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    Bryant & May - The Bleeding Heart
    Bryant & May - The Bleeding Heart
    Bryant & May - The Bleeding Heart
    Audiobook12 hours

    Bryant & May - The Bleeding Heart

    Written by Christopher Fowler

    Narrated by Tim Goodman

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Two teenagers who see a dead man rising from his grave. And if that's not alarming enough, one of them is killed in a hit and run accident. Soon it seems death is all around and Bryant and May must confront a group of latter-day bodysnatchers. More graves are desecrated, further deaths occur, and when Bryant is blindfolded and taken to a secret society, he realises that this case is more complex than even he had imagined.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherW. F. Howes Ltd
    Release dateNov 6, 2014
    ISBN9781471274336
    Bryant & May - The Bleeding Heart
    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.

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    Reviews for Bryant & May - The Bleeding Heart

    4/5

    119 ratings24 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So much so that I got copies of the rest of the books in the series and read them in order. The two senior detectives are really quite believable. The verbage and sentence structure is reminiscent of fifty years ago. The plot is somewhat Sherlockian which makes it fun. I definitely recommend not only this book but the whole series as a great way to spend a couple of weekends in front of the fire - reading.
    • 4/5
      This was so much fun. Good old-fashioned detective work pitted against the modern technology of police work. It is sort of like Columbo went to London. For me the best part was the location, Bloomsbury, one of my favorite places in London. The quirky characters make me want to read more of this series. What a PBS show this book series would make.
    • 4/5
      I recall those old comic horror movies in which Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello or whomever found themselves in haunted houses. At the end the ghostly visions were usually explained as a hoax perpetrated by a villain trying to protect a treasure or whatever. This is a bit like what Christopher Fowler's Bryant & May mysteries are like. There's a lot of the supernatural, black magic and mysticism, all given a rational explanation once the mystery is unraveled. And like those old movies, these mysteries are a lot of fun.The 11th book in the series, 'Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart' (Bantam) proves to be a gem. Two teenagers making out in an old London cemetery see a corpse rise out of its grace and begin walking and talking. Later the boy is run down in the street and killed. Was it an accident or murder? The case seems a natural for Scotland Yard's Peculiar Crimes Unit headed by Arthur Bryant and John May.Naturally the two aging detectives with unorthodox methods have superiors eager to pull the plug on their funding. And a case which may not even be a case at all, just the hallucinations of a couple of drugged teens, may give the brass exactly what they need to put Bryant and May out to pasture. Bryant is even shuffled off to another peculiar crime, the sudden disappearance of all the ravens at the Tower of London.Fowler maintains good balance between light and dark, the humor surrounding the team's operating methods and personalities and the serious crimes they investigate. And as bodies begin piling up, both those already buried and those who die violently, it becomes apparent this is a serious crime. But how to explain it? Why would anyone be digging up bodies? What happened to the boy? Why did a man kill himself? Why does his widow blame the man's death on his boss? And what happened to all those ravens?This new book is an excellent addition to this popular series.
    • 5/5
      The Peculiar Crimes Unit is saddled with a new top dog, Orion Banks, a by-the-book officer able to string together business clichés with the best of them. The venerable Arthur Bryant ignores her. He has bigger fish to fry and crimes to solve: the attempted disinterment of a fresh body, the disappearance of an unkindness of ravens from the London Tower, and a teenager who witnessed the disinterment killed by intentional hit and run. John May, Bryant’s partner and friend, goes along his more organized way to solve the crimes, while Arthur waltzes through his Rolodex (figuratively, of course, as he isn’t organized enough to have a Rolodex) to enlist his eccentric friends whose arcane knowledge will be likely to help him solve the mysteries. The very existence of the PCU, now attached to the City of London Police, hangs by a thread. As usual. Some mysteries engage me; some entertain me; others make me laugh. Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart accomplishes all three, no mean feat. I don’t know how the author maintains the quality of his characters, plotting and writing but thank goodness he does.
    • 4/5
      Another great addition to this series. The mystery is well written with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Bryant and May are on the case(s) and of course have new oversight.
    • 5/5
