Review
This is Fowler's 14th book and his fourth in the Bryant and May
series that started with
Full Dark House (2003); followed by
The Water Room (2004) and
Seventy-Seven Clocks (2005) which some
reviewers felt was a little disappointing. However, all agree that he is
definitely back on form with
Ten Second Staircase, with some saying that it is his best yet.
His earlier books tended to be relatively humorous but now he
focuses on what he describes as 'urban unease'. The Peculiar Crimes Unit handles crimes that the regular police are not equipped to deal with, cases that
could cause social panic and ones that require sensitive handling. If you
haven't read any of this series before you're absolutely fine to start with this
book.
Full Dark
House is set in 1940s London during the Blitz and the present day,
The...
Beyond the Book
Fowler lives and works in Soho,
London, where he runs The Creative Partnership, a movie marketing company that
produces TV and radio scripts, documentaries, trailers and promos. He spends
half the day with his company and half writing.
Sadly, The Peculiar Crimes unit does not exist in reality, but it does make for
a great fictional concept. Another great fictional police department that
you may not have come across but is well worth looking out for is UCOS (Unsolved
Crime and Open Case Squad) from the BBC TV
New Tricks series. If you love detective series
starring belligerent old chaps such as Bryant and May, then you're sure to fall
for the team at UCOS - we catch the series on Friday nights on our local PBS
channel in California...
