{"id":8709,"date":"2017-01-31T11:41:16","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T16:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=8709"},"modified":"2021-06-03T17:58:51","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T21:58:51","slug":"the-water-room-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8709","title":{"rendered":"The Water Room"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Water Room<\/a><\/em> (2004) Christopher Fowler<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The second Peculiar Crimes Unit finds everyone at loose ends until the Met assigns them new cases, as they set up their new offices. Afraid that they’ll lose the few people they have if they aren’t kept busy, Bryant and May give them errands based upon requests friends and acquaintances have made: An old woman found fully dressed in her apartment–and drowned, and a local expert on the underground rivers who may be getting into some illegal business.<\/p>\n

While Bryant remains Bryant.<\/p>\n

The patented helpless look suggested innocence but didn\u2019t wash with Longbright, who was familiar with her boss\u2019s ability to cause malfunctions in the simplest equipment. Bryant was no longer allowed to touch the computers owing to the odd demagnetizing effect he had on delicate technology. His application to attend an IT course had been turned down six times by those who feared he would cause a national meltdown if let loose near PITO, the Police Information Technology Organization.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I tried calling you when I got out, but your mobile wasn\u2019t answering.\u2019 \u2018No, it wouldn\u2019t. It got wet, so I tried to dry it out in Janice\u2019s sandwich toaster. The toaster and the phone sort of\u2014melded\u2014into a single appliance, scientifically interesting as a new mechanical life-form but utterly useless for communication.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I found the idea of a woman drowning on dry land quite fascinating. Especially since she didn’t drown in bath water.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s Thames water, all right, but extremely stagnated.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u2018Does it taste bad?\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u2018Really,\u2019 Finch complained, \u2018how would he know a thing like that?\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u2018Oh, absolutely vile,\u2019 said Kershaw, happy to answer the question. He turned to Finch. \u2018Naturally I did a taste test to see if she could possibly have ingested it by mistake, but I think it\u2019s highly unlikely.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

the Fleet should really correspond to Phlegethon, the river of fire\u2014but perhaps it would be better associated with the Styx. Acheron, the river of woe, would fit the Tyburn, which led to a place of death, the gallows of Tyburn Tree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course, all that immediately brought to mind the Rivers of London series, which I adore.<\/p>\n

I too am fascinated by the ideas of the lost rivers of London–rivers pushed underground so the city could be built on top of them.<\/p>\n

Interesting words:
\nFortean
\nvulpine
\nplummy
\nQuisling
\ncrepitation
\nPrimus stove
\nfulgent
\nWeil’s disease
\nginnel
\nhod
\ntrilby
\ncopping off
\nbodger<\/p>\n

Plus: John Snow! Borad Street Pump!<\/p>\n

The cholera epidemic killed two thousand Londoners a week until Dr John Snow discovered it was spread in water, and closed the infected pump in Golden Square.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also: One of my theories of living:<\/p>\n

What’s the point of having a home where you don\u2019t use every inch of space? You\u2019re simply depriving others of room to live.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018You know we could get into serious trouble,\u2019 whispered May. <\/p>\n

\u2018When you\u2019re old, you can afford to take risks,\u2019 Bryant whispered back. \u2018It seems perverse to become more safety-conscious just when you have less to lose.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I really like this series, but sadly, the next ebook is ridiculously expensive, so I’ll have to hold off on rereading.
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Bantam <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Water Room (2004) Christopher Fowler The second Peculiar Crimes Unit finds everyone at loose ends until the Met assigns them new cases, as they set up their new offices. Afraid that they’ll lose the few people they have if they aren’t kept busy, Bryant and May give them errands based upon requests friends and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,30,8,42,41],"tags":[256,255,257],"class_list":["post-8709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-mystery","category-police","category-reread","tag-bryant-may","tag-christopher-fowler","tag-peculiar-crimes-unit"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2gt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":300,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/300","url_meta":{"origin":8709,"position":0},"title":"The Water Room","author":"Michelle","date":"August 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The Water Room (2004) Christopher Fowler The second Bryant & May mystery, The Water Room takes place a month or so after the events of Full Dark House--at least the current day events. The Peculiar Crimes Unit is being rebuilt, and during the reconstruction, the unit is at loose ends,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Water-Room.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2790,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2790","url_meta":{"origin":8709,"position":1},"title":"Bryant & May Off the Rails","author":"Michelle","date":"February 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Bryant & May Off the Rails (2010) Christopher Fowler I have to admit, I put off reading this book for several months, and once I picked it up, put it down several times before I could actually get into the story. This has absolutely nothing to do with the story,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Bryant-and-May-Off-the-Rails.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":696,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/696","url_meta":{"origin":8709,"position":2},"title":"White Corridor","author":"Michelle","date":"October 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"White Corridor (2007) Christopher Fowler Once again the Peculiar Crimes Unit is in danger of being closed. After Raymond Land decided to close the until for a week's vacation, a member of the unit is found killed, while Bryant and May are on their way to one of Bryant's spiritualist\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/White-Corridor.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1980,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1980","url_meta":{"origin":8709,"position":3},"title":"Bryant & May on the Loose","author":"Michelle","date":"September 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Bryant & May on the Loose (2009) Christopher Fowler At the close of Victoria Vanishes, the PCU was disbanded, the staff placed on leave, and Bryant remains at home, barely able to get out of bed and slowly slipping away. However, the accidental discovery of a body by a staff\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Bryant-and-May-on-the-Loose.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1529,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1529","url_meta":{"origin":8709,"position":4},"title":"Victoria Vanishes","author":"Michelle","date":"December 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Victoria Vanishes (2008) Christopher Fowler The Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) has changed Oswald's retirement party to a wake, and on the way home Bryant sees a woman who is later discovered murdered. Unfortunately for him, he sees her across from a pub that hasn't existed in decades. Unsurprisingly, the PCU\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Victoria-Vanishes.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":299,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/299","url_meta":{"origin":8709,"position":5},"title":"Full Dark House","author":"Michelle","date":"August 18, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Dark House (2003) Christopher Fowler A Bryant & May Mystery Full Dark House is the first Bryant & May mystery. An explosion destroys the Peculiar Crimes Unit, and Arthur Bryant is believed to have been inside. In order to discover the course and cause of the bombing, John May\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/08\/Full-Dark-House.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8709\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}