Stuart PawsonRezensionen

A good holiday read. Detective Inspector Charlie Priest is a rounded, likeable character working in a northern town, Heckley. This saga involves rude words on a commemorative plaque, the murder of the town's less-than-honest mayor and a race horse or two. It's an involving enough story, well-told. But a week after having read it, I can't remember much about it.

Chill Factor by Stuart Pawson is the seventh book in his DI Charlie Priest series of police procedurals. In this one a salesman, Tony Silkstone, confesses to murdering the man who raped and killed his wife and Charlie’s bosses are eager to convict and close the case. Silkstone has become a media darling and a sympathetic figure to the public, so a year or two in prison would most likely be all he would get. But DI Charlie Priest is not convinced that things are as simple as it seems.

This was a villain that I was very happy to see Charlie working on as he had been raping and killing for years and often chose quite young victims. His newest method of escaping detection had his leaving traces of other men on the victim and seeing others getting charged for his crimes. His huge ego and feelings of superiority had him very angry that Charlie wasn’t falling for his cover story and was continuing to dig away at his past.

Although not my favorite of the series so far, Chill Factor was still a very readable crime story and spending time with the upbeat Charlie is always fun. Other than working on his case, Charlie is also showing signs of being ready for a new relationship and I am looking forward to seeing how this develops. In this series, author, Stuart Pawson gives us a touch of humour, fully realized characters and interesting story lines that are set against the backdrop of Yorkshire. I, for one, find this a very entertaining series.

Some By Fire by Stuart Pawson is the 6th book in the Charlie Priest series of police procedurals. The book opens by taking us back twenty years when Priest was a newly promoted sergeant on the Leeds police force when he was called to the scene of a tragic yet deliberately set fire that claimed seven lives. Now Priest is a DI and when new evidence is brought to light Charlie is pleased to re-open the investigation. Along with this cold case, he and his crew are hunting some vicious burglars who target senior citizens.

With the new evidence and a combination of luck and good detective work, both investigations are soon closing in on the guilty parties. Of course, this is also when the villains can be the most dangerous and Charlie and his team must be on their toes in order to tie up all the pieces and see justice served.

I am a big fan of this series, and have become quite invested in the character of DI Charlie Priest. He is a sensitive, serious copper who hides his softer side behind banter and quips. He encourages his team members and readily shares the spotlight with them. I am already looking forward to the next Charlie Priest procedural.

Deadly Friends by Stuart Pawson is the 5th book in the DI Charlie Priest series of police procedurals. This is a series that I have come to count on to deliver a well crafted story that will draw me in and hold my interest throughout. The author provides a good mixture of both Priest’s private life and his work life. Charlie works with a team of investigators that help to keep the interest level high as they trade quips and banter yet work well together.

In this outing they are investigating a rape case where they know who the rapist is, but, unfortunately, it comes down to a “he said, she said” situation. Charlie learns that this rapist has struck before and really wants to get him off the streets before he strikes again. Charlie is also pulled into a murder case of a young doctor when the chief investigator suffers a broken leg. At first this case seems fairly open and shut, but when they find that their main suspect has a strong alibi, they must start again at the beginning. There are also developments in Charlie’s personal life that I am sure will have consequences in future books.

The biggest mystery here is why is I let so much time pass between these books. It is an excellent series and although Deadly Friends isn’t the strongest book of the ones I have read, I found it to be another entertaining story about DI Priest and his team.

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Last Reminder by Stuart Pawson is the fourth book featuring D.I. Charlie Priest in a British Police Procedural series. I have enjoyed every book in this series as the author is able to deliver imaginative stories that give the reader a nice balance between the mystery, the police business and Charlie’s own personal life. Peppered with humor and inventive dialogue, Charlie and his crew are likeable and intelligent.

This particular entry opens with Charlie being called to a suspicious death. The deceased was a financial advisor and very quickly it becomes known that this advisor caused many of his clients to lose their life savings in a poor investment scheme involving diamonds. The trail leads the police to a father and son duo of drug dealers and an unsolved gold bullion heist.

Last Reminder flows evenly and the story is interesting. The characters are well drawn, the author supplies sub-plots that feature both other police business as well as Charlies’ on-going struggles with his romantic relationship with Annabelle Wilberforce. All in all, Last Reminder was solidly entertaining and I look forward to continuing on with this series in the future.

I loved the first two Charlie Priest police procedurals by Stuart Pawson so much that it came as a shock to realize how long it had been since I'd read them. I quickly picked up this third book in the series to rectify the matter. The Judas Sheep brought me right back into the story of one of my favorite coppers.

