There are plenty of great dads in books who set as good an example when it comes to parenting.

fathers_ac.jpg

Reading lists

The novels that taught me to be a better dad

Tony Parsons reads from The Slaughter Man

tony-parsons-the-slaughterman-snippet.jpg

Features

Tony Parsons on writing The Slaughter Man

Tony Parsons on researching The Murder Bag

tony-parsons-the-murder-bag-trailer.jpg

Who She Was

The mysterious stranger seems perfect. But nobody knows who she is and what she has been compelled to do to survive. The gripping new bestseller from Tony Parsons. 
 
‘Vividly drawn and utterly engrossing’ Tom Hindle 
'Gripping and beautifully written, with atmosphere you could cut with a knife' Alex Michaelides 
'A cracking story ... keeps you hooked to the last page.' Heidi Perks 
‘If you like volatile characters and character-driven mysteries, this book is just the ticket. I devoured it in two days.’ Evening Standard 
‘…an intriguing Du Maurier-ish Cornwall mystery… a story of twists and turns’ Peterborough Telegraph 
‘Quite possibly his most assured outing yet.’ Barry Forshaw, Crime Time 
‘It’s a brilliant book’ Piers Morgan 
___________ 
 
A bonfire burns on a Cornish beach in the middle of the night. 
 
Nearby, a young woman waits for morning, and for the estate agent to arrive with the keys to her new life in the peaceful fishing village. 
 
She carries with her no trace of the past she has left behind. 
 
Quickly she becomes an object of fascination among the locals; one in particular finds that he just can't stay away. 
 
But can anyone really have start afresh? 
What happened to this woman's old life? 
And what price did she pay to escape it? 
___________ 
 
Readers can't get enough of Who She Was . . . 
 
***** 'I read this book within 24 hrs of receiving. That's how good it is.' 
***** 'What a perfect book to discuss at a book club.' 
***** 'This is an absolutely beautiful book. Atmospheric doesn't even begin to describe the writing.' 
***** 'Wonderful characterization and a captivating novel.' 
***** 'Wow, what a great book! I loved everything about it. I haven't read Tony Parson's books for a while, and I now feel like I've missed out on some great reads.'

TONY PARSONS is a bestselling novelist and an award-winning journalist. 
His books have been published in over forty languages and his multimillion-selling novel 
Man and Boy won the Book of the Year prize in 2000. 
Most recently, he created the Max Wolfe crime series. 
The Murder Bag, the first Max Wolfe book, went to number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list and in 2023 was voted one of the 
100 best crimes books of all time by the readers of Dead Good Books. 
Tony lives in London with his family.

A bonfire burns on a Cornish beach in the middle of the night. 
 
Nearby, a young woman waits for morning, and for the estate agent to arrive with the keys to her new life in the peaceful fishing village. 
 
She carries with her no trace of the past she has left behind. 
 
Quickly she becomes an object of fascination among the locals; one in particular finds that he just can't stay away. 
 
But can anyone really have start afresh? 
What happened to this woman's old life? 
And what price did she pay to escape it?

THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR

CAUTION: This book is addictive. What happens when the people next door know all your secrets - but you know none of theirs? By the number one bestselling author of Man and Boy and the Max Wolfe crime series. 
 
'Everyone needs to buy and read it.' Rob Rinder 
'Had me gripped from start to finish.' Jane Fallon 
'Creepy, paranoid and shocking.' Alex Michaelides 
'Twisty, insightful and completely absorbing.' Celia Walden 
'A brilliant, brilliant novel. Incredbily gripping and scary!' Susanna Reid, Good Morning Britain 
_____________ 
 
How well do you know the people next door? 
 
You've moved to your dream home: a gorgeous honey-coloured house in the country. 
 
It's a new beginning: your chance to put the terrible truth of what happened to you in the city behind you. 
 
But your new neighbours have secrets of their own. 
 
Terrifying secrets. Unimaginable secrets. 
 
And when you learn about the previously happy family who lived - and died - in your house, you start to wonder how safe you really are . . . 
______________ 
 
'Tony Parsons strikes again with a new epic thriller... It's a nail-biter until the end!' That's Life 
'A brilliant page-turning thriller.' Piers Morgan 
'As elegant and vivid as ever' Daily Mail 
'Builds like a Hitchcock classic' Peterborough Telegraph 
'This one will keep you guessing' Heat 
'The sort of thriller you could read again and again' Belfast Telegraph 
'A creepy tale of a couple whose move to the country, to what they'd hoped was their little corner of paradise, turns into a nightmare' Choice 
_____________ 
 
Readers are loving The People Next Door ... 
 
