Anthony Quinn was born in Liverpool in 1964. From 1998 to 2013 he was the film critic for the Independent. His novels include The Rescue Man, which won the 2009 Authors' Club Best First Novel Award; Half of the Human Race; The Streets, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Walter Scott Prize; Curtain Call , which was a major feature film , released as The Critic , starring Ian McKellen and Gemma Arterton; Freya, Eureka, Our Friends in Berlin, London, Burning and Molly & the Captain . His most recent novel is The Mouthless Dead, based on a true-life murder , set in 1930s Liverpool.