      Once again Christopher Fowler delivers! Littered with quirky facts about London, this was again a delightful read. As always the PCU is under threat, this time mainly because their methods don't conform with those of 'modern' policing.The novel was a "back number" for me, #11 in the series. The crimes are peculiar: a corpse apparently rising from its coffin despite being buried two days earlier, a young man of promise is killed in a hit and run, and someone has stolen the ravens from the Tower of London.Excellent characterization and fascinating threads to the story.
    • 4/5
      I m horrified. I received this book from the Early Reviewers program back in December. I really thought I had reviewed it and only now realized that I had failed to do so. I apologize a hundred times!I've read this author's book Plastic a while back and it was so funny and entertaining that I simply had to give the Bryant and May series a try. These guys are pure gold! Two elderly detectives on the Peculiar Crimes Unit in London, they are the quintessential Odd Couple. But boy do they work well together and nothing seems to faze them... not zombies or wizardry or body snatching or kittens in the unit. Certainly not their commander. Well written, full of humor and a good mystery to boot! I will be going back for the rest of the books in the series. Recommended!
    • 4/5
      I received a free paperback copy of Bryant & May - The Bleeding Heart by Christopher Fowler from Dead Good Crime group on goodreads in exchange for a fair review.I gave this British mystery about The Peculiar Crimes Unit four stars. I liked that Arthur Bryant & John May, both senior detectives are 'of a certain age'. It was a fun read with plenty of twists & turns. There are mysterious happenings with dead bodies seeming to rise from the grave.
    • 4/5
      Full disclosure- Random House sent me a free copy of this book in exchange for the promise of a review. Suckers, I would have bought it anyway. Christopher Fowler has been writing his Bryant and May supernatural-laced thrillers for some time. These exciting, atmospheric thrillers are deeply rooted in the history of London and use it to create a rich and multi-layered idea of the city Fowler clearly loves. And Fowler knows that when something has a history, it has a past… The Bleeding Heart is the 11th in the series and is supposed to be the darkest, but I’d give that distinction to the White Corridor or Full Dark House, or the opening chapter in the Memory of Blood when, one stormy night, a Punch doll animates and throws a child from his bedroom window. The Bleeding Heart starts with a recently interred corpse rising from its grave and badly frightening two necking teenagers, and just gets more interesting from there. There are a couple of things to keep in mind when you crack the spine on a Bryant and May mystery- they all have a tendency to engross you, the more so as you go along, and Fowler has written them to delight you, the reader. In fact, I can think of no other author who wants you to sit back and be entertained more than he. Petronius or Cervantes, maybe. The octogenarians Bryant and May head the Peculiar Crimes unit, formed by Churchill during the war to investigate dark deeds that pose a special threat to public tranquility and faith in government. Not really the police and not really a clandestine organization, they frequently work outside the law and use tactics and resources more familiar to Oxford dons and high street shamans than a professional criminal apprehension unit. Now they’ve come under the wing and watchful eye of the crack City of London police, headed by the clinical and streamlined Orion Banks, a very ambitious and New London model of bureaucratic efficiency. Bryant’s reaction to Bank’s jargon chocked great leap forward plan, held in a boardroom rather than in an office over tea, is laugh out loud funny in a ‘I wish I’d said that or would say that’ kind of way.The Bleeding Heart moves from zombies to dark wizards to murder and myths about the fall of England. Pick it up, or any of the Bryant and May series, then sit back and be delighted.
    • 4/5
      I received a free copy of this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewer program in exchange for an honest review.Bryant and May are two of London’s smartest detectives and part of the PCU aka, Peculiar Crimes Unit. When a really gnarly crime that seems to baffle the best of the ‘regular’ London police force, the crime seems to get shuffled to the Peculiar Crimes Unit. And although the administration expect these crimes to molder away unsolved, the PCU use some pretty creative methods to catch their criminal. But it’s not just the crimes that are Peculiar. Bryant and May might be known for their ability to crack the toughest cases, but they are as peculiar as the crimes they solve. They are stodgy, out of sync with the times, bizarre and brilliant. Think of it as a combination of the Odd Couple and Sherlock Holmes. In this mystery, the PCU is assigned to solve a case where a body is unearthed from a London graveyard and the witnesses swear that the corpse rose from the grave and spoke aloud. If you’re thinking that this is another paranormal tale, then don’t worry. The criminals and the detective work are not at all other worldly. I really enjoyed this story. The characters are quirky and it combined just the right amount of real detective work with sarcastic British humor. Definitely entertaining!
    • 4/5