***** 'There's just no words really to describe how much I LOVED this book.' 
***** 'Great storytelling, tension-filled and very enjoyable.' 
***** 'Tony Parsons hooked me from the first few chapters, and I found it really hard to put down, I'd highly recommend it to any thriller lovers.' 
***** 'This book really twists and turns in a way that I love. I really enjoyed this book and would not hesitate to recommend it!' 
***** 'I couldn't leave the book for a minute until I'd discovered how it would all end ... A brilliant book.'

Nail-biting suspense from the #1 bestselling author

Your Neighbour’s Wife

What do you do when your perfect life spins out of control? A gripping psychological thriller for fans of Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce and The Whole Truth by Cara Hunter.

What do you do when your perfect life spins out of control? A gripping psychological thriller from bestselling author Tony Parsons. 
 
'Hard to put down, I tore through it in two sittings. This tale of an illicit one-night stand with devastating consequences is a hugely enjoyable read.' ALEX MICHAELIDES 
 
'Bears comparison with his 2000 novel, Man and Boy ... Laced with humanity and the shadow of guilt, this is Parsons at his very best.' DAILY MAIL 
 
'Such a compelling read - and a brilliant depiction of both marriage and infidelity. There's unputdownable and there's walking-into-lamp-posts with the latest Tony Parsons in your hand.' CELIA WALDEN 
____________________________ 
 
Tara Carver seems to have the perfect life. A loving mother and wife, and a business woman who runs her own company, she's the sort of person you'd want to live next door to, who might even become your best friend. 
 
But what sort of person is she really? 
 
Because in one night of madness, on a work trip far from home, she puts all this at risk. And suddenly her dream life becomes a living nightmare when the married man she spent one night with tells her he wants a serious relationship with her. And that he won't leave her or her precious family alone until she agrees. 
 
There seems to be only one way out. 
And it involves murder... 
____________________________ 
 
'Emotionally powerful, beautifully written and observed, this is one to savour.' CARA HUNTER, author of Close to Home and All the Rage 
 
'Tony Parsons excels at presenting his narratives in the clearest possible prose while revealing the toughest of human emotions ... fast-moving and involving' LITERARY REVIEW 
 
'I can testify it is a real humdinger!' PIERS MORGAN 
 
'100% unputdownable. High on my list for a lockdown read so an ideal gift to send to your locked-down Valentines ... No gift like the gift of an up to the Insta moment page-turner' OLIVIA COLE 
 
'A roller-coaster read' BELLA

Ventures into fresh territory. Your Neighbour's Wife is at once a romance and a murder story

Wrong time. Wrong place. Wrong girl.

#taken

London has a new detective - DC Max Wolfe is on the hunt and he means to get his man, whatever the consequences…

From the Sunday Times no.1 bestselling author, a brilliant page-turning new Max Wolfe thriller that will keep you gripped and guessing until the very last page.

Whip-fast, twisting like a moped in a traffic jam.

Parson’s work stands out because he creates memorable characters.

Pages that stick to the fingers ... as haunting as it is engaging

From the Sunday Times no.1 bestselling author, a brilliant page-turning Max Wolfe thriller that will keep you gripped and guessing until the very last page. 
 
‘Tense and human’ LEE CHILD 
‘Brilliant stuff’ PETER JAMES 
‘A cracking read’ PIERS MORGAN 
_____________ 
 
#taken in the night 
 
They thought they were kidnapping the mistress of one of London’s most powerful gangsters. But they’ve taken the wrong woman. And crossed the wrong detective. 
 
#taken underground 
 
Detective Max Wolfe's hunt for the missing woman takes him from New Scotland Yard’s legendary Black Museum to the glittering mansions of career criminals, from sleazy strip joints to secret sex dungeons – and to unspeakably dark deeds committed decades ago. 
 
#taken to the limit 
 
It’s a world of family secrets, sexual jealousy, and a lust for revenge – which might also become Wolfe’s grave… 
_____________ 
 
Readers cannot get enough of #taken . . . 
 
***** 'I read this with my mind darting from one scenario to another, my heart pounding, my pulse racing. If I could have read it in one sitting, I would have.' 
***** 'There are lots of twists and surprises along the way and I will definitely be reading the other books in this series.' 
***** 'A propulsive page-turner' 
***** 'A wonderful writer that brings a much needed warmth to a great detective series.' 
***** 'Parsons writes real, complicated, multi-dimensional characters and crimes . . . I am always a bit annoyed at the end of a book in the series because I am going to have to wait to see what happens next in his life.' 
_____________ 
 
'A cracking read’ ITV, Good Morning Britain 
‘Eye-widening twists’ SOPHIE HANNAH 
‘A must-read’ JEFFERY DEAVER 
'Whip-fast, twisting like a moped in a traffic jam.' THE SUN 
'Pages that stick to the fingers' SHOTS MAGAZINE 
'Fast-paced, twisty ... will have you hooked from start to end.' CULTUREFLY

(DC Max Wolfe)

Girl On Fire

From the Sunday Times no.1 bestselling author, a brilliant page-turning new Max Wolfe thriller that will keep you gripped and guessing until the very last page.

