Murder For Busy People by Tony Parsons

 

When Max Wolfe stumbles across a dead body while walking his dog he doesn't immediately realise that he is going to be dragged back to his early days as a police officer and one of the greatest unsolved crimes of the past twenty years.

I vividly remember reading Man And Boy by Tony Parsons back in the 1990s and to this day it still remains one of the most emotive books I've read. I've read a few others by the author but was very surprised when I realised I'd not read any of the Max Wolfe series, despite The Murder Bag having been on my TBR pile for years.

When I was given the opportunity to read and review Murder For Busy People it was the author's name, along with the quirky title, which persuaded me. There's always that moment when you realise you're about to embark on a book in a well-developed series, book 7 in this case, and you haven't read any of the previous books. You question whether you will get the best from the novel having no idea of the backstory. I'm pleased to report that the novel works well as a standalone and has enticed me to read the series from the beginning.

While walking his dog early one morning, Max discovers the body of another dog walker. He immediately recognises the man as a getaway driver who was involved in one of the biggest robberies of the past twenty years when a safe and its contents were stolen. What makes the case memorable for Max is that only a week out of his police training, he was the first officer on the scene. Max arrested a young woman, Emma Moon, the only person to be convicted of the robbery in which two men were killed. Sixteen years on, Emma Moon has been released from prison and those alleged to be involved in the crime alongside her begin to turn up dead.

Max Wolfe is definitely a maverick, so while he's a police officer this isn't a police procedural. Wolfe strikes out on his own to find out how the members of the gang are dying, particularly as many of them have given up their criminal past and settled down. He's tenacious, refusing to back down. When he stumbles across a group of corrupt officers we discover how relentless he truly is.

The novel covers some extremely timely themes such as police officers using their powers to arrest women and the challenges of being an armed officer. We also see Max struggling with his personal life. His ex-wife who walked out on her family ten years earlier has made contact with their daughter, Scout. As a pre-teen Scout is pushing the boundaries and Max is finding it difficult to balance allowing her some independence alongside protecting her.

The different threads within the novel work well together, allowing us to see the different sides of Wolfe. The characters and the setting really made you feel as if you were right there in the east end of London. Throughout the story, the big riddle is what was stolen from the safe? The conclusion gives us the answer, but it's a frustrating one.

Murder For Busy People by Tony Parsons will be published on 2nd January 2025. My thanks to NetGalley and Century Books for a review copy.