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Bryant & May – Hall of Mirrors
Bryant & May – Hall of Mirrors
Oct 11, 2024 12:23 AM

Author:Christopher Fowler

Bryant & May – Hall of Mirrors

The year is 1969 and ten guests are about to enjoy a country house weekend at Tavistock Hall. But one amongst them is harbouring thoughts of murder. . .

The guests also include the young detectives Arthur Bryant and John May – undercover, in disguise and tasked with protecting Monty Hatton-Jones, a whistle-blower turning Queen’s evidence in a massive bribery trial. Luckily, they’ve got a decent chap on the inside who can help them – the one-armed Brigadier, Nigel ‘Fruity’ Metcalf.

The scene is set for what could be the perfect country house murder mystery, except that this particular get-together is nothing like a Golden Age classic. For the good times are, it seems, coming to an end. The house’s owner – a penniless, dope-smoking aristocrat – is intent on selling the estate (complete with its own hippy encampment) to a secretive millionaire but the weekend has only just started when the millionaire goes missing and murder is on the cards. But army manoeuvres have closed the only access road and without a forensic examiner, Bryant and May can’t solve the case. It’s when a falling gargoyle fells another guest that the two incognito detectives decide to place their future reputations on the line. And in the process discover that in Swinging Britain nothing is quite what it seems…

So gentle reader, you are cordially invited to a weekend in the country. Expect murder, madness and mayhem in the mansion!

Reviews

Fowler always manages to keep things fresh, and Hall of Mirrors is no exception . . . as well written and original as ever.

—— CRIME FICTION LOVER

'Laugh-out-loud funny . . . long-running, eccentric and consistently entertaining.

—— BOOKLIST

The prequel to end all prequels, wonderfully literate, fully of great dialogue and, at times, very poignant. Top quality entertainment.

—— FULLY BOOKED

Distinctively bonkers while never straying away from an intriguing mystery that keeps the reader guessing . . . the resolution is a bit of a cracker . . . another winner from Christopher Fowler and his merry curmudgeons . . . Highly Recommended.

—— CLASSIC MYSTERY

More fully fleshed-out suspects, clues, red herrings, twists, and honest mystery and detection than in the last three whodunits you read.

—— KIRKUS REVIEWS

Fowler evokes the period as neatly as he crafts the plot.

—— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

How easy it is to forget how good a series this is . . . Fowler has created such an effective cast of characters over the course of the series that you can’t help but be drawn into their world. An engrossing page turner of a book, with characters that you care about and a plot to keep you thinking.

—— CLASSIC MYSTERY

A tight and compelling thriller

—— SFX

Rubin constructs a tantalising alternative world with 1950s Britain riven apart by its own version of the Berlin Wall - and all because the D-Day landings failed. Against this dystopian nightmare, the author overlays a murder mystery that's sure to appeal to fans of SS-GB, The Man in the High Castle, and Fatherland

—— David Young, CWA Dagger-winning author of Stasi Child

A gripping murder mystery set in an alternative 1950s Britain. Rubin's London, split between American and Soviet zones after a disastrous World War Two, is vividly realised and his story is elegantly constructed. One not to miss

—— William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier

In the great tradition of SS-GB and Fatherland, Rubin's alternative-1950s murder mystery takes an ingenious premise - the Americans and the Soviets have carved up Britain between them after rescuing the country from the Nazis - and makes it come alive through sheer storytelling skill

—— Jake Kerridge

A twisting murder mystery combined with a chillingly plausible alternative history of a divided Cold War London. Brilliant.

