16 years ago Max Wolfe's face was all over the news, as the young policeman who arrested Emma Moon at the scene of a double murder and robbery. Emma never implicated anyone else in the events of that night and now she is out and looking for her own kind of justice.
Max is doing his best to keep control of his personal life but with an almost teenage daughter, who is beginning to show her independence and an elderly dog who isn’t as fit as he once was, Max has a lot on his plate already.
Then a young homeless woman is found murdered, Max had met the young woman a number of times and is determined to get justice for her. But the release of Emma Moon seems to have triggered a spate of unusual deaths and Max is soon embroiled in something far more complex than he ever expected.
Can Max meet the challenges of parenthood and his job or will something fall apart just when he needs it all holding together.
This book is as much about Max as a man as it is about Max the detective, but that isn’t to the detriment of the story. You get an insight into why Max does the things he does in the way he does. I loved discovering this.

This is a clever combination of a straight forward murder story complicated by examples of the operations of New York gangsters and corrupt police. The basic story is of a young child carer working in a small residential street who sees a murder and knows who did it. That gives her an opportunity to make money but she lets it all get too complicated. Another respected local,resident is arrested for murder. She, Ruby, has connections with that family too. The other layer on the story complicates the whole thing unnecessarily and it is not particularly pleasant to read about the extensive corruption in New York’s structure which seems to permeate into all parts. The book is complicated to read because there are so many characters. I would have preferred it to be simpler but it does come to a satisfactory end.

It is totally reasonable that authors progress and explore new avenues and characters and Tony Parsons his an exceptional writer, but I am so pleased that he has finally returned to his staple character Max Wolfe and his daughter Scout in what is a marvellously intricate tale about murder., love, parenting and family all wrapped around a police procedural.

The book has complex and diverging strands but it all hangs together well and is a stinking good red.

Welcome back Max!

Murder for Busy People sees the very welcome return of Max Wolfe,and it's a belter.
At the beginning of Wolfe's career one of his first arrests was of the enigmatic and beautiful Emma Moon, found at the scene of an armed robbery alongside 2 bodies Ms Moon refused to reveal who the rest of the gang were then or in the 16 years she spent behind bars.
When she's released those suspected of being involved but never prosecuted because of Emma's silence begin to be found dead with even her Gangster and his thuggish brother afraid the gorgeous but seemingly deadly woman.

This is quite a complex tale with the murder of a homeless woman local to Wolfe and a character luring women into his car under the pretext of being a police officer in the same area as secondary plotlines. With Wolfe crashing through all of these cases like a Bull in a China shop and upsetting friend and foe alike he finds himself attracted to the delectable Ms Moon,despite being warned that he's on her "kill list". This is an excellent story full of twists and great insights into human nature with many characters not being all they seem, Tony Parsons skilfully shows that perceptions are too often sweeping and people can and do change. Wolfe is refreshingly human and while not so much a flawed character as a frequently mistaken one.

Much of the book is unexpectedly moving ,the former violent thug with the surprising family life,Wolfe's relationship with his borderline adolescent daughter as he perceives and ponders the distance growing between them as she grows and seeks increasing independence. There are even musings on pets ,when they come into lives,enrich them then pass on.

A bit of a strange mix at times,but all the better for that,a great thriller with perceptive observations on any number of aspects of life,relationships,ageing, love and friendship.

I have just finished this book and am crying and I am amazed that a book about a policeman and a murder could have this effect! It’s because it is so much more, love, family, friendship drama and excitement! Quite incredible, read it

A fascinating story although I did find parts of it rather far fetched. Scout’s, his daughter, behaviour was more in line of perhaps a 15 year old than a 12 year old. As a father in London he should have taken much more care of her. Quite a complex plot but I enjoyed it. The end paragraphs about their dog made me cry

This is not so much a book about murder, as an exploration of love. The love of a man for his daughter, for his friends, for justice, for the underprivileged, for his job, for his old dog, and, even, for his ex wife. The love of a woman for the man who betrayed her. The love of ex prisoners for the woman who gave them hope. The love of some for money, some for power and sexual thrills, and the love of a young homeless woman for her childhood toy. The story itself is full of twists and turns, plots and sub plots. What was in the safe that was broken into, all those years ago? How can seemingly reformed villains abandon their new lives and act in such a destructive way? Why are two gangsters terrified of a dying woman? How does a twelve year old girl cope with being abandoned by her mother, and how can her father cherish her thirst for a fairer society and greater justice, yet still keep her safe? This book superficially resembles an American police novel, but goes far deeper. The thought processes and mental dilemmas of the main character are what gives it depth and sets it above a run of the mill thriller. A beautiful and very moving novel, which leaves the reader with a lot of food for thought.

I'm not sure where to start. I really didn't care for this book loads. Mainly because I've not read any other books in this series before, that being a mistake on my part so I most likely didn't understand the characters greatly.

I believe that the writing structure changed a lot. Certain chapters it was a lot more basic which I think worked a lot better, whereas the more complex and developed writing was boring. The one I also found to be more complex took longer for me to understand what was going on.


Did I enjoy the book? In parts , 100%. I thought the story was extremely gripping and jumps straight into the action. Fans of Karen Mcmanus will adore this book and I hope they find it as it will be up their street.

"Emma Moon is out.

She's served nine years hard time for an armed robbery that killed two men and enriched many more.

But Emma’s never talked; she's never revealed who was with her on the day of the robbery or who killed both men. And she's never given up the money.

And now she's free. But everything has her family; her share of the money and her faithless loser of a husband.

So now Emma Moon is in a hurry. Because it's payback time and, after nine years inside, she has friends and she has disciples - people who will do anything for her.

As the bodies of the innocent and the guilty pile up, one detective stands between a career criminal and her quest for revenge.

Max Wolfe, single parent of a teenage daughter, a fiercely independent detective who owes nothing to anyone and who has own very particular form of justice ..."