Stuart Pawson knows how to create multi-layered mysteries with excellent pacing, and his writing style draws me right into the story, but-- as is the case with any character-driven reader-- it's Charlie Priest himself who's the shining beacon in this series. He's a good investigator with an excellent team around him, and they are all familiar with his little quirks. (Like to be called by your title? You can count on Charlie to make a point of calling you by name. Several times.) His irreverent sense of humor is a thing of beauty, and I adore Charlie's similes.

In The Judas Sheep, it's good to see Charlie taking his health scare seriously. Of course, it helps that there's a new woman in his life, so learning that there are actually perks to not living for his job comes as a pleasant surprise to him. But if there's one sure thing about Charlie, it's that he's passionate about justice, and he wants justice not only for the dead but for the living, too. Most police in search of results would not treat a dead woman's sister the way Charlie does, and I love the character all the more for it.

If you enjoy police procedurals with engrossing mysteries, a sense of humor, and a wonderful main character, you can't go wrong with Stuart Pawson's Charlie Priest series. If you want to give the series a try-- and I hope you will-- start at the beginning with The Picasso Scam. You're in for some fun.½

The Judas Sheep by Stuart Pawson is the third book in his Charlie Priest series. I find this a thoroughly enjoyable “procedural” series. DI Priest enjoys his work and his home life is relatively peaceful and happy. Although Charlie is still on sick leave after the events of the last book, he can’t help but be interested in his team’s current case which appears to be a murder, but the corpse has not been found. This corpse eventually does show up in a very macabre way. Meanwhile Charlie has been drawn into another case involving smuggling and drugs. When a connection is made with these two cases, Charlie finds himself investigating some very dangerous people.

While this book didn’t quite reach the heights of the first two books, it is nevertheless a fast-paced, interesting story involving policework in Yorkshire, England. The author uses a certain amount of humor to keep his story from turning too dark. Although the plot relied a little too much on coincidence, The Judas Sheep was another good entry in this series.

A mini-celebrity, said to be dating one of the Royals, is picked to open a new shopping mall, but when she does it is discovered that someone has defaced a commemorative plaque with an obscenity. Detective Inspector Charlie Priest is ordered to investigate, but soon the trivial incident takes a back seat to his investigation of the murder of the town mayor, a prime instigator of the shopping mall project and someone with more than a few secrets…. I thought this was the first in a series of mysteries set in Yorkshire, but it turns out to be the most recent in a multi-volume series. It is told in the first person, which means the reader only knows what DI Priest knows and only develops an understanding of the characters through his eyes. I found the plot to be okay, but the fact that it took me 6 days to read this book indicates that I wasn’t very impressed; meh.

Entertaining murder mystery as always. I fell for the red herring clue about the murderer's identity but did work out some of the final denouement from the clues provided.

Another cracking Charlie Priest story. Someone has defaced a plaque before a new shopping mall is officially opened in Heckley by a local celebrity causing red-faces all round. Charlie is assigned the case which seems minor until the mayor who was present turns up shot dead in his house. Clever plotting and engaging characters keep you engrossed until the end.

Another cracking Charlie Priest story. An apparently well-liked doctor is murdered and it proves difficult to find anyone who would dislike him enough to kill him, meantime Charlie's love life seems to have a cloud on the horizon in the shape of a potential rival. The author cleverly weaves all these strands together bringing in characters who live off the page. Highly recommended.

Another Charlie Priest story with interesting characters, witty dialogue and clever plotting.

Staurt Pawson's series of crime novels featuring Detective Inspector Charlie Priest has described a sine-like path, notching up notable highs yet also occasionally plumbing some fairly lamentable depths. 'Over the Edge' is, however, a welcome return to mid-season form, and Pawson seems to be back to his impressive best.

The plot encompasses several well-developed themes which Pawson manages deftly, maintaining the tension without ever compromising the story's plausibility. He manages to cover a lot of ground, too: gang warfare, sex-trafficking, illegal car-racing, mountaineering rivalries and, for the first time in any novel that I have read, shahtoosh smuggling, and all of this takes place in West Yorkshire.

Charlie Priest is a very believable detective, being both empathetic and slightly flawed, and his team at Heckley CID are all equally realistic. They also seem to tell each other even feebler and less tasteful jokes than my colleagues in Finchley Tax Office used to stoop to, which is saying quite something.

Charlie is assigned a murder case with few clues and discovers there may be a clever serial killer at large whose victims have no obvious common links. Cracking dialogue and characters allied with interesting Yorkshire locations and clever plotting keep the pages turning. Recommended.

Great first novel and character in Charlie Priest, full of humerous dialogue and interesting characters. I'm really looking forward to Charlie's future adventures.