—— Mason Cross, Richard and Judy bestselling author of The Samaritan

Liberation Square is a superb and intelligent piece of alternate history. By turns gripping, terrifying and trenchant, it is a remarkably assured debut making Rubin's name one to watch out for in the crowded crime landscape

—— Stav Sherez, Gold Dagger-winning author of The Intrusions

A brilliantly researched, shockingly plausible thriller set in an alternative Britain

—— Claire McGowan

A stunningly plotted debut, that drags you at break-neck-speed through a nightmare alternative world that is eerily realistic. A must read

—— Angela Clarke

The ending is devastating

—— Jeffrey Burke , Mail on Sunday

Unsettling, thought-provoking and beautifully written, you won’t be able to get this out of your head

—— Caroline Robb , Heat

Jones’s style is immediate and lively and she is particularly good at dialogue, which she uses a great deal, often to advance the fast-paced plot

—— Elisa Seagrave , Literary Review

The Snakes unfolds in clean, functional prose and Jones has a lot to say about the way we live now

—— Johanna Thomas-Corr , Evening Standard

Determined to escape the nine-to-five monotony, Bea and Dan head to France to visit Bea’s wayward brother Alex, who runs a hotel where the only guests are snakes in the attic. The peace is shattered when Bea’s parents arrive, bringingconflict and misery. From a sedate start, Jones deftly builds the tension to a horrific and powerful conclusion.

—— The Telegraph

Jones’s fifth novel is a fantastic read as a thriller, but where Jones excels, is in her microscopic yet compassionate scrutiny of relationships: the unconditional doting of a flawed sibling; the sickening toxicity of a vicious but powerful parent; the watchful care and explosions of irritation between spouses

—— Maria Crawford , Financial Times, *Summer Reads of 2019*

Deliciously wicked... the perfect antidote to a relaxing summer's day... hypnotic -- like staring into the serpent's eyes just before it strikes

—— Ron Charles , Washington Post

Both a cautionary tale and a pitch-black race-to-the-end thriller

—— Justine Jordon , Guardian, *Books of the Year*

Sadie Jones is a talented writer. She is able to burrow down into the heart of feelings and yet does so in a matter of fact way. The ending shocked me… [The Snakes is] the sort of read I could spend ages thinking about what lies beneath the story of greed, wealth, jealousy and flawed family relationships

—— Nicola Smith , NB

It's no mean feat to find something fresh in the crowded thriller field, but Downing pulls off an indisputable triumph with My Lovely Wife. Exemplary writing and outstanding pacing confirm Downing's talent, but it's her deliciously depraved characters that kept me flying through the pages. Couldn't get enough of this subversive love-gone-sideways tale!

—— Sophie Littlefield

Deliciously dark and twisted... It's a remarkable achievement, full stop.

—— Shelf Awareness

Best new books to read this March

—— Cosmopolitan

A highly original and dark look at the shifting power structure in a modern marriage. . . A funny, smart book

—— Daily Mail

Darkly witty and strangely plausible, it's a read-in-one-sitting firecracker of a thriller, laced with explosive twists

—— The People

A marital, psychological thriller with darkly comedic undertones

—— The Wrap

Bold and brilliant

—— Big Issue

This is a ringer of a yarn, shot through with enough tooth-clenching moments to make you have your dentist on speed dial

—— Connaught Telegraph

With a twisty plot that will leave you gasping, this deliciously dark thriller is on a par with Gone Girl

—— That's Life Monthly

One of the best thrillers I've ever read

—— Judy Finnigan

I loved The Chalk Man, but The Taking of Annie Thorne is even better, creepier and more addictive! I was so creeped out I had to stop reading until my husband came home one night! Brilliant stuff - well done, C. J. Tudor!

—— Elle Croft, author of The Other Sister

The Hot List

—— Inside Soap

Following on from C J Tudor's successful debut, comes a novel about bullying, cruelty and deceit. . . Tudor keeps the novel moving at a fast pace

—— Literary Review

A Stephen King style thriller that will have you transfixed and submerged in the entanglement of the twisting plot. This book kept me intrigued all the way to the very end

—— Places & Faces

Crime meets psychological suspense meets out-and-out horror. From the stomach-churning first chapter to the grand guignol ending that is as shocking as it is surprising, Tudor racks up the nastiness . . . Another hit.

—— Buzz Magazine

Matches Stephen King for creepiness. A must-read for horror fans

—— Leamington Courier

Creepy beyond words. Just like Stephen King, the fact that Tudor's characters are so believable makes the events even creepier

—— People's Friend
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