London’s most brilliant but unconventional detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, must plumb the depths of a particularly murky mystery.   The Peculiar Crimes Unit faces its most baffling case yet—and if Bryant and May can’t rise to the challenge, the entire unit may go under. Near the Tower of London, along the River Thames, the body of a woman has been discovered chained to a stone post and left to drown. Curiously, only one set of footprints leads to the tragic spot. “The Bride in the Tide,” as the London press gleefully dubs her, has the PCU stumped. Why wouldn’t the killer simply dump her body in the river—as so many do?   Arthur Bryant wonders if the answer lies in the mythology of the Thames itself. Unfortunately, the normally wobbly funhouse corridors of Bryant’s mind have become, of late, even more labyrinthine. The venerable detective seems to be losing his grip on reality. May fears the worst, as Bryant rapidly descends from merely muddled to one stop short of Barking, hallucinating that he’s traveled back in time to solve the case. There had better be a method to Bryant’s madness—because, as more bodies are pulled from the river’s depths, his partner and the rest of the PCU find themselves in over their heads.   Fiendishly fun and rich in London lore, Bryant and May: Strange Tide is Christopher Fowler at his best, delivering more twists and turns than the Thames itself.   Praise for Christopher Fowler’s ingenious novels featuring the Peculiar Crimes Unit   “Fowler, like his crime-solvers, is deadpan, sly, and always unexpectedly inventive.” — Entertainment Weekly   “An imaginative funhouse of a world where sage minds go to expand their vistas and sharpen their wits.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review   “[Fowler] takes delight in stuffing his books with esoteric facts; together with a cast of splendidly eccentric characters [and] corkscrew plots, wit, verve and some apposite social commentary, they make for unbeatable fun.” — The Guardian   “Mr. Fowler’s small but ardent American following deserves to get much larger.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times   “The most delightfully, wickedly entertaining duo in crime fiction.” —The Plain Dealer   “Captivating.” —The Seattle Times   “Dazzling.” —The Denver Post   “Thrilling.” —Chicago Tribune Praise for Christopher Fowler’s ingenious novels featuring the Peculiar Crimes Unit   “Fowler, like his crime-solvers, is deadpan, sly, and always unexpectedly inventive.” — Entertainment Weekly   “An imaginative funhouse of a world where sage minds go to expand their vistas and sharpen their wits.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review   “[Fowler] takes delight in stuffing his books with esoteric facts; together with a cast of splendidly eccentric characters [and] corkscrew plots, wit, verve and some apposite social commentary, they make for unbeatable fun.” — The Guardian   “Mr. Fowler’s small but ardent American following deserves to get much larger.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times   “The most delightfully, wickedly entertaining duo in crime fiction.” —The Plain Dealer   “Captivating.” —The Seattle Times   “Dazzling.” —The Denver Post   “Thrilling.” —Chicago Tribune Christopher Fowler is the acclaimed author of the award-winning Full Dark House and twelve other Peculiar Crimes Unit mysteries: The Water Room, Seventy-Seven Clocks, Ten Second Staircase, White Corridor, The Victoria Vanishes, Bryant & May on the Loose, Bryant & May off the Rails, The Memory of Blood, The Invisible Code, Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart, Bryant & May and the Burning Man, and Bryant & May: Strange Tide, as well as the PCU story collection London’s Glory . In 2015, Fowler won the coveted Crime Writers’ Association Dagger in the Library Award in recognition for his body of work. He lives in London, where he is at work on his next Peculiar Crimes Unit novel, Wild Chamber . Part One  
     Going Away   I walk till the stars of London wane And dawn creeps up the Shadwell Stair. But when the crowing syrens blare I with another ghost am lain. —­Wilfred Owen   The Thames is too dark to lack a god. —­Carrie Etter   1.    Queens & Kings   Nothing gave Arthur Bryant greater satisfaction than making his first blotch on a fresh white page. The scratch of the nib as it scarred the paper always sent a tingle through his fingertips. ‘I’ve decided to write up that business of the Clapham Common Casanova,’ he announced, turning to the new notebook on his desk and opening it with a theatrical flourish. Uncapping his fountain pen, he made a grand downward stroke. Nothing came out. He shook the pen violently. Ink spots flew all over the office. Crippen, who had been happily sleeping beside his desk, sprinted from the room. ‘I thought Raymond didn’t want you circulating any more of your dodgy memoirs,’ said John May. ‘You make our investigati