To The Last Page

Ken McNutt is a radio DJ for Capital Live!, a controversial and outspoken presenter who uses his program as a platform for airing his views on world current affairs, everything from Palestine to football. The book opens with a wedding reception, one of the traditional methods of introducing us to a wide cast of characters (Banks has already used the funeral at the start of The Crow Road ), various friends and ex-lovers of Ken, who are gathered to celebrate the wedding of his friends Kul and Faye at their apartment in Canary Wharf. As the party falls into riotous behaviour, we become aware of the significance of the day. It is September 11th 2001. The title Dead Air  comes from the description of London airspace in the immediate period after Sept 11, when flights were diverted from flying over London, an ominous and portentously unsettling time, during which Ken is not afraid to court controversy with his attacks on George W Bush. It also refers to a pause on the radio when there is no