Solving time: 5 minutes

A welcome return for Paul to the Saturday slot. For a prize puzzle this was surprisingly straightforward but still very enjoyable. It also made me very hungry with so many foody answers; I’ve highlighted the relevant answer phrases but several non-thematic answers (e.g. 12ac) had thematic clues. The cluing (or if you prefer, clueing) was really excellent: very tight with smooth and natural surface readings, and free from the solecisms, inaccuracies and clumsiness that plague so many Guardian crosswords.

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A murder mystery this week – sounds a good one. The preamble promises a hunt for not only the murder victim, but also the location of the victim and the investigator of the case. Once these have been determined it’s on to isolate the perpetrator from 5 (to be identified) suspects, with their murderous means and motive.  Is the puzzle number significant – This could be very interesting?

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