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The Murder Man (2014)

by Tony Parsons(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1250052327 (ISBN13: 9781250052322)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Minotaur Books

series

Max Wolfe

review 1: The slightly bewildered single dad was present, but there were very few other characteritics from Tony Parsons other works, which I had really enjoyed, This time our hero is a recently promoted to the murder squad, having followed his instincts to avert a terrorist attack, disobeying orders in the process. Distrusted by colleagues, and vulnerable a the end of a relationship, he again follows his instincts when investigating the murders of alumni of Potters Field, an exclusive public school. Lacking the wry humour of earlier works, but remaining entirely relevant to modern policing, the media and the ever present terror threats that inform our daily lives, it is easy to imagine a film/television adaptation.
review 2: Tony Parsons was one of my heroes when I w... moreas a teenager in the 1970s. Along with Julie Burchill, whom he subsequently married, he was the high priest of rock journalism, delivering his weekly sermons through the columns of the New Musical Express, spreading word of the exciting new world of punk and new wave. He moved on from the rock pres towards mainstream journalism, and has had a weekly column in one national newspaper or another ever since. During that time he published various novels, though it was only with 'Man and Boy' that he achieved critical and commercial success.As it happens, I didn't like 'Man and Boy'. I found it mawkish and rather nauseating, and I was, as a consequence, reluctant to try another of his other books. I did, however, hear a number of people whose judgement I generally trust praising 'The Murder Bag' and, seeing it on sale quite cheaply, I decided to take a punt on it.That was a fortuitous choice. 'The Murder Bag' is a fantastic police procedural crime novel. The principal protagonist is Detective Constable Max Wolfe, formally on the Anti-Terrorist Squad (with whom he won the Queen's Police Medal). He is now part of a special murder investigation squad, based in the heart of London in Savile Row. On his first day in that role he is called to the scene of the particularly brutal murder of a merchant banker. The next day a homeless man is killed in exactly the same way. Further investigation shows firstly that the homeless man had come from a privileged background, and secondly that he had been at school with the first victim. The school in question is Potter's Field, a private boys school with exorbitant fees which numbers a selection of senior military and political figures among its alumni.Max Wolfe is a very well drawn character - flawed, though not to the clichéd extent that now seems obligatory among TV detectives, and immensely plausible. The plot is soundly constructed too - sufficiently complex to keep the reader guessing, but never to the point of requiring a suspension of disbelief. Parson's prose is well tuned, too, racing along with the economy of expression that one would expect from a professional journalist.Apparently DC Wolfe will be back in another book next year, and I am already looking forward to it. less

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