"Unbeatable fun . . . [Christopher Fowler] takes delight in stuffing
his books with esoteric facts." --The Guardian
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.
