The Murder Bag

By: Tony Parsons

Narrated by: Colin Mace

Twenty years ago seven students became friends at their exclusive private school, Potter's Field. Now they have started dying in the most violent way imaginable. Detective Max Wolfe follows the bloody trail from the backstreets and bright lights of the city, to the darkest corners of the corridors of power. As the bodies pile up, Max finds he is fighting not only for justice, but for his own life....

The gripping first novel in an explosive new crime series by Tony Parsons, bestselling author of Man and Boy. If you like crime-novels by Ian Rankin and Peter James, you will love this.

©2014 Tony Parsons (P)2014 W.F. Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"Propulsive ... If The Murder Bag marks the launch of a new crime series, count me in." ( The Times)
"A tense debut crime novel with a dose of dry wit" ( Daily Express)
"Impressive, page-turning ... Told with conviction and at an ever increasing pace" ( Daily Mail)
"Truly emotive crime-writing is a rarity, and The Murder Bag looks set to win Tony Parsons many new fans in the genre" ( GQ)
"Spectacular! Tense and human, fast and authentic." (Lee Child)

Can a narrator make a good book great?

Colin Mace delivers a performance that puts him in a class with Ray Porter, Frank Mueller, Will Patton and Eduardo Ballerini. He hasn't read a lot on audible, but surely this is a breakout performance.

In the first chapter we are witness to a brutal rape and murder that occurred some 20 years ago. In present day, suddenly men responsible for the crime begin to be murdered one by one. Obviously revenge is the motive, but what makes this novel so easy to enjoy is how the detectives unravel the mystery.

The characters are well developed and thanks to Colin Mace, we are emotionally drawn into the life of a truly gifted detective.

This was a great experience.

Really Well Written and Beautifully Narrated

The story-line in this one is a little bit of an Oldy - group of friends do something really awful when they are young; then, years later, someone comes for them. An Oldy, but Goody. There's a reason some plot tropes stick around. This one has endless variations, and this a pretty good version of it. It's a sound, tried and true framework that more than does the job to support this really excellent police procedural. For a start, the writing is very, very good. And the production is a pleasure to listen to, just plain beautifully narrated. The central character is utterly believable, and compelling. Even the 'I love my kid' thing works. Which they don't always - it can be way overdone and just plain icky. All 'round, this is a really satisfying listen. So much so that I went straight on to the next in series. If you like Aidan McKinty and Mick Herron ( no, this isn't about spies but it has a lot of the same feel) give this a try. I was glad I did.

A pleasure!

Great story, fantastic narrator. So good to meet a new character and look forward to following the series. Buy this book!

EXCELLENT!

A terrific mystery with well developed characters. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Witty and Richly Narrarated

Only 3/4 through but I am already pleasantly surprised. The story is interesting but most of all, the writer is sharp, witty and at parts, I laughed deviously and out loud. Great writer and the narrator was spellbinding. The story came alive.