After receiving a cancer diagnosis three years ago, Bryant & May series detective novelist Christopher Fowler passed away at the age of 69.
The thrillers starring the seasoned detectives Bryant & May solving strange crimes in London from the Second World War to the present day are what made Fowler most famous. The first book in the series, Full Dark House, was published in 2003.
There have since been 17 additional books in the series, the most recent of which, London Bridge Is Coming Down, was released in 2021. Bryant & May’s Peculiar London, a second book that examines the characters’ London, was published the previous year.
Who was Christopher Fowler?
In March 2023, acclaimed English thriller author Christopher Fowler passed dead. He was a prolific writer, penning fifty books, including the well-known Bryant & May mysteries, and several collections of short tales.
Fowler worked as a copywriter and a film marketer for a long time in the British film industry. Notably, he was the author of the 1979 sci-fi/horror movie Alien’s tagline.
The Bryant & May mysteries, which chronicle the exploits of two detectives named Arthur Bryant and John May in contemporary London, are what made Fowler most famous. The investigators are part of the Peculiar Crimes Unit, a fictional organization modeled after the Peculiar Crimes Unit that Fowler’s father served in during World War Two.
The majority of the stories in the series are set in London and take place between World War Two and the present.
There is an overarching plot, but the cases can stand alone as standalone stories. Full Dark House and Seventy-Seven Clocks, two of the series’ novels, concentrate on particular incidents or situations.
Numerous well-known London locations appear in the Bryant & May mysteries, and Fowler skillfully incorporates historical and cultural details into each story. Several literary masterpieces, including Edmund Crispin and Gilbert and Sullivan, are also mentioned in the books. The stories are not magical or mythical, despite their strange features.
The 2015 CWA Dagger in the Library, The Last Laugh Award twice, The British Fantasy Award numerous times, The Edge Hill Prize, and the first Green Carnation Award are only a few of Fowler’s honors.
After receiving a cancer diagnosis three years ago, Bryant & May series detective novelist Christopher Fowler passed away at the age of 69.
The thrillers starring the seasoned detectives Bryant & May solving strange crimes in London from the Second World War to the present day are what made Fowler most famous. The first book in the series, Full Dark House, was published in 2003. There have since been 17 additional books in the series, the most recent of which, London Bridge Is Coming Down, was released in 2021. Bryant & May’s Peculiar London, a second book that examines the characters’ London, was published the previous year.