What impresses about Girl on Fire is Tony Parsons’s almost old-fashioned mastery of storytelling. Moreover, he raises real issues of today and accompanies them with intelligent debate ... remarkably moving

The action bowls along exhilaratingly, with plenty of twists and hair-raisingly topical material… The upshot is the kind of big foot-to-the-floor read

Parson's latest novel is a master class on building a world, developing a plot and how to write a sequel.… An incredibly well written book...

If there were any doubts before, then this powerful novel will confirm that Tony Parsons sits in his rightful position among the top echelon of contemporary British writers.

A phenomenal read that I will happily shout about from the rooftops for the foreseeable future.

Girl On Fire is a hard-hitting story that… create[s] a realistic and suspenseful work of fiction.

A thrilling roller-coaster ride full of tension and suspense, jam packed with the very best of gritty crime action.

A page turning new thriller from the Max Wolfe series will keep you grappled and guessing until the end

His way of writing is so visceral and dynamic

Parson weaves a yarn that stands up to the best in the Crime Thriller genre

ALMOST HOME. BUT NOWHERE TO HIDE. From the number one bestselling crime-writer comes a brilliant, page-turning new DC Max Wolfe thriller. 
 
'Remarkably moving' The Times 
 
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 guilty alike. 
 
DC Max Wolfe finds himself caught in the crossfire in a city that seems increasingly dangerous and hostile. 
 
But does the danger come from the murderous criminals that Max is tracking down? Or the people he's trying to protect? 
 
Or does the real threat to Max lie closer to home? 
 
'Tony Parsons puts you right there in every scene he writes. I love that kind of storytelling and I’m a D.C. Max Wolfe fan.' James Patterson 
 
'A relentless plot, evocative prose and compelling characters conspire to make this a must-read.' Jeffery Deaver 
 
'I've long been a fan of Tony Parsons' writing, and this is brilliant stuff.' Peter James 
 
‘Spectacular! Tense and human, fast and authentic’ Lee Child 
 
'Great plotting, great characters and at least two eye-widening twists I didn't see coming’ Sophie Hannah 
 
'Simply superb plot and characters’ Peterborough Evening Telegraph

Die Last

From the UK no.1 bestselling author, a brilliant page-turning new thriller that will keep you gripped and guessing until the very last page.

Parsons is superb. He produces a riveting story from an unedifying subject which grips from start to finish. It horrifies, informs and thrills , and you cannot turn away until the very last page. Now that’s how a book should be

Parsons handcuffs you from the first page... written with a winning combination of horror and compassion - this is one Wolfe that really bites

Die Last [is] a fast-paced, cunningly plotted story about human smuggling and sex trafficking, written with headline-ripping immediacy

Fast-paced and darkly witty… Gripping Stuff

It was totally gripping and the pages slipped away

___________________________ 
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 ...

Tony Parsons

A delight . . . This is Parsons at his scintillating best: do not miss it.

This is another spectacular novel that takes the reader to dark places.

This is an exciting murder mystery with clever characterisation, interesting subplots and a climax that won’t disappoint!

Tony Parsons

Praise for Murder for Busy People

A delight . . . This is Parsons at his scintillating best: do not miss it.

This is another spectacular novel that takes the reader to dark places.

This is an exciting murder mystery with clever characterisation, interesting subplots and a climax that won’t disappoint!

A delight . . . This is Parsons at his scintillating best: do not miss it.

This is another spectacular novel that takes the reader to dark places.

This is an exciting murder mystery with clever characterisation, interesting subplots and a climax that won’t disappoint!

A delight . . . This is Parsons at his scintillating best: do not miss it.

This is another spectacular novel that takes the reader to dark places.

This is an exciting murder mystery with clever characterisation, interesting subplots and a climax that won’t disappoint!

Books by Tony Parsons

Series by Tony Parsons

DC Max Wolfe

Articles featuring Tony Parsons

The novels that taught me to be a better dad

Tony Parsons on writing The Slaughter Man

Tony Parsons on researching The Murder Bag

Sign up to the Tony Parsons newsletter

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter