Susan in NC's Reviews > Oranges and Lemons

Five stars, as with every PCU novel in recent memory, for sheer entertainment value. I read this one straight through over two evenings, listening to the excellently narrated audiobook to keep me moving along - not that I ever get distracted when I’m on a case with PCU. You can’t blink or you’ll miss something - there is always so much going on, not least of which, the fascinating historical rabbit holes Arthur Bryant takes readers down into!

This time, we have intermittent chapters written by the murderer - we don’t know who they are until the very end, and I freely admit I never suspected, so it was a gobsmacker as always with this author - but the murderer’s chapters were very well done. Not necessarily taking us step by step through the bizarre killings, linked by an ancient children’s rhyming song about oranges and lemons and London’s historic churches, but about the killer’s horrible life, seemingly cursed from before birth. As always, the PCU is desperately one step behind the killer, trying to stop the deaths but stymied by not enough funding, forces, equipment, etc., to do it.

The last mystery (The Lonely Hour) ended with a cliffhanger, this book opens immediately after - John May is in hospital, Arthur Bryant has disappeared, the unit again disgraced and disbanded. Janice is calmly trying to keep it all together, as always, when the first bizarre attack takes place - the Speaker of the House of Commons is trying to cross a street behind a truck when the back door opens suddenly, and he is buried under a tall stack of wooden crates full of oranges and lemons.

He’s not dead, but badly injured as one of the wooden staves from a split crate has stabbed him. It’s bizarre enough that the PCU is called back to service to investigate - the Home Office wants to be sure the Speaker is of sound mind, hasn’t been blabbing state secrets. The unit has to improvise as their building on the Caledonian Road was already crap, but Home Office had been in, taking equipment - as usual, Fowler has a lot of comic fodder with the improvised equipment and furnishings.

There has also been an apparent arson at a bookstore, after which the suspected owner commits suicide in police custody. Seems no connection to the attempt on the Speaker, until a second attack on a public figure takes place at another church. This time, she’s killed, and unmistakable clues left behind point to the killer following the children’s song - and there are several verses (and churches) to go...

Great fun, as always, with all of the weird and wonderful London history Fowler shares through Bryant’s arcane resources and the inserts of scripts from his walking tours - I’d love to go on one of those! And Fowler always makes me think - this time, about the role of truth and lies throughout history, how history is perceived and remembered, or forgotten; about how powerful figures use their power and authority to spread misconceptions, “fake news” - and how a portion of the population wants to believe them, to feel safe - very timely. Best part of all, Fowler promises at the end, the ancient detectives will be back for another mystery - I look forward to it, as always.