Staurt Pawson's series of crime novels featuring Detective Inspector Charlie Priest has described a sine-like path, notching up notable highs yet also occasionally plumbing some fairly lamentable depths. 'Over the Edge' is, however, a welcome return to mid-season form, and Pawson seems to be back to his impressive best.

The plot encompasses several well-developed themes which Pawson manages deftly, maintaining the tension without ever compromising the story's plausibility. He manages to cover a lot of ground, too: gang warfare, sex-trafficking, illegal car-racing, mountaineering rivalries and, for the first time in any novel that I have read, shahtoosh smuggling, and all of this takes place in West Yorkshire.

Charlie Priest is a very believable detective, being both empathetic and slightly flawed, and his team at Heckley CID are all equally realistic. They also seem to tell each other even feebler and less tasteful jokes than my colleagues in Finchley Tax Office used to stoop to, which is saying quite something.½

The Mushroom Man by Stuart Pawson is the second in the Charlie Priest series set in Yorkshire and I enjoyed this one every bit as much as the first one. DI Charlie Priest is working a couple of trying cases, both involving children. Meanwhile a serial killer, dubbed the Mushroom Man, is targeting men of the cloth, and although this isn’t a case that Charlie and his crew have been directly working on, some dark events eventually pull Charlie into the hunt.

This is an excellent police procedural series with the author taking great care in showing the day to day focus of the team as they work through the clues. As these cases involve children which can be extremely difficult to read about, I was glad that the author chose to highlight the investigation not the crime. Charlie Priest is a great character, he has both a good working relationship with his team and shares a friendship with most of them as well, his immediate supervisor is both a friend and a professional. The storyline was interesting and at times quite intense. I appreciated the short breaks that Charlie took from solving crime to work on his growing relationship with the beautiful widow Annabelle Wilberforce.

I owe my grandson a big thank you for pulling The Mushroom Man down from my shelves for me to read this year which obliged me to also read the first book. This is a great series and now that I have the first two under my belt, I look forward to continuing on.

I've been spending some time this summer picking up where I left off with several mystery series that I've enjoyed in the past. After reading The Mushroom Man, the second book in Pawson's Charlie Priest series set in Yorkshire, I tried to remember how long it had been since I'd read the first, The Picasso Scam. Five years, that's how long. I can't believe it, especially since I clearly remember enjoying that first book so much. After falling under Charlie's spell every bit as deeply as I did the first time, I'm going to have to make sure another five years does not go by before I read the third. Stuart Pawson writes excellent mysteries!

The two separate investigations are both very strong. Many writers would have chosen to separate them into two books, but Pawson knows what he's doing. Oh boy, does he know. In some ways it almost feels as if he's teasing readers because clear clues are provided all along the way. All we have to do is see them for what they are. Both cases do not focus on the actual crimes, and I was grateful for that, especially in the case of the missing child. No, the focus in both is on the investigation itself and in showing how patient, dogged footwork-- and a tiny dash of intuition-- can bring a murderer to justice.

Charlie Priest himself is a marvelous character, and one of my favorites. He went to art school, wears artsy fartsy ties, and doesn't particularly care for high brow music. He has a great relationship with his team, partly because he's always out there working with them and partly because they know exactly what he expects from each and every one of them. With two such engrossing cases for readers to attempt to solve, his bumbling efforts to show Annabelle Wilberforce how much he is growing to care for her are a welcome-- and endearing-- respite.

How did I fare in deducing the killers? One out of two. I was laser-sharp at spotting the very first clue Pawson planted for the missing child, but I was a dismal failure in the second investigation. In fact, when I learned why the clergymen had been targeted, the answer was so blindingly obvious that I could have slapped myself upside the head. Having this much fun reading a mystery should be illegal. Since it's not-- and before anyone in authority changes that-- I'd better move on to the next Charlie Priest novel!½

The Picasso Scam by Stuart Pawson is the first in his series about D.I. Charlie Priest and I am ashamed to say it has sat on my shelves since before I joined LT. Set in Yorkshire this mystery starts with a report about a conspiracy to forge famous artworks, but when D.I. Priest comes to the realization that this case is linked to a particularly lethal type of heroin that is making itself known in his area, he finds himself hot on the trail of a local business man who appears to have his fingers in many pies.

Set in the fictional town of Heckley, Yorkshire, Priest and his crew like to complain that they spend most of their time investigating shop lifters and sheep stealers. I liked the fact that this case wasn’t solved in a matter of days, in fact from the beginning to the end, a time span of a couple of years had gone by with the case at times simmering on the back burner and at others being brought to the forefront.

