As usual I will not give away plot details - plenty of other reviewers will do that!

This was an enjoyable page turner, in the "Max Wolfe" series. Although I haven't read the full series, this book had enough background information to work both as a standalone and part of the series.

Time has marched on, and Scout is now a teenager. There is obviously still a deep bond between Max and his daughter, but she's growing up and has a mind of her own, and a social conscience that spurs Max on to examine his own views and feelings on homelessness for example. This ties in with other threads in the tale...

The plot is multi-layered, and in part revisits an earlier robbery/murder that has repercussions in the present day following the release of the subject of Max's first arrest. Who is behind the present day killings? Who is telling the truth? Well - you'll have to read the book to find out!

I was misled by a few red herrings, but was pleased that I got there in the end!

Looking forward to reading more in this series - I like the characters and pace of the storytelling.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

My first Tony Parsons was Man and Boy and the book was filled with a great understanding and love of family and human nature. That same quality is what makes the Max Wolfe series such a joy to read. Max Wolfe living above Smithfield meat market in a spacious luxurious flat with his daughter Scout (homage to, To kill a mockingbird) and their family dog with the wonderful name of Stan. Stan is getting older and a little tired, and Scout is on the verge of entering the terrible teens but shows herself as a very caring and thoughtful young lady. In Murder for busy people Max is investigating corrupt policemen using their position of power to sexually abuse and rape, a storyline that reflects recent events in todays world. However it is the writing style and thoughtful prose that makes Tony Parsons a real joy to read……”I just don't know what to say to her, Mrs Murphy. You don’t have to say anything. You two - you’ll be fine, I know you will. And we need these hard times - the sad times - the difficult times so we can cherish the happy times when they come. And they will…..”The years to come will fly - for all of us - faster and faster and faster. I know they will - and Stan will be gone and one day I will be gone too”......
Wonderful writing and a big welcome back to Max and family :)

A fabulously written gripping story that was a pleasure to read. I would absolutely recommend this book, it was brilliant

I’m not just fond of this because it comes out on my birthday, but it helps! Max Wolfe is back and this time around, he’s got family problems blending with professional issues. Emma Moon, a woman who served 16 years for a robbery that left two men dead, is out of prison. Silent throughout, she never gave police a shred of evidence to direct the crime at the real culprits, biding her time, playing the game. However, though still in her 40s, she’s lost pretty much everything, including her darling son. Soon, bodies begin to pile up, people who were related to the decades-old crime, people who had changed their lives in a way that Emma was unable. But Max knows only too well about Emma: he’s the officer for arrested her all those years ago. Coupling the investigations with tweenager Scott, who is fighting for the greater good, it’s a punchy novel that’ll led through London unlike any other novel.

Now that I have finished the book, I can say that I enjoyed it very much. I liked Max, the single father detective very much and although I have read others by this author, this series is new to me. It was fine as a stand alone though, enough information about the main characters without too much detail and it felt natural. There are questions about some of the deaths here, were they natural or not. It took me about 25% of the book to really get into the plot and to get a handle on all the characters involved in the crimes which led to the prison sentence of Emma Moon. Now that she is out of prison, the original gang involved in the robbery and double killing start turning up dead. There are also other crimes, such as the death of a young homeless girl and police corruption.
So once the book got me hooked, I enjoyed the twisty plot but also the problematic relationship between Max and Scout. The plot is beleievable and the descriptions of people and locations well done.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

Murder for busy people

Tony Parsons is such a great story teller and Detective Max Wolfe is one of his best protagonists. I thoroughly enjoyed Murder for Busy People, with its eclectic mix of old-time London gangland characters and modern day police procedures. It was a proper immersive experience and did not disappoint. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to all concerned for allowing me to read and review this terrific novel.

Another great Max Wolfe story. Theres a human quality to the characters as well as a great story that draws you in.

Keeps you guessing until the end!

A very enjoyable read with lots of (believable) twists and turns. I like the cast of characters and the developing relationship between Max and Scout was very well done.

Another good book read. Max Wolfe is walking his dog, Stan, in the park early one
morning. Stan becomes interested in a dog and Max goes to retrieve him. As he walks over he realises he is looking at a dead body and the other dog is guarding his owner. This is the start of a really good plot. Max is divorced and lives with his teenage daughter who is becoming aware of the homelessness in their area. They live by Smithfield market. Max starts investigating the death and it opens a case he dealt with which was solved albeit not exactly as the police would have wanted. Emma Moon was sent to prison for the death of two people in a robbery that went wrong but would never give up the names of the others involved. Emma was the first people Max arrested in his career as a policeman. As the story continues Max is struggling with being a good dad to a daughter, Scout, who is growing up fast, serious about the homeless crises and wanting to heal all and his job. When a homeless girl is found dead this is something which starts a catalyst of drama and leads them to the heist which happened years ago. Emma is now out of prison and the people who were purported to have been involved in the heist are all dying. Is Emma the one doing this as revenge or are other people in play. Please read this and find out. I took to all the characters and really enjoyed the drama of this book. Need to read another Tony Parsons book

I enjoyed this book so much read it it yesterday it was that good. Loved the main character Max, and the normalities of having a soon to be teenager, it had the social element daughter caring about the world around her. It portrayed the positives of policing but also the negatives which was so relatable given recent events.
It kept you guessing throughout which is a huge draw, as so often it is so clear who the culprit is.
Can’t wait to read more and will definitely be looking out for more of Tony books.

