7-across – Mick __, Matthew Scudder’s criminal friend in the Lawrence Block novels : BALLOU

8-across – Elon Musk’s rocket technology company : SPACEX

9-across – Author of Persuasion and Northanger Abbey : JANE

10-across – French delicacy made from duck or goose liver : FOIEGRAS

11-across – __ House, museum and Grade I listed building in York : FAIRFAX

13-across – See 15 : HOUSE

15-across – Dickens novel featuring Esther Summerson : BLEAK

17-across – Port city on the River Avon : BRISTOL

20-across – __ Theron, star of Atomic Blonde : CHARLIZE

21-across – Adherent of an ancient Indian religious tradition : JAIN

22-across – See 2 Down : ORIGIN

23-across – See 9 : AUSTEN

1-down – Resort city in Andalucía : MALAGA

2-down – Jeff Bezos’s space exploration company : BLUE

3-down – Felicity __, star of Transamerica : HUFFMAN

4-down – District of Rome on the Tyrrhenian Sea : OSTIA

5-down – Professor __, character in Voltaire’s Candide : PANGLOSS

6-down – French city known for its 24-hour motor race : LEMANS

12-down – Popular term for a cause of conflict between drivers : ROADRAGE

14-down – Aberdeenshire village that’s a Highland Games host : BRAEMAR

16-down – Pakistani city in the Punjab : LAHORE

18-down – Jamie __, TV chef : OLIVER

19-down – Roman goddess of the hunt : DIANA

21-down – __ stick, a type of incense : JOSS

7-across – Trinidad’s smaller partner? : TOBAGO

8-across – The second book of the Old Testament : EXODUS

9-across – Highway linking Chicago and Los Angeles : ROUTE66

10-across – Ligurian city and port : GENOA

11-across – City in Washington State, sometimes known as Hooptown : SPOKANE

13-across – An animal from which ermine is sourced? : STOAT

15-across – Neurotoxic protein used in cosmetic procedures : BOTOX

17-across – See 3 Down : ALLTHAT

19-across – River and department in France, known as the scene of an extended battle in the first world war : SOMME

20-across – Baltic republic, capital Tallinn : ESTONIA

23-across – Resort city on the Yucatán Peninsula : CANCUN

24-across – __ Grimshaw, Coronation Street character played by Sue Cleaver : EILEEN

1-down – Bohemian district of London and New York : SOHO

2-down – Béla __, Hungarian composer and ethnomusicologist : BARTOK

3-down – Sellar and Yeatman’s history of 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates? : 1O66AND

4-down – See 16 : MEN

5-down – A __, Jonathan Swift’s way of Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country? : MODEST

6-down – Akira __, Japanese film-maker whose works include Ran : KUROSAWA

12-down – See 5 : PROPOSAL

14-down – A poem by Tennyson, a play by Phillips or a novel by Joyce? : ULYSSES

16-down – Novella by John Steinbeck : OFMICE

18-down – Name given to deliberately provocative internet commentators : TROLLS

21-down – St __, Cornish town north of Penzance : IVES

22-down – See 16 : AND

7-across – The Zimbabwean capital : HARARE

8-across – Slow __, the first of Mick Herron’s Jackson Lamb novels : HORSES

9-across – French city on the Rhone : LYON

10-across – See 1 Down : REINDEER

11-across – See 17 : INTHEUK

13-across – Dame Denise __, heptathlete and broadcaster : LEWIS

15-across – Textile weave characterised by diagonal ribs : TWILL

17-across – Sex Pistols song from 1976 : ANARCHY

20-across – ABBA hit – and movie? : MAMMAMIA

21-across – Tuscan city on the River Arno : PISA

23-across – Dr __, the real Mr Hyde? : JEKYLL

24-across – Peninsula made up of Spain and Portugal : IBERIA

1-down – Controversial Netflix hit starring Richard Gadd : BABY

2-down – __ Montana, Miley Stewart’s eponymous alter ego? : HANNAH

3-down – Madeleine __, jazz singer known for her 2004 album Careless Love : PEYROUX

