Laughing Boy (Detective Inspector Charlie Priest Mystery) (Hardcover)

by Stuart Pawson (Author) "The tiny figure jerked across the stage like a clockwork matchstick man, dwarfed by the paraphernalia of the rock concert that surrounded him..." (more)
Key Phrases: incident room, assistant chief constable, white pickup, Tim Roper, Graham Allen, Inspector Priest (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
At first sight there's something anachronistic about Stuart Pawson's writing and his central character Inspector Charlie Priest - the first-person narration comes across as limited and inconsistent and Pawson sometimes seems strangely ignorant of the ways of the modern world. But these faults are quickly dispelled by the power of a story which is tautly paced and intriguingly realized. Away from the humdrum details of his life Charlie Priest manages to become that elusive literary animal, a detective who begins to live in the reader's mind, and as the story itself unfolds like an intricate origami it manages to reveal depths that are both surprising and delightful. Set during the foot-and-mouth crisis, Pawson's tale of a serial killer with a truly devious streak is sufficiently electrifying to hold the reader long enough for him to discover these depths. The standard of writing varies, and the tale hovers on the edge of quality fiction without ever quite declaring itself, sometimes feeling more like the basis for a screen version than a richly detailed world in its own right. But this is a crime novel well worth reading, and if Pawson continues with the series there's a good chance some real classics will emerge. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description
When Colinette Jones fails to return home and a body turns up half a mile from her house, DI Charlie Priest knows he has got to make the house call that every mother dreads. Elswehere, Laura Heeley is found dead in a country lane, a single stab wound the only sign of violence. What could connect these two women, apart from their untimely deaths? And what is the link with a tragic sixties rock star? In a town constricted by the foot and mouth outbreak, Priest must find the killer before he strikes again.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby LTD (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749005440
• ISBN-13: 978-0749005443
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,653,090 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stewart Pawson Just Keeps Getting Better, September 23, 2005

By	Vesta Irene (the Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Laughing Boy (Dectective Inspector Charles Priest Mystery) (Paperback)

LAUGHING BOY opens in 1969 California, a time of hippies and protesters. We meet Rock Singer Tim Roper and his band, but they are only the prologue as Tim is violently murdered.

Flash to Yorkshire in the present and murder is still the order of the day. Laura Heeley, an average thirty-eight-year-old mother of two, is stabbed in the back on the way home from bingo. Detective Inspector Charlie Priest and his team are, stumped except for a vague idea that her murder might be linked to the murder of teenager Robin Gillespie earlier. Then Colinette Jones, a popular and attractive student is strangled, her body dumped on the roadside.

Two females, one male, no connection to each other, however Charlie and his team soon begin to suspect the murders are part of a series, with more to come. And as they sift through red herrings and taunting letters they find a connection to long dead Tim Roper. The number of victims rises and it becomes clear to Priest that this could be his biggest challenge yet as he races against time to figure out what message the killer is trying to send through a childlike song Roper wrote for a friend's newborn a generation ago.

Stuart Pawson's police stories keep getting better and this, the eighth five star mystery in the series is one that held me captive for a whole Saturday. Not only does Pawson paint a good mystery, but his attention to detail, people and places, is second to none. His Detective Inspector Charlie Priest is both likable and flawed and an absolute delight to spend a weekend with.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Totally Engrossing Read, July 11, 2007

By	J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Laughing Boy (Dectective Inspector Charles Priest Mystery) (Paperback)

Stuart Pawson had a career as a mining engineer, followed by a spell working for the probation service, before he became a full-time writer. He lives in the village of Fairburn, in Yorkshire only about four or five miles from where I live myself. A place I regularly visit to look at the bird sanctuary there with all the water birds and a welcome pint in the Bay Horse.

This is the eighth book in the DI Charlie Priest series: When Colinette Jones fails to return home and a body turns up not more than half a mile from her house DI Priest knows he has to make that house call that every mother dreads, and every copper for that matter. Further a field Laura Heeley is also found dead down a country lane, the only sign of violence on the body, a single stab wound.

Is there a link between the two young women, apart, that is from their unfortunate death? And what if anything is the link with a sixties rock star? In a small town to all intents and purposes cut off by the foot and mouth outbreak DI Priest knows that he must apprehend the killer before he or she strikes again.