The Slaughter Man

By: Tony Parsons

Narrated by: Colin Mace

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

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 is a gun for stunning cattle, leading 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 is now old and dying. Can he really be back in the game?

©2015 Tony Parsons (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"Spectacular! Tense and human, fast and authentic." (Lee Child on The Murder Bag)

"A relentless plot, evocative prose and compelling portraits of the characters, good and evil, conspire to make this a must read." (Jeffrey Deaver on The Murder Bag)

Great series

Hooked on both author & narrator..this is the first series I've ever stuck with. Characters are well developed.

Fine sequel to "The Murder Bag"

Very good series developing here, with multifaceted central character and solid writing. Keeping an eye on Tony Parsons - I expect even better things to come from him. Well worth the credit.

surprise twists

the narrator really brings this story alive. what a powerful story line. I also learned a few things about how body decompose. I'm in agreement with Max I'l choose cremation

Excellent Story, but TRULY Realistic???

Tony Parsons is one hell of a writer. He either does excellent research into a lot of different things like boxing, various ways to die, history of different murders, etc. or he makes it very believable. The narration is also spot on!

I only have two issues - one is somewhat minor and one that I often overlook in books and that is the time between when things happen. Sometimes the timing is simply not possible or unbelievable. The biggest issue I have is that some of things that the detectives do in this book - I HOPE - would never happen. EX: Going back to the Travelers camp without back-up, to confront the killer after the Travelers had already nearly beat the crap out of them. Also, going into a huge mansion with known pedophiles without back-up only a few hours after being released from A&E after the Travelers beating. The injuries the team sustained during that raid would have been taken to court in the U.S. and the head of the unit would have likely been charged with negligence. I don't really think that the UK is that different.

BUT - this will not keep me from loving this author and DC Max Wolfe. DC Max Wolfe is a wonderful character. The stories are well written and well researched. If you like a good, sometimes gory, murder mystery - check this out. You won't be disappointed.

Loved it!!!

Colin Mace's voice is perfect for Max Wolfe. He's absolutely believable as a London Met Detective who's lived life in the job. I'm reading all the series because of his voice. Love it!

Colin Mace Nailed It

The performance can make or break an audio book no matter how good the writing. Colin Mace does Tony Parsons' story justice with an absolutely superb telling of this compelling tale which is at gritty and heartwarming.

Good one

Great narration and another in a series I truly enjoy. Looking forward to the next.

Love this mystery series and narrator.

The casting of Colin Mace as protagonist Wolfe is perfection. The story line is fast paced, sometimes a bit too violent for my taste and Wolfe's endured beatings beg an extra portion of suspense of disbelief, however, it is almost balanced out by Wolfe's humanity, love for his daughter Scout, and their pet dog, Stan. Parsons' plots are unique, and imbued with London historical locations and reference; a fun ride to locale rarely seen by us tourists.
I found it hard to put my earbuds down!

Can't wait for the next one.......

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I only got this the other day and have already told everyone how good it is.
If you liked the Murder Bag (I loved it) for sure you will need to read this one.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Max of course. But the policeman that maintains the Black Museum is also a great character.

What does Colin Mace bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Colin Mace has become my favorite narrator. When he tells this story and The Murder Bag I get to where I wish the book was much longer. I stayed up for most of the night because of the narrator but Tony Parsons writes a great book so he had good material.

Any additional comments?

I have really enjoyed both of Tony's books. Thanks

Wonderful!

Nuanced, touching and suspenseful - I loved the writing and the narrator is wonderful. I highly recommend this. The father daughter relationship was resonant and finely detailed.