The Victoria Vanishes: Bryant and May, Book 6

This is another fantastic book about the fabulous older detectives Bryant and May.Rich characters with a plot that could rival any other.Definately among the best ever,try out the other books by Christopher Fowler.

This was the first of the Bryant and May series we came across. Yes, it was out of sequence but we were hooked! Christopher Fowler weaves an intriguing tale, just how can a London pub be there one day and yet totally disappeared the following day?

The narrator, Tim Goodman, brings the characters to life, the somewhat irascible Arthur Bryant, the suave John May, both long past retirement age and at times employing methods that would never be countenanced in modern police forces!

The Bryant & May series are a must listen!

I think a large problem I had with this was that I was coming in towards the end of a series with established characters. Indeed the first few chapters deal with the wake for a character from previous books. A lot is made of the fact that he died because of a mistake a sergeant made, but we are never told what it was; presumably it was in the previous story.
As a result I just couldn't warm to the characters. The author, through Bryant kept lecturing us, mainly about London pubs, but occasionally on other subjects. I might have found it amusing, but in fact it bored me. It wasn't helped by the fact that when an author lectures his readership he should make sure he gets other facts straight. This one twice made mistakes about the Land Registry, (where on earth did he get the impression that the Land Registry notarises documents when notaries in this country generally deal with matters for other jurisdictions?) and once about how leases operate. These wouldn't have jarred so much if he hadn't been holding himself out as so much of an expert.
The plot itself was quite peculiar, but I think meant to appeal to those who like puzzle mysteries. Others may well like this book; I just wasn't in the mood for it.

This story did not go in the direction I expected. There was nothing supernatural about it, it is not like the Tardis in Dr Who! One of the main characters I felt was read a little too old, but the story was easy to follow and well read otherwise. The characters had their humourous side at times and the story continued to unfold to the end.