This is the latest in the long-running Peculiar Crimes Unit series featuring the aging, but still amazing, crime-solving duo of detectives Arthur Bryant and John May. Although it’s one of their most complex mysteries, it’s also one of their most enjoyable.
In this case, a near-fatal accident, where cartons of oranges and lemons fall from a truck just as a member of Parliament is crossing the street, sets off a chain of weird murders involving prominent London citizens. The Peculiar Crimes Unit, which had recently been disbanded due to some unwise activities in its last case, is re-established in what is left of its offices which were in the process of being turned into a tapas bar. To make matters worse, John May is recovering from a near-fatal bullet wound suffered in the last case, and Bryant is initially nowhere to be found.
Somehow, the unit manages to pull itself together and, although getting closer and closer to the solution, still finds itself one step behind the strangely ingenious killer. Why are the victims selected and how does the killer manage to avoid capture, even when the detectives begin to figure out where the next murder will take place? And who is Sidney, the newest member of the Peculiar Crimes Unit, a young woman who seems to be more capable than many of the long-time detectives?
There are surprises galore in this intriguing mystery as Bryant and May, who complement each other in unique ways, solve one of their most baffling and intriguing cases.