Fred
Fred is an old ally and mentor of Max (for old friends don’t call each other by their surname) who, despite the ferocity and speed of his punching, is much more than just a fighter. Composed in the face of aggression and wise in the ways of the world, Fred enables Max to keep going, even when the weight of the murders and the world start to feel too much.
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Westminister Public Mortuary
Opened in 2008 to be used exclusively for post-mortem exams of suspicious deaths - the first of its kind in London to be used specifically for this purpose.
Read moreChapter 4
27 Savile Row is a modern block of offices with one of those ancient blue police lamps outside -the kind of blue lamp that makes you think of Sherlock Holmes hunting Jack the Ripper through the London fog. But although Savile Row is famous for two things, West End Central isn't one of them.
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West End Central
Savile Row is a street in Mayfair principally known for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men. It was built between 1731 and 1735, with the original name of Savile Street.
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Bar Italia
First opened in 1949 by Lou and Caterina Polledri, Bar Italia is a family run business that has been passed on through three generations.
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Smithfield Market
Smithfield is an area in the City of London where you'll find St Bartholemew’s Hospital, the London Charterhouse, the Livery Hall of the Butchers’ Hall and the Haberdashers’ Hall.
Read moreElsa
A favourite of Mallory’s, Elsa provides the expertise on the unusual nature of the deaths. Wolfe first encounters her at the Iain West Forensic Suite as she guides them over the two corpses on the cold steel table. She is candid and refuses to speculate, conducting herself with the grace of a dinner hostess, and quickly endears herself to Wolfe providing him with another important ally in the course of his investigation.
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Tony answers a reader’s question about breaking into a new genre
Given your tremendous success as a novelist, were you nervous about breaking out into a different genre? Question submitted by Chloe Healy.
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Second Front Shop
Beginning in the Roman era, various fighting blades have become known classics that are always linked to the fighting force who used them. In recent times, no blade is a better example of this fame than the Fairbairn-Sykes dagger. Shanghai knife-fighting experiments were the inspiration for the blade, created especially for Commando soldiers during World War II, and it continues to embody elite military units worldwide.
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Tony on Tony
A bit about me. I always knew that I would write. I knew that nothing would stop me. I always loved stories, I always found that books engaged me like nothing else, and helped me to make sense of the world.
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Smithfield ABC
There was a sign at Fred's, and as the gym emptied near closing time I stood up looking at it. It was placed between a posed black and white photograph of Sonny Liston and a picture of a dozen Cuban kids sparring in a ring with ropes like snapped elastic.
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Tony on Max
I have loved crime fiction my whole life and I know that the very best of it honours the form while adding something fresh, an unexpected twist. That's what I tried to do with The Murder Bag every step of the way.
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Tony on London
My first job in journalism was at New Musical Express (that's a shot of me with Bruce Springsteen above, when we were young and stepping out into the New York night wearing only our vests) but my first piece of journalism that didn't involve hanging out with rock stars, was soon after I left the NME, when I was embedded with the Vice Squad at 27 Savile Row, West End Central.
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