Charlie Priest is an appealing character and we learn just enough about him in this first book to make me want to learn more. Overall a well written police procedural with a darkly humorous undertone that I look forward to continuing on with. Luckily I picked up the first three in the series at the time of purchase so I can enjoy the next one sooner rather than later.

Another solid performance from Staurt Pawson, once more featuring the very Likeable Detective Inspector Charlie Priest.

The book opens with the discovery of the body of Alfred Armitage, an old man who had been found electrocuted in his own home. The initial assumption is that he has committed suicide, but there are certain oddities that cause the police to look a little more deeply into Mr Armitage's past. It turns out that since the death of his wife a few years earlier he had taken to drinking heavily and had been prone to the occasional bigoted rant about the state of the country and his beliefs about the root of the problems. Just another pub bore, really (and I am all too familiar with them from the puib i used to frequent in Highgate!). However, despite the fairly modest circumstances of his small house and dowdy clothing, it transpires that he had over £340,000 in the bank.

Priest and his team start to delve further until another murder occurs, this time of a lowlife character who had been a player in Heckley's criminal fringe. This murder has all the trappings of a vigilante's campaign, with the body strung up in a humiliating pose. Are the murders connected? And, if so, how?

Pawson's books are always based in plausibility and the detective work to unravel these crimes is solid rather than spectacular. However, the effect is always pleasing, and this proves to be another creditable addition to the oeuvre.

You always know where you are with Stuart Pawson: strong, plausible plots and empathetic characters. He doesn't rely upon quirky idiosyncrasies to carry the story and his main protagonist, Detective Inspector Charlie Priest, is immensely likeable.

In this eighth outing Priest thinks he might be up against a serial killer, responsible for at least three murders in and around Heckley, the imaginary Yorkshire town where the series is set. As if this wasn't worrying enough it seems that the victims are being selected entirely at random.

Priest finds himself summoned down to New Scotland Yard where he is advised that there might actually be a further three victims from a couple of years ago, all around Greater London. Priest and his team carry on their investigation against mounting odds.

The resolution is very well-constructed, and the clues and pointers are all there. In fact, my only cavill against this novel was Pawson's major solecism in stating that the town of Loughborough, where one character lives, is in Nottinghamshire. As a Loughburian and proud Leicestershire man it was almost a struggle to carry on reading!

But that was the only flaw. I don't think that this was Pawson's best book but that still leaves great scope for it to be rather better than the average crime novel, which this certainly was.

A welcome return to top form here for Stuart Pawson. After the previous novel in this series I had wondered whether it was about time for his Detective Inpsector Priest to think about retiring. However, here Pawson is back at his impressive best.
The plot has several well-developed themes which Pawson controls deftly, keeping the tension without ever compromising the story's plausibility. And he covers a lot of ground - gang warfare, sex-trafficking, illegal car racing, shahtoosh smuggling and mountaineering rivalries.
It helps that Charlie Priest is an immensely believable detective - empathetic and flawed - and his team at Heckley CID are equally realistic.

Another enjoyable novel from Stuart Pawson though I do feel that he is starting to lose momentum. His protagonist Detective Inspector Charlie priest must be nearing retirement now, and perhaps that would be no bad thing.
As always, the plot is well constructed, and the characters plausible but i am starting to wonder whether I really care any more. perhaps I have just read too many of his books within too short a period - if i read them a year or so apart, as they were published perhaps i might summon more enthusiasm.½

A return to form from Pawson, and all the customary characteristics are here in abundance: well-structured plot, plausible and empathetic characters, enticing descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside, a handful of arty references and the usual sprinkling of dreadful jokes.
Set around Christmas and New Year from 1998/99 it starts off with the murder of a cosmetic surgeon in a luxurious apartment block in Heckley's more affluent quarter. Meanwhile a part-time barmaid claims that she had been raped on Christams Eve.
Detective Inspector Priest has his hands full over the holiday period, and to make things worse he is missing Annabelle, his partner of five years, who has stayed in Surrey with her sister. All in all he is not in a great mood ...½

Not as good as Pawson at his best but still very enjoyable. This particular chapter in the Charlie Priest sequence runs true to form with a well-structured plot and highly believable characters, but somehow something was missing, and I didn't feel the same sense of amusement and engagement that I normally experience when reading Pawson's boos.
However, I have been reading them out of sequence, and I know that I have enjoyed some of the books published after this one, so it may just have been a temporary blip. After all, I still enjoyed the book and am glad I read it; it was merely a little disappointing as I know that Pawson can (and, indeed, frequently has) write even better novels than this.