Ten-Second Staircase

Bryant & May Mysteries

By: Christopher Fowler

Narrated by: Tim Goodman

An artist is found dead in a gallery with locked doors and windows. A television presenter is struck by lightning while indoors.

Two seemingly impossible crimes that only Arthur Bryant and John May of the Met's Peculiar Crimes Unit might be able to solve. But Bryant has lost his nerve, and May is fighting to keep the unit from closure. Worse still, an unsolved mystery from the past has returned to haunt them.

©2006 Christopher Fowler/Defiant Films (P)2007 WF Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"This fourth Bryant and May novel delivers a delirious blend of black humor and suspense." ( Booklist)
"This fine effort places Fowler in the first rank of contemporary mystery writers." ( Publishers Weekly)

A meandering tale riddled with the affable duo's

The fourth in this series by Christopher Fowler is well narrated by Tim Goodman, It is a meandering tale, riddled with the affable duo's foibles, that leads us to a rather obvious conclusion. Fortunately May's grand daughter and the future of the entire PCU are saved when they simultaneously solve a series of historic crimes along with a series current murders. An easy listen if the mood suits. I put this one in the second tier of my library.

Entertaining and intellectually interesting.

Love it. A wonderful read while sitting before a fire on a cold and windy night. it's appeal is more interesting because is a statement reflecting age and the ravishing of time, the loss of one's moral compass, navigating today's modern world with yesterday's compass. Regret, remorse, and the struggle to make sense of an alien world. Great stuff!

good but not great

I enjoy the odd ball English and Bryant & May are classics of the genre. I wished that the narration created slightly more distinctive voices and for the story to move more swiftly.

For lovers of London!

A joyful combination of history, wit & suspense! Until we can return to London this is a splendid visit.

I love Bryant and May and the PCU!

I am so addicted to these listens. I love the narration, the writing is literary and funny, the characters amazing and love able, the plots convoluted and crazy, and the whole package makes me smile.

A refreshing and informative read

What a delightful series this is by Christopher Fowler, and Tim Goodman is an inspired narrator. The aging Peculiar Crimes Unit detectives embark upon yet another arcane mystery, and Fowler sprinkles their progress with fascinating trivia about London history, as usual. The plot of this installment moves a little slowly and meanders a bit, but that is in keeping with the elderly protagonists and may have been cleverly intentional. They begin with investigating a murder that appears to be impossible and their progress is, as always, an interesting combination of May's logic and Bryant's deductive intuition. The PCU is finally slated for true termination and the eccentric group is challenged to come up with solutions rather quickly. I enjoyed every minute of this book and will happily proceed to the next one, which is downloading as I write this review. Thank you, Mr. Fowler and Mr. Goodman. You are a terrific team.

Need to take a break from Arthur May!

What did you like best about Ten-Second Staircase? What did you like least?

Have read the series books in sequence up til now, and enjoyed them. However Arthur May in this novel is so whinny, disrespectful of others, self-absorbed and generally pathetic that you want to strangle him in one of his oversized mufflers. Bryant's tolerance of his partner's excessively idiosyncratic behavior, even when it condems the future of the CCU is sureal. I hope whatever catharis May experienced at the close of this book carries over to the next and he brightens up a bit and becomes civil to people.

Great Old Style Mystery

Reader really kept each character distinct and recognizible. Intelligent humor and history lessons in dialogue made listening fun and educational.

Enjoyable mystery

This is the third book I've listened to about the Peculiar Crimes Unit. There was just a bit too much history in this one, but apart from that it was compelling and I had to listen whenever I could to get to the end. I like the way the books are related and follow on from each other, and have become fond of the characters. The narrator is very good.

Bryant & May

The perfect listen. I can’t get enough. Listened to the entire series and always feel sad when I finish. Of my hundred or so audible books this is one of the four series that I pre-order and can listen to again. The other three are Craig Johnson/Longmire, Louise Penny/Chief Inspector Gamache and David Rosenfelt/Andy Carpenter. I listen to most of the best sellers but not usually a second time. Thank you Christopher Fowler and Tim Goodman.