The Slaughter Man

Colin Mace grippingly narrates this violent sequel to THE MURDER BAG. Detective Constable Max Wolfe can be as tough as a London cop needs to be. But Mace also captures another side of him--that of attentive, doting single dad to his precious daughter, Scout, who is also warmly rendered. On New Year's Day, the Wood family, who live in a gated community, are found brutally murdered, with youngest son Bradley missing. Mace is particularly adept at recounting police history when Wolfe goes to Scotland Yard's Black Museum to research past killers who may have committed the crime. In addition to his skill at depicting London's diverse neighborhoods and residents, Mace's portrayal of Mrs. Murphy, Scout's reliable nanny, adds a light touch to an engaging procedural. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

June 8, 2015
Det. Constable Max Wolfe investigates the slaughter of all but one member of the Wood family, at their mansion within a gated community, in Parsons’s exciting but uneven second contemporary crime novel featuring the London police officer (after 2014’s The Murder Man). Someone uses a cattle gun to kill American Brad Wood, a sports agent; his British wife, Mary, a former Olympic skier; and their two teenage children, Marlon and Piper. Four-year-old Bradley Wood, the lone survivor, is kidnapped. In 1980, 17-year-old Peter Nawkins (aka the Slaughter Man) fatally shot four men on an Essex farm with a cattle gun. Could there be a connection? Mary’s sister and brother pressure the police to find Bradley. In looking into both the Nawkins and the Wood families, Wolfe uncovers a world of abuse, betrayal, and unimaginable violence. An appealingly sensitive single parent, Wolfe makes some unlikely elementary mistakes with grave personal consequences, but adrenaline-driven action scenes and winning characters more than compensate. Agent: Sloan Harris, ICM.