The Picasso Scam

That is what Detective Inspector Charlie Priest is. This is the first book in the series and I did read it out of sequence a bit since I've read two or three later books. I appreciated getting in on the ground floor so-to-speak and learning a bit more about Charlie Priest. He is such a likeable and affable character with a cunning mind and a wonderful sense of humour. Ths book has a number of story lines in it, and it gets a bit difficult to follow them all at times. We have drugs, insurance fraud, bank robbery, murder, police corruption and art forgeries all in one book. Charlie finds himself in grave danger a couple of times while he tries to pursue one particular criminal. That was the main story thread, but there was a lot going on, which is probably like what a police officer's life is really like. They don't usually have the luxury of being on only one case at a time. Anyway, I'm enjoying this series, and I really like Charlie. The book made me laugh numerous times with Charlie's biting wit. He is so real it's quite astounding.

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 h

Stuart Pawson had a career as a mining engineer He followed this with a spell working for the probation service, before he became a full-time writer. He lives in the pleasant waterside village of Fairburn in Yorkshire. The plot revolves around a now well respected businessman, a pillar of the community everyone might say. That is everyone except Inspector Charlie Priest who has more than an inkling that he was involved in international art fraud. But if he takes his suspicions to the limit he is taking on an enemy with friends in high places. Charlie Priest is not one to be put off by a man's status in society and when he comes up with a link with heroin, not threat, no matter from what source or how high up is going to stop him. Art fraud is one thing pedaling lethal drugs is another . . .

This is the first offering in a series of 12 (so far) Charlie Priest books by Pawson. As an afficionado of British mysteries, I find these among the best. The plots are multi-faceted and the main character is interesting. Give this one a try and if you like it go on to the others in the series.