Cover of Ten second staircase
Read Time: ~5.9 hr

Ten second staircase

by Christopher Fowler (2006)

About this book

It's a crime tailor-made for the Peculiar Crimes Unit: a controversial artist is murdered and displayed as part of her own outrageous installation. No suspects, no motive, no evidence--it's business as usual for the Unit's cantankerous founding partners, Arthur Bryant and John May. But this time they have an eyewitness. According to twelve-year-old Luke Tripp, the killer was a cape-clad highwayman atop a black stallion. As implausible as the boy's story sounds, Bryant and May take it seriously when "The Highwayman" is spotted again, striking a dramatic pose at the scene of his next outlandish murder. Whatever the killer's real identity, he seems intent on killing off a string of minor celebrities while becoming one himself. As the tabloids look to make a quick bundle on "Highwayman Fever," Bryant and May, along with the newest member of the Unit, May's agoraphobic granddaughter, April, find themselves sorting out a case involving an unlikely combination of artistic rivalries, sleazy sex affairs, the Knights Templars, and street gang feuds. To do it, they're going to have to use every orthodox--and unorthodox--means at their disposal, including myth, witchcraft, and the psychogeographic history of the city's "monsters," past and present.And if one unsolvable crime weren't enough, this case has disturbing links to a decades-old killing spree that nearly destroyed the partnership of Bryant and May once before...and may again. The Peculiar Crimes Unit is one murder away from being closed down for good--and that murder could be their own.From the Hardcover edition.

Setting / LocationGlobal
Story EraModern Era
Protagonist / CoreTen second staircase Lead Character

Readers who enjoyed this also loved

Cover of Bangkok tattoo

Bangkok tattoo

John Burdett

Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep of the Royal Thai Police returns in his riveting and smokily atmospheric new thriller.A farang--a foreigner--has been murdered, his body horribly mutilated, at the Bangkok brothel co-owned by Sonchai's mother and his boss. The dead man was a CIA agent. To make matters worse, the apparent culprit is sweet-natured Chanya, the brothel's top earner and a woman whom the devoutly Buddhist sleuth has loved for several lifetimes. How can Sonchai solve this crime without sending Chanya to prison? How can he engage in a cover-up without endangering his karma? And how will he ever get to the bottom of a case whose interested parties include American spooks, Muslim fundamentalists, and gangsters from three countries? As addictive as opium, as hot as Sriracha chili sauce, and bursting with surprises, Bangkok Tattoo will leave its mark on you.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Cover of Dark harbor

Dark harbor

David Hosp

Rising from his disadvantaged youth, lawyer Scott Finn works for the defense of a high-profile client after the murder of a former flame, a case involving his own credibility and a determined police lieutenant.

Cover of The face of the assassin

The face of the assassin

David Lindsey

When a mysterious woman arrives at the home of Paul Bern, a forensic artist who lives in Austin, Texas, she brings him two things: a human skull that she smuggled out of Mexico and an incredible secret that brings Paul face to face with the unimaginable.

Cover of Cashed in

Cashed in

Jackie Chance

High stakes on the high seas in the second Poker mystery. Amateur Texas Hold 'Em champ Belinda Cooley, aka "Bee Cool," boards a high-stakes poker cruise, and loses her cool when her fellow poker pros start disappearing. It seems someone is out to turn the card sharks into shark bait-and Belinda may be next.

Ten second staircase by Christopher Fowler | Literally Just Books