The Judas Sheep by Stuart Pawson

First Line: The tyres of the Rolls-Royce hissed on the wet road as it pulled into the kerb, splashing dirty water against the legs of the old woman on the pavement.

 

Detective Inspector Charlie Priest of the East Pennine (Yorkshire) force has his official sick leave brought to an end when Mrs. Norris's chauffeur is found shot to death and Mrs. Norris goes missing. What's the big deal? Mrs. Norris's husband is an American tobacco tycoon, that's the big deal, and what's even stranger is that Mr. Norris doesn't seem to care that she's missing. The police haven't even come to grips with this investigation when another jurisdiction asks for Charlie's help with a drug smuggling operation. 

 

As Charlie gets deeper into both cases, he realizes that they are connected... and that he'll have to tread very carefully indeed if he's to bring them both to a successful conclusion.

 

~

 

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.

The Judas Sheep by Stuart Pawson

ISBN: 9780749009380

Allison & Busby © 1996

Paperback, 384 pages

 

Police Procedural, #3 D.I. Charlie Priest mystery

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap

The Mushroom Man by Stuart Pawson

First Line: Father Tudor Harcourt had a problem.

The worst kind of case on which Detective Inspector Charlie Priest can work?  Anything involving children, and that's just what's been dumped right in his lap. The eight-year-old daughter of local businessman Miles Dewhurst has gone missing, and it's as if she's vanished in a puff of smoke. Priest and his team fear the worst. Charlie's suspicions focus on Dewhurst himself, but until they uncover more evidence nothing can really be done except to continue to look for the little girl.

Not that Charlie has time on his hands to begin with, since local clergymen are dropping like flies. The most recent victim had a picture of a mushroom left beside his body, and the press quickly dubs the killer "The Mushroom Man." It seems like something more than coincidence ties the clergymen together, but until Priest and his team can get their first lead, they all feel as though they're merely spinning their wheels. Is it any wonder that Charlie wishes he had time to spend courting Annabelle, a luscious bishop's widow?

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!

The Mushroom Man by Stuart Pawson

ISBN: 9780749083854

Allison and Busby © 2004

Mass Market Paperback, 408 pages

Police Procedural, #2 DI Charlie Priest mystery

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap 

A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear

Title: A Lesson in Secrets
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
ISBN: 9780061727672
Publisher: Harper, 2011
Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, Private Investigator, #8 Maisie Dobbs mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Amazon Vine

First Line: Maisie Dobbs had been aware of the motor car following her for some time. 

It's the summer of 1932, and Maisie Dobbs accepts an undercover assignment as a lecturer at a private college in Cambridge. It seems Scotland Yard and the Secret Service want her on campus to monitor any activities "not in the interests of the Crown." Their major focus is on controversial pacifist and college founder Greville Liddicote, but when he is found murdered, Maisie knows that she must conduct her own investigation into this as well.

This eighth book in the series finds Maisie at a crossroads. She has inherited some money and wants to use it wisely to benefit those for whom she cares deeply. She also finds herself open to new experiences, so she's ripe for the picking when Scotland Yard and the Secret Service come knocking.

With Maisie in Cambridge during the week and only in London on weekends, I found myself missing her assistant, Billy. Moreover, I found a subplot involving Sandra, a young woman who'd been in service to Maisie's former employers, very interesting. With Maisie spending much of her time on the road, this particular subplot wasn't fleshed out as fully as I'd hoped.

The major focus of the book is twofold: Britain's sometimes less than stellar conduct during World War I, and Maisie's discovery that the Nazi Party has been making inroads in England-- as some of her fellow lecturers show up regularly to party meetings. To her surprise, Scotland Yard and the Secret Service think her reports on the Nazi Party have absolutely no significance.

This emphasis on foreshadowing World War II, although promising great things in future books, made Maisie less interesting as a character. Even so, this is a strong, excellent series featuring an unconventional heroine. I look forward to Maisie's further adventures.

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The Picasso Scam by Stuart Pawson

Title: The Picasso Scam
Author: Stuart Pawson
ISBN: 0749083905, Allison & Busby, 2004
Genre: Police Procedural, #1 DI Charlie Priest mystery
Rating: A

First Line: Red was no longer my favourite colour.

With The Picasso Scam I once again found myself sampling a new-to-me series about which I've heard so many good things for years. If I intended having a tombstone, my epitaph would probably read "Here lies Cathy. She started 2,789 mystery series and finished 99 of them." On the surface that sounds rather bad, but I prefer to think that I've always got plenty to look forward to in my reading!

In this book I met Detective Inspector Charlie Priest of the Heckley nick (police station) in West Yorkshire. He's been an inspector for a record-breaking length of time because he can be somewhat unorthodox. (Not many police officers would chase a Rolls Royce down a country lane in their ancient, wheezing Cortina.)

A bit of sheep stealing leads Charlie to believe that a local businessman is involved in international art fraud, and once he realizes that doctored heroin also plays a part, there's nothing he won't do to bring the villains to justice.

One of the things I enjoyed so much in The Picasso Scam was Charlie himself. Being a detective inspector for so long has turned him into the fatherly eye of the Heckley nick:

Crime has no closed season, no bank holidays, no days off. We are busy round the clock. My job is to manage the troops, make sure the paperwork gets done properly and liaise in every direction at once. Meantime I like to get out on the streets as much as possible, which usually means in my own time. We all have our pet priorities, and mine, next to putting crooks behind bars, is looking after, developing and encouraging the lowly constables in my charge.

There is a feeling of family amongst the police officers in this book, which makes it different from most police procedurals I've read. These men have their quirks, but they all genuinely care for each other. This is a refreshing change from many similarly themed books which always seem to have a complete jerk in charge that everyone has to work around to get the job done.

There are also glimmers of humor in The Picasso Scam, as when Charlie meets a well-endowed receptionist and thinks, "Oh, to have the eyes of a chameleon, one to look here, the other to look there" or when he walks into a pub and observes "their pipe-smoke made the air so thick that the flies were hang-gliding." But along with the family spirit and humor, there is danger. Charlie is after a businessman with a shady past, and at first he doesn't realize to what lengths that person will go to stop the investigation.

Probably because he does spend so much time teaching the constables in his care, Charlie takes the time to explain to readers why his area of England is so rife with crime, and what happens when the police crack down on one area of crime, yet he never comes across as preachy.

Reading The Picasso Scam was a sort of lesson in crime given by an engaging copper who has his priorities straight. Charlie Priest is a man who observes much (he sits down for a chat with depressed secretaries and stops by the hospital to talk with a teenage drug user who's had a leg amputated), does much, and shares his knowledge and experience with others. It's the best way to survive, to enjoy the job, and to do that job well.

Bring on Charlie's next case! I'm looking forward to reading it.