Thanks to Picaroon, who's become a frequent Prize setter (maybe second only to Paul?) for this week's challenge.
Rather unusual grid, with 4 whole-column (15 character) down clues and no across clues longer than 10 characters. One of the long downs is an anagram, which might help to get started.
Hoped to spot a theme, but couldn't find one.
I enjoyed this puzzle. Not IMO quite at Picaroon's highest level, but a worthy Prize. Relatively quick solve (except for 17), not as difficult as the last couple of Prizes, which I found exceptionally tough. With the reduced difficulty and absence of theme, the puzzle somehow felt a bit lacking, though I've no "objective" criticism to offer. 😉
FOI 9, LOI 17, which took an inordinate amount of time for some reason.
No single COD stood out, will rank 14, 22, 23, 17 and 3 as co-favorites. Also enjoyed 13, 20 and 11.