4-down – __ Potok, author remembered especially for The Chosen : CHAIM

5-down – The Prime of Miss Jean __, novel by Muriel Spark : BRODIE

6-down – __ Grey, protagonist in the TV series, Grey’s Anatomy : MEREDITH

12-down – Connecticut city, home to Yale University : NEWHAVEN

14-down – See 19 : INPARIS

16-down – 19th century slang term for British sailors : LIMEYS

18-down – Talented antihero of Patricia Highsmith novels? : RIPLEY

19-down – Netflix comedy series starring Lily Collins : EMILY

22-down – Edward __, academic known especially for Orientalism : SAID

6-across – Angela __, deputy prime minister since 2024 : RAYNER

7-across – __ Wojciechowski, Mickey Haller’s investigator in the TV version of The Lincoln Lawyer : CISCO

9-across – Eurasian mountain goat : IBEX

10-across – Cathedral city in Pembrokeshire : STDAVIDS

11-across – Dominic __, twice deputy prime minister : RAAB

13-across – See 12 Down : OBERLAND

15-across – The role of Ishmael, Holden Caulfield and Jean Louise Finch? : NARRATOR

17-across – Dutch town and cheese : EDAM

19-across – Cathedral city on the River Wye : HEREFORD

21-across – Hyman __, the Corleone family’s business partner and enemy : ROTH

22-across – Nick __, deputy prime minister for half a decade : CLEGG

23-across – Thérèse __, very briefly deputy prime minister : COFFEY

1-down – Rocky __, fictional boxer : BALBOA

2-down – Fort __, popular name for the US Bullion Depository : KNOX

3-down – John __, deputy prime minister for a decade : PRESCOTT

4-down – Soviet-built ballistic missile associated with the first Gulf war : SCUD

5-down – Oliver __, deputy prime minister to Rishi Sunak : DOWDEN

8-down – Andalusian city – and its oranges : SEVILLE

12-down – Alpine region of the Swiss canton of Bern : BERNESE

14-down – The wife of Orpheus : EURYDICE

16-down – The A in CIA : AGENCY

18-down – Clement __, the only deputy prime minister to become prime minister : ATTLEE

20-down – Slang term for a Cornish pasty : OGGY

21-down – The Great __ Valley, feature of east Africa : RIFT

7-across – The sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped : CATRIONA

8-across – See 16 Down : TULL

9-across – ITV series based on the memoir of jewel thief, __ Hannington : JOAN

10-across – Gesture of celebration originally used in sport : FISTBUMP

11-across – Swedish city, home to the oldest university in Scandinavia : UPPSALA

13-across – Italian city known for its pesto sauce : GENOA

15-across – See 1 Down : ITOJE

17-across – First woman to host the BBC’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show : ZOEBALL

20-across – Climbing plant known for its lilac flowers : WISTERIA

21-across – Name given to accords signed by Israel and the PLO in 1993 and 1995 : OSLO

23-across – Stand for a coffin : BIER

24-across – Milton’s epic poem : PARADISE

1-down – England and Saracens lock : MARO

2-down – Seventh planet from the sun : URANUS

3-down – Popular name for national park surrounding Great Yarmouth : NORFOLK

4-down – __ Buchanan, character in The Great Gatsby : DAISY

5-down – Strong and __, Theresa May’s campaign slogan in 2017 : STABLE

6-down – __ line, also known in shipping as the load line : PLIMSOLL

12-down – __ Routledge, star of Keeping Up Appearances : PATRICIA

14-down – The capital of Guinea : CONAKRY

16-down – 18th century agricultural reformer or a 20th century rock band : JETHRO

18-down – See 3 : BROADS

19-down – The edible lining of animals’ stomachs : TRIPE

22-down – See 24 Across : LOST