Fowler, Christopher – SEVENTY-SEVEN CLOCKS

[LJ Roberts]

SEVENTY-SEVEN CLOCKS (Police Procedural-London-1973) – G Fowler, Christopher – 3rd in series
Doubleday, 2005- UK Hardcover

Arthur Bryant and John May are members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit and their newest case is a perfect fit. A man dies from Cottonmouth snake venom in the lobby of the Savoy; another in blown up by a bomb make of silver and gold and a third from rat poison in face powder. All the deaths relate back to the wealthy Whitstable family, and the Alliance of Eternal Light.

I absolutely loved the first two books of this series. The writing was such that I’d read passages aloud to others. This didn’t have that same cache’. There didn’t seem to be as much interaction between the two protagonists until well into the book. Fowler loves introducing twists to the plot which is fun, but the solution to the mystery really strains credibility. There is a secondary protagonist in Sam Gates, a receptionist at the Savoy, but the outcome of her fear of the dark really bothered me. I enjoyed the story, but didn’t feel it was nearly as good as the first two books.