Nice to have Max Wolfe back in action. H e has multiple problems to deal with, who comes first? his daughter Scout is 12 and thinks she can change the world lying to her dad and skipping school. Emma who has been released early from jail after serving 16 years for a crime she committed..........or did she? Max was the arresting officer and Emma now seems to want to make friends but all hose connected to the robbery are slowly dying, is he on the list too. Women are being abused by a policeman using his id card to frighten them into doing what he wants and soon a homeless woman is found dead. Max is convinced that 'rouge' cops are to blame and decides to go after them but while they abusing their position are they killers?
Can he put them behind bars, find out who is killing homeless ladies, rebuild his relationship with his daughter and find out how Emma might be killing off those connected to the robbery and why? A surprise ending will keep you guessing.

I didn’t realise that this was one of a series. Nevertheless, it was a good stand alone story and it was not a problem not having read others in the series. I found the storyline fascinating with its echoes of recent police misconduct. I was kept in suspense until the very end. I would recommend this book and give it 5 stars.

Another great book in the series.
DS Max Wolf arrested Emma Moon for armed robbery at the beginning of his career as a police officer when she begged him to free her as she had a young son, but after nine years of her prison sentence she is released.
The gang she was with are being murdered off one by one and everyone thinks Emma has a revenge list and that Max is on the list and he has a twelve year old daughter to protect which has a mind of her own.
I loved Max and the personal life with his daughter it made the book for me.
This is a series but can be read alone.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review

As this was a book I was selected to read from Netgalley, I hadn't realised this was a series of books and this was in fact the 7th instalment. Like all good books this didn’t matter and I was able to pick up the characters quickly.
The story revolves around Emma Moon who takes the rap for a robbery gone wrong where 2 people die. In all her years in prison she never names her accomplices. However, once she is freed they suddenly find themselves being picked off one by one.
It's up to Max Wolfe to investigate this crime whilst also coming up against corruption at the Met and dealing with a wayward daughter who wants to change the world.
I enjoyed this book and would look out for this series of books in the future.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Emma Moon has been released from prison 16 years after being arrested by a young Max Wolfe straight out of Hendon. She was found at the scene of a burglary standing over two dead bodies, nobody else was caught or arrested and Emma never talked. Now a DC Max finds himself embroiled in a series of unexplained deaths involving those who were always suspected of being involved all those years ago. Is Emma extracting revenge? It’s up to Max to find out.

Tony Parsons’ books never disappoint. I was thrilled to discover that Max Wolfe was back for another book! I’ve read the whole series to date and loved them all and this was no different.

The ‘voice’ of Max in this book is really sad, I would even say he sounds quite depressed but if you’ve read the earlier books it’s easy to see why, he appears to be still in the throes of grief. I loved the storyline with the two new direct entry detectives and the cynicism that inevitably comes with a change in the way newbies are treated if they have come direct from University as opposed to ‘cutting their teeth’ on the streets the way most more experienced detectives have…………..nurses and midwives were met with the same wariness when University education was introduced.

I won’t précis the story, you can get that from the back of the book, suffice to say there are two main investigations going on together, the death of the associates of a woman recently released from prison after taking the ‘fall’ and doing the time for a major robbery without naming her fellow criminals, and the murder of a homeless girl known fleetingly to Max.

The book was, for me, an absolute page turner, I was gripped from the start and just kept reading till the end. I was saddened to see the decline in Max’s relationship with his daughter, Scout. Even more surprised that he would leave her alone in an apartment in central London while he goes out late at night, given that’s she is only 12. It’s not against the law per se but it’s not something most people would even consider, I wouldn’t have thought? I could be out of touch though? I know…….it’s fiction…..and it was only for a few hours…..but still? Did it deter from the book?,Absolutely not, it’s a brilliant book and I loved every minute of it!

The twist at the end of the book, took me completely by surprise and totally blindsided me!! That’s all I’m going to say, not a chance I saw that coming!

My thanks, as always, go to Tony Parsons, the publishers and to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntary and entirely my own opinion.

I love Tony Parsons as a writer, and I loved this book. The story is compelling, and the characters all believable and well-drawn. I really couldn't put it down, and will definitely be recommending it.

Max Wolfe is a very decent policeman, struggling with bringing up his 12 year old daughter on his own in inner London. Emma Moon spent 16 years behind bars for a crime she didn’t commit, but would never tell police the details of who did, out of a misguided loyalty to the man she loved. Max and Emma’s connection is that she was his very first arrest as a newly minted copper, straight out of training. Max is determined to find out what actually happened on the night two innocent people were murdered 16 years ago and he establishes a tenuous friendship with Emma Moon, only to be faced with someone who appears to be a thoroughly good and genuine person. But why are the criminal protagonists from the time of the original murder dying one by one? The story moves at a comfortable pace, is beautifully written and convincingly characterised, and explores some of the more pressing issues in our society. Although the latest in the Max Wolfe series, this book stands splendidly on its own.

I hadn’t read any of Tony Parson’s Max Wolfe series of books before. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Murder for Busy People.

I really liked Max Wolfe. He’s a police officer in the Metropolitan Police, also a single dad to a 12 year old Scout. They live in near the Smithfield’s Meat Markets in Central London with their aging dog Stan with Mrs Murphy keeping an eye on them. I quickly caught up on Max Wolfe’s personal history.

This case centres on Emma Moon, the first woman Max Wolfe ever arrested. She’s served her time and is out of prison and the bodycount is rising. Could Max also be in danger?

I enjoyed reading the book, there were some twists and turns and an ending I didn’t see coming. I really liked Max Wolfe, his daughter Scout and Mrs Murphy. I used to work close to Smithfield’s and knew the geography of that part of London.

I look forward to reading more Max Wolfe books by Tony Parsons.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers, Random House, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was the first in the Max Wolfe series that I’ve read but will definitely be going back for more.
Great crime fiction that kept me guessing. Also loved the descriptions of living in central London and certainly bonded with Max and Scout.