Girl On Fire (Max Wolfe #5) by Tony Parsons

Description from Goodreads:

"When terrorists use a drone to bring down a plane on one of London’s busiest shopping centres, it ignites a chain of events that will draw in the innocent and the guilty alike.

DC Max Wolfe of West End Central finds himself caught in the crossfire between a tech-savvy terrorist cell and a revenge-seeking, Bible-quoting murderer called Bad Moses.

And when Max’s ex-wife suddenly reappears to reclaim custody of his beloved daughter Scout, he finds himself fighting the greatest battle of all ... "

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"I woke up and the world was gone.

All was silent, all was black, the darkness so complete that it was as if all the light had been drained from the world."

Those are the dramatic opening lines to this book which had me hooked and eating up the pages as if my life depended on it.

Mr Parsons writes with grit, authenticity and humanity which I find very addictive and although Max isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, he is a very engaging character that I love getting to know a little more with each outing.

I must admit that there were times when I felt reality was ignored for the sake of the story (i.e. missed suspects which, in my opinion, were glaringly obvious) but I just put them to one side and continued to enjoy the ride on Mr Parsons' roller-coaster because, after all, this isn't a true story although the subject matter certainly is unfortunately.

Although this can be read as a standalone, I would very much recommend you read the others in the series as this will give more depth and understanding to the main characters and will enhance the whole reading experience.

I would highly recommend this series and Tony Parsons as a great British author and would like to thank the publisher, Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for my copy in return for an impartial review.

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Other books in the series I have read and reviewed - click the link under the book covers to be taken to my review:

Click here to read my review of
Die Last

Click here to read my view of
The Slaughter Man

Click here to read my review of
The Hanging Club

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Connect with the Author:

Twitter:  TonyParsonsUK

Facebook:  TonyParsonsBooks

Die Last (Max Wolfe #4) by Tony Parsons

     

Description from Goodreads:

"A terrifying secret. A missing girl.

"As dawn breaks on a snowy February morning, a refrigerated lorry is found parked in the heart of London's Chinatown. Inside twelve women are discovered - all dead from hypothermia.

But when DC Max Wolfe looks in the cab of truck, he finds thirteen passports.

One woman has survived. Where is she? And what sort of danger is she in?

The hunt for her will take Max into the dark heart of a terrifying world where nothing and nobody is safe ..."

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Not my favourite book in the Max Wolfe series but still very enjoyable with a very relevant and disturbing story line with great characters, twists, gritty tension, violence and humanity all written at a great pace that makes you want to continue reading well into the wee small hours of the night. I continue to love getting to know Max and adore his relationship with his daughter, Scout and their dog, Stanley with their moments adding a depth and warmth to Max that can be hidden under his strong policeman persona.

Although not my favourite, I would still highly recommend this series and Tony Parsons as a great British author and would like to thank the publisher, Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for my copy in return for a review.

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Other books in the series I have read and reviewed - click the link under the book covers to be taken to my review:

Click here to read my view of
The Slaughter Man

Click here to read my review of
The Hanging Club

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Connect with the Author:

Twitter:  TonyParsonsUK

Facebook:  TonyParsonsBooks

The Hanging Club by Tony Parsons

"Once again, a great book"

Description from Goodreads:

“A band of vigilante executioners roam London's hot summer nights, abducting evil men and hanging them by the neck until dead.

SENTENCED TO DEATH

- The gang member who's abused vulnerable girls.

- The wealthy drunk driver who's mowed down a child.

- The hate preacher calling for the murder of British soldiers.

As the bodies pile up and riots explode across the sweltering city, DC Max Wolfe hunts a gang of killers who many believe to be heroes.

And discovers that the lust for revenge starts very close to home …”

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I admit to being a bit of a fan of Tony Parsons having previously read and enjoyed “The Slaughter Man” so I was more than pleased when I was accepted to review The Hanging Club by the publisher RandomHouse UK Cornerstone via NetGalley and for which I am grateful as, yet again, Mr Parsons has written a great book.

This is the third in the DC Max Wolfe series and although this is part of a series, I don’t feel you have to have read the others to enjoy this as a standalone. The story is gripping and scarily plausible. The writing style is such that it’s easy to pick up and very hard to put down. The characters are complex and interesting with Max being even more so given that he is a single father. The glimpses of his relationship with his young daughter are touching and a relief from the horrors he has to face investigating the brutal and very public vigilante murders.

The story is set in present day London but also has glimpses into the historical London. I found this fascinating and added to my overall enjoyment of the book.

This book is not only a compulsive read, it also makes you think about justice and your own personal ethics and morals. I’m sure a lot of us have been dismayed at a particular sentence for a heinous crime but would you take the law into your own hands? What must it be like for the Police, lawyers and judges being stuck in the middle? What of the families and friends of those on both sides? Yes, this book gets you asking those questions and gets you thinking a bit and I, for one, would definitely recommend it and Tony Parsons as a great British author.

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Author/publisher website - click here

Author twitter - TonyParsonsUK

I also found an interesting website devoted to the main character DC Max Wolfe - http://dcmaxwolfe.com/ - where you can explore a little bit more about Max.

The Slaughter Man by Tony Parsons

Description from Goodreads:

"A murdered family. A dying serial killer. A missing child. DC Max Wolfe hunts a pitiless killer through the streets of London. By the Sunday Times number one bestselling author of The Murder Bag.

On New Year’s Day, a wealthy family is found slaughtered inside their exclusive gated community in north London, their youngest child stolen away.

The murder weapon – a gun for stunning cattle before they are butchered – leads Detective Max Wolfe to a dusty corner of Scotland Yard’s Black Museum devoted to a killer who thirty years ago was known as the Slaughter Man.

But the Slaughter Man has done his time, and is now old and dying. Can he really be back in the game?

And was the murder of a happy family a mindless killing spree, a grotesque homage by a copycat killer – or a contract hit designed to frame a dying man?

All Max knows is that he needs to find the missing child and stop the killer before he destroys another innocent family – or finds his way to his own front door …

Even the happiest of families have black, twisted secrets that someone is ready to kill for…"

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This book is what I call a good old-fashioned crime caper with loads of action, thrills and violence which is fast paced and well written and I thank the publisher, Random House UK Cornerstone, for providing me with a copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is the second book in the Max Wolfe Series and although I have got the first one (The Murder Bag), I am ashamed to say that I forgot about it so haven’t read it but after reading The Slaughter Man, I won’t do that again as I would quite like to get to know the main characters a little more.

The book starts with a bang and doesn’t let up. The fast pace and continuous action together with an easy writing style makes this hard to stop reading. The story was gripping, compulsive and plausible and the characters were complex, interesting and believable. DC Max Wolfe was likeable but his daughter, Scout, even more so - the sections devoted to their relationship were a welcome relief from the sometimes harrowing details of the crimes and investigation. These details were however very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the sections about The Black Museum and the description of the process of death, although grim, was just excellent.

There were a few things that I found a little odd - like how Max acted and was treated like he was a much higher rank than his Detective Constable (he needs a promotion) and how he and his colleagues put themselves in danger so easily when entering the house of paedophiles and when visiting the travellers site - I just don’t think this would happen in real life but then, this isn’t a nonfiction book so I just went with it and it did make for exciting reading.

Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good crime thriller with twists and turns aplenty which will keep you on your toes and enthusiastically turning the pages.

Yet another great British author to keep my eye out for in the future.