD begins with a locked room and the disappearance of a child. It involves murders in the theatrical community. At the center are the long-lived character of Punch, a replica of whom is left at the murder scenes. Why Punch? Puppets, the name included many dolls that were not marionettes were once considered dangerous because of an interpretation of the Second Commandment against idols. For example, a rag doll, called a puppet. was one of the pieces of evidence used in the Salem Witch Trial. The Punch & Judy shows were morality play about the absence of morality.They quickly determine the identity of the killer but have a lot of work to do to prove their case.As usual, there are interesting twist in this witty, charming mystery.I lowered my rating one star because the book has too many unnecessarily short chapters
    • 4/5
      If you are a fan of the series, forgive me for not reading the first 6 books and started with no. 7. Now, where were we. Yes. The detectives in this unit have been shunt and kicked out of their office. So, the leader, sort of, financed an investigation on two seemingly separate events. One, a stag man who wore knifes on his head injured a detective. Two, a headless body was found in a frig of a premise that going to be opened as a restaurant, The headline man killed might take priority. Another interesting bit is that a separate body was found with the same identity. Half way through the book and it is still a mystery to me. Interaction between characters, a bit confusing to a new comer like me. But we get it. The stag man is linked to a controversial land development somewhere near King's Cross. Not drawing me in yet. But I would keep reading. It is not a bad read. Just so much things going on without giving us enough clues. Or I'm too thick and not used to the hints the writer is giving me. Either way. Interesting. Well, who is doing the folk tale of a story. Almost getting to the end of the story. The sideline of a young PC wanting to date an older coworker is kind of cute. But the main of the story is so in the fight between preserving history and over-development of city. It is about property right, that triggered a burglary that lead to murder persons. No know the outcome yet. Getting to know the characters a bit better now. And getting use to the narration. Might check out other books in the series.
    • 4/5
      Fun and morbid, as usual in this series.
    • 4/5
      In Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit series, the PCU is the red-headed stepchild of London policing, despite the fact that its case clearance rate is stellar and its budget tiny. The PCU's unpopularity with the police and government establishment is largely due to its chief, Arthur Bryant. Bryant is an ancient, shambling man in soup-stained clothing, who is fascinated by history, the occult and odd phenomena, but lacks any people skills or ability to deal with the real world. After losing track of his car countless times, his solution is to make a habit of parking it in places that make people really angry, since that means when he's searching for it, people will remember having seen it. His way of dealing with a potentially troublesome journalist is to pretend to show her an iron maiden torture device, lock her in it and stroll off, forgetting all about her.Bryant's principal colleague and best friend is John May, who is as dapper as Bryant is disheveled, and spends much of his time smoothing over ruffled feathers after Bryant has mistakenly been allowed to speak to witnesses or superiors. Other members of the PCU staff register on the misfit scale too, just at a much lower level than Bryant.In this latest PCU book, the team has been called in on a ghastly case of the murder of a theater producer's infant son while a party was in full swing downstairs. What puts this crime within the PCU's remit is its circumstances. The boy was throttled and thrown out a sixth-story window without anyone having witnessed any part of the crime. The boy's nursery door was locked from the inside, but there is no evidence of a person having been in the room or left it. The crime scene is turned from puzzling to grotesque and eerie by the Punch puppet on the floor near the crib, and the fact that the impressions on the boy's neck match Punch's wooden hands.While the rest of the PCU interview the party guests (all theater people), construct timelines and analyze alibis, Arthur Bryant immerses himself in the arcana of puppetry, stage props and devices, and the history of the theater and of London buildings. He consults with carnies and Wiccans, and even a Victorian automaton of the seer Madame Blavatsky.Bryant has a few other matters to distract him along the way. He and his housekeeper are being evicted from their longtime residence immediately--actually, it's only "immediately" because Bryant has spent months successfully avoiding paying any attention to the notices and his housekeeper's warnings. On another front, Bryant is dismayed when the appealing young woman who is helping him with his memoirs is killed, and a CD of high inflammatory and top-secret material culled from the memoir goes missing. To round off the distractions, hints begin to appear that someone in government is taking steps to discredit the PCU badly enough to force it to disband.Bryant is convinced that a psychological drama is being played out by the staging of the murder and the use of the Punch puppet. The killer is trying to send a message--but what is the message, and for whom is it intended? Bryant's conviction grows as other guests at the party are murdered; their deaths also bizarre and apparently staged with reference to the Punch and Judy plays. As more time goes by with no solution in sight, Bryant risks it all on one throw of the dice. He will have his murderer by midnight or retire.There is nobody like Christopher Fowler for combining dark, even horrifying, crime with comedy. Within seconds after wincing at a description of a crime scene, you may burst out laughing at one of Bryant's scathing quips.Despite the contemporary setting and the use of modern forensic tools, PCU books harken back to classic mysteries, where a careful analysis of the clues and the suspects' movements--and the ability to spot red herrings and deceit--allow the reader to engage in the detection of the killer alongside the PCU team. Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood also provides the bonus of a great deal of information about the history of Grand Guignol plays and puppetry. I never had any particular interest in those subjects before, but I was fascinated. Now that's the sign of a masterful writer.This is the ninth book in the Peculiar Crimes Unit series, but if you haven't read the previous books, you'll be fine starting with this one. Bryant & May and the Invisible Code, the next book in the series, will be published in the UK in August, 2012. I'm not sure what the US publication date will be, but I would guess March 2013.
    • 5/5
      Christopher Fowler's wonderful creations, elderly detectives Bryant and May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit are called in to investigate the brutal killing of a young baby taken from its cot in a locked room, shaken to death and callously thrown out the window. And on the floor next to the cot lies a life size Mr Punch doll. As ever Bryant dives into the esoteric aspects of the case while May employs solid police work. The book kicks off with some documents detailing the history and function of the PCU complete with personnel files, and all seemingly compiled and perused by shadowy government types bent on closing down the unit.Generally Bryant usually states that he doesn't do multi-tasking so he's severely hampered this time by being distracted by the suspicious death of his biographer. Luckily DS Janice Longbright agrees to help him get to the bottom of it so that he can get to grips with the main investigation. London's theatrical history and our own peculiar fascination with Punch and Judy over the centuries certainly give the old detective plenty of food for thought.Fowler manages to pull off his own brand of alchemy that blends the outright absurd with hard reality but no matter how dark it gets there is always room for humour.My only slight niggle is that opening chapter. It's one of those 'let's lift a weird and exciting chapter from the end of the book and put it right at the start so the reader doesn't get put off by the sedate start.' I love all the slow build up so I don't think it was needed.Prequel chapter aside I still had a good time with Bryant and May again.Review from an advanced readers copy.
    • 4/5
      Bryant and May take on another peculiar crime but, of course, that is the work of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. This time, a baby is thrown from a window, and the "prints" match those of a Mr. Punch (of Punch and Judy fame) doll. With a touch of locked-room drama (the murder occurred during a party held by the victim's parents and the room is inaccessible from the outside), the cantankerous Bryant and logical May think they'll have the case solved in no time. They're wrong. Fowler works in historical detail of Punch lore (who knew there was any?) and his trademark wry humor for another winner.
    • 4/5
      Bryant and May are up to their usual hijinks in this novel. Bryant off on his own trying to solve the case with his unorthodox style that no one else understands and May trying to steer him in a different saner direction. This case involved Punch and Judy and I loved learning all about this puppet show, had never known the origins before or exactly what they represented, but now I do. Love these characters and as always enjoyed the story, humorous anecdotes and all.