      If you're tired of the usual police procedurals, Bryant & May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit have what you need. The PCU, ever under threat of being dismantled, defunded, and other terrible words that start with the letter "d", is now under the leadership of the City of London and the efficiency-jargon-spewing Orion Banks. Ms. Banks has no idea what she's taken on when the PCU catches the case of either a risen corpse or a grave-robbing. Or something even more bizarre. Arthur Bryant consults a necromancer and a group of new-era resurrectionists among other unlikely sources during his apparently scatter-brained investigation. John May, his long-time partner, is only a few years younger but light years more current. Still, he recognizes Arthur's odd brand of genius and knows what to do to keep clueless administrators out of the way. Surrounded by their gang of similarly misunderstood and out-of-the-box thinkers, they solve the case, of course, though the explication may not be wholly satisfying to some readers. But that's not really why one reads a PCU mystery, is it?
    • 4/5
      Very interesting mystery. Loved the mixture of paranormal, the occult, and good old fashioned detective work. Really held my attention.
    • 5/5
      This is the newest book in the Bryant and May Peculiar Crimes Series and is one of the best. I say this because I could actually follow all of Arthur Bryant's meanderings into ancient London history to solve a current day crime. John May stays on track with modern police methods while his partner pursues his puzzling inquiries. This time the crimes involve disturbed graves, body snatchers, black magic, and the myth of the Bleeding Heart. They are also fighting a new supervisor from the City of London and the strict bureaucratic rules she is trying to impose. A very enjoyable read.
    • 5/5
      The Peculiar Crimes Unit starts their eleventh book under the new jurisdiction of the City of London. Raymond Lamb, Unit Chief, resigned that he will be with the PCU until he retires, sends out the usual memo including warnings, no weird stuff, play by the book, don't be imaginative and try to behave normally - for once. With these admonitions, the reader realizes at once that the PCU is no ordinary crime solving unit and the crime will be unusual in nature.One late night, Romain Curtis, teenage astronomer, takes his date, Shirone Estanza, to St. George's Gardens which houses a cemetery almost three centuries old where they see a corpse rise out of a grave. Arthur Bryant and John May along with Dan Banbury of the PCU are called to investigate an open grave where the body, several days deceased was dug up. Arthur Bryant, always interested in the history of London places, points out that St. George's Gardens is the birthplace of body snatchers to which May replies, "...this is what you always do, Arthur, you try to connect entirely separate events to form a pattern where none exists."The PCU has a new liaison Officer Banks, to try to oversee and ultimately shut down the unit since the general concensus throughout law enforcement in London is that the Peculiar Crime Unit has outlived it's usefulness and is no longer an effective crime solving force. However, closing down the unit may be premature with the onslaught of their new case involving murder, suicide, resurrectionists, desecrated graves and Ravens missing from the Tower of London.The Bryant and May series is a pleasure to read. The characters are eccentric, diverse and the PCU attract witches, psychics, conspiracy theorists, and historians to help with their cases. In Lamb's words, " ...They attract the unusual."Christopher Fowler can't write fast enough.
    • 4/5
      First time reader of Christopher Fowler. I enjoyed the book and the insights of the workings of English police. The only problem I had was that there were quite a few common English terms that I did not understand and had to look up. That, however, did not stop me from enjoying the book. Would definitely read more of his works.
    • 4/5
      If you’re looking for an offbeat mystery populated by a collection of eccentric people, this is for you. Eleventh in the Bryant & May series, this installment features a series of grave robberies, a puzzling death, disappearing ravens from the Tower of London, and another death, not quite so puzzling. Christopher Fowler has a way of tempting the reader into considering supernatural possibilities and then pulling back the curtain and revealing how he performed his magical tricks. Generally, his characters have a believable air about them despite their eccentricity. However, Public Relations Officer Orion Banks seems a full-on parody and her supervisory role over the Peculiar Crimes Unit is inexplicable. Puzzling and funny at the same time, this is a very entertaining book.
    • 4/5
      I very seldom pay attention to the author blurbs on the back of the book, but I was drawn to this one by Karen Marie Moning, "Grumpy Old men does CSI with a hint of Dickens. Such an apt description because these detectives in the PCU are nothing if not unorthodox and oh so amusing. Bryant in particular is a true individual, he knows all the strange people that populate the hidden corners of London. This case involves the Tower of London when all their ravens go missing and grave disinterring or maybe the dead rising. Along the way we meet some of the very strange characters that lead to the solving of these cases.Always hilarious, Fowler's characters are some of my favorites. I always finish these novels with a big grin and a great deal of head shaking. Love them.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book. I found myself laughing out loud and some the ridiculous situations the detectives found themselves in. I love the way the author added history in the story drawing me into the setting. Loved the book. Thank you Library thing for selecting me for this book.
