Review: Seventy Seven Clocks

TITLE: SEVENTY-SEVEN CLOCKS

AUTHOR: CHRISTOPHER FOWLER

GENRE:BRITISH MYSTERY SERIES OF THE PECUILAR CRIMES UNIT

(A MAY AND BRYANT MYSTERY)

ISBN:0-7394-6075-7

The Peculiar Crimes Unit has it's toughest challenge yet when a stranger dressed in Edwardian style clothes defaces a painting at the National Gallery. Then he commits suicide. This is enough of a challenge since nobody knows what his motive was for doing either act. Then at the Savoy Hotel a lawyer is fatally bitten by a snake that's very venom is hard to come by and sowly but with purpose more murders happen each one more bizarre than the last murder.

Piece by piece John May and Arthur Bryant slowly seen an evil emerging and to top this every time they enlist the aid of an expert to help then that persons life also seems to be in peril or another murder happens. Pretty soon an idea comes together and it is that not only is there one very wealthy and influential family at the heart of the murders but that in order to solve the crimes we must go back to 1881 where a secret society formed and where from this society came evil from generation to generation and once again it is at the heart of the family a family with a black heart where the answers lie.

Bryant and May must try to beat the ticking clock while trying to keep a weathly family alive as death strikes in this family like most British have high tea. There is no stopping the hands of time and there is no getting around that time must stop in order to save lives.

This is a very imaginative, cunning, and clearly well researched book. In all of my life I have never been so locked into a mystery and I will never take time for granted again, let alone clocks. This book is layered with every move, every thought and every action tied in to consequences that I lieterally am in awe of the author and he not only made this work but gave us an outstanding mulit-layered plot. There is not needless word, thought, action or deed in this book.

Whether you like British Mysteries, Historical Mysteries, modern day mysteries you won't want to miss reading SEVENTY-SEVEN CLOCKS it is by far a cut above any other mystery written on today's market.

Pamela James ********** (I'd give it more than ten stars if I could)