Happy Holidays!

 

Book Beginnings: London Bridge Is Falling Down

Bryant & May:
London Bridge Is Falling Down

by Christopher Fowler

December 2021

Opening Sentence

May in Regent's Park could put a spring in the step of a corpse. 

About the Book

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 oldest 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. (Publisher's description)

 

Initial Thoughts

Well, my first thought was that this could be my last book for 2021. I have a couple of others I'm trying to finish up, and I'm not sure I'll be able to fit one more into the mix. But if I can, this would be a good choice to end the year with. 

My second thought was something about the creepiness of a corpse walking. With or without that spring in the step.

London Bridge Is Falling Down is number 18 in Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit mystery series, featuring the delightful investigative team of Arthur Bryant and John May. I read number 17 in the series (Oranges and Lemons) earlier this year; it was my introduction to the books and I loved it. So I'm really hoping this one lives up to my expectations.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

And happy reading!

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Friday. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Book Beginnings: Death in a White Tie

Death in a White Tie

by Ngaio Marsh

First published 1938

Opening Lines

'Roderick,' said Lady Alleyn, looking at her son over the top of her spectacles, 'I am coming out.'

About the Book

A body in the back of a taxi begins an elegantly constructed mystery, perhaps the finest of Marsh's 1930s novels. The season had begun. Debutantes and chaperones were planning their luncheons, teas, dinners, balls. And the blackmailer was planning his strategies, stalking his next victim. But Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn knew that something was up. He had already planted his friend Lord Robert Gospell at the scene. But someone else got there first....(Publisher's description)

Initial Thoughts

 

Coming out? Well, all righty. Coming out of what, I wonder. Have to remember — this is 1938. So...?

I've read a bunch of Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Alleyn mysteries, over the years. And I tend to skip around rather than reading them in sequence. So I've managed to neglect some of the earlier books and this is one I'm just now getting to. Hoping it's as entertaining as all the others have been.

Have a good weekend, everyone.
And happy reading!

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Friday As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.