    • 5/5
      Two teenagers crossing a graveyard at night,come across an open grave and a corpse raising up out of it. So begins a new case for elderly detectives,Arthur Bryant and John May.There is also the problem of the Tower of London ravens disappearance too.This quirky series just keeps getting better and better.
    • 5/5
      This is the eleventh novel in the Peculiar Crimes Unit series, that involves a small group of police inspectors in London who solve unusual crimes that the City of London police force do not have time or interest to investigate. Arthur Bryant is the Senior Detective and is an old curmudgeon with wide ranging interests in esoteric topics related to history, philosophy, and occult practices. His more disciplined but equally intelligent partner is Senior Detective John May who acts as a sounding board for Bryant's creative but tangential thinking during investigations of peculiar crimes. In this volume, the criminal case begins with a cemetery scene in a secluded St. Georges Gardens area. Illegally disinterred bodies are mysteriously related to suicide, murder, illegal business practices, Tower of London shenanigans, and teenage drama London Council housing. The entire PCU staff (two detectives, an InfoTech, a pathologist, a Sergeant, two Detective Constables, and the Staff Cat) into action to find and arrest the culprits.This is a very entertaining book in the PCU series with good mystery and humor, and I intend to read more of the volumes in the future
    • 5/5
      I am a great fan of this series for a number of reasons. Fowler acts as a tour guide of London as he sets modern crimes against the history and architecture of the city. Bryant and May represent an odd couple of quirky esoteric knowledge and suave reason. Bryant's greatest strength and weakness is defined by May as they gaze over the Thames. "The trouble with you is that you want to see it all the entire two-thousand-year history." (p. 382) Bryant's knowledge leads them down strange paths frequently involving the occult that May balances with rationality. Their support group at PCU adds texture through subplots and relationship issues. The current mystery begins with the sighting of a grave robbing and an apparently-reanimated corpse. As expected, it ends with a very modern explanation involving greed and revenge in the 21st Century.
    • 3/5
      I didn't love this book as much as most reviewers seem to. In fairness, I have not read any of the previous books in this series. This one might have been more enjoyable if I'd had a past connection to these characters.The pros and cons are tangled together for me, much in the way the plot and characters are tangled. For starters, I did love the characters. Arthur Bryant reminds me of Columbo from the old TV series. He's a bit of a bumbling fool who is a lot smarter than most people assume. The dialogue between the characters is witty and adds a lighthearted feel to the drama and crimes. That being said, I also felt a lack of connection with the characters. There is little to no character development here. Additionally, there are a whole lot of characters and most of them have viewpoint parts. This constant switching, coupled with the lack of development, made my head spin. At times I had no real idea who the people were. As for the plot, it's both intriguing and dizzying in its multitude of directions. We have three separate crimes being investigated, which might or might not be connected at some point. We follow the clues along with the detectives and, in the process, meet a variety of people. I found this, at equal turns, fascinating and irritating. Each case on its own could easily stand as the main plot. But they are given equal weight, separate but together, to the point where I was sometimes confused as to which suspects belonged to which case. Overall, the author's writing style is thoroughly enjoyable. I particularly love the way he handles dialogue and the way the characters relate to one another. This book series would make a fantastic TV series.
    • 4/5
      I received this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. Overall, I found it to be a very enjoyable read. I've only read one other Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery and although there are many references to earlier events in the series, I didn't feel that not having read those books took anything away from the current plot. I particularly enjoy the oddball nature of the characters and the crimes that they investigate. I would highly recommend this book/series to anyone who is a fan of British mysteries, especially those with a little supernatural element. Not my all time favorite, but I would definitely read other books in the series.
    • 4/5
      This is a refreshingly clever and fun mystery mostly due to brilliant Bryant and the dynamics and workstyle of the Peculiar Crime Units. Being new to this series, I will need to read more to get a better understanding of the team members. Very enjoyable!