Laughing Boy

Charlie Priest #8

by Stuart Pawson

A grey day in Heckley and all is not well. Colinette Jones is the prettiest girl in athletic, charming and with everything to live for. What's more, she's never late home. So when she fails to show up for her supper, and a body is discovered half a mile from her house. D.I. Charlie Priest knows he's got to make the house call that every mother dreads.
Elsewhere, another woman breaks with routine in the most horrific of ways - found dead at the side of an unlit lane. Plain Laura Heeley, married to the boy from the next street, two kids within three years and a mundane existence punctuated by episodes of Emmerdale and her twice-weekly visits to the bingo. A single stab wound is the only sign of violence.
What could connect the two women, save their unlikely demises? Could there be more to a spate of other similarly motiveless attacks than meets the eye? And what is the link with a tragic sixties rock star? Constricted by the foot and mouth crisis, the town takes on a claustrophobic air and Priest must trap the killer before he strikes again. But where to begin? Perhaps the fresh gales atop Britain's highest peaks might get the old grey matter working.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Stuart Pawson lived in Fairburn, Yorkshire, with his wife, Doreen.

After a career as a mining electrical engineer, he worked part-time for the probation service for five years, mediating between offenders and their victims. This gave him a good insight into the criminal justice system, and it was during this period that he started to write his first book, The Picasso Scam.

Stuart believed he must have some cowboy genes somewhere in his genome because he always had a strong affinity for the American West. His first visit to the USA was to work for a month at a Wyoming coalmine, and he holidayed over there many times. Although tone-deaf (some would say stone-deaf) he always thought it would be good fun to be a songwriter. The thought of composing a three-minute song as opposed to a 300-page book had a certain attraction. He managed to combine the two themes - song writing and the West - in the opening chapters of Laughing Boy, and he enjoyed writing that one immensely.

Reviews

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

TITLE: Laughing Boy by Stuart Pawson
PROTAGONIST: DI Charlie Priest
SETTING: Yorkshire, UK
SERIES: #8
RATING: 3.25
WHY: There have been a series of murders in the Yorkshire area that seem to have no motive and no connection to one another. DI Charlie Priest is put in charge of the investigation. There seems to be a link to an old American protest song, but that is tenuous at best. Most of the book took place in the station with Charlie's team trying to find connections; there was very little direct action. Frankly, it became tedious to see them keep chasing weak links. And somehow, in the end, Charlie has a flash of inspiration that ties it all together. A disappointment as far as plot but always enjoy Charlie's character.

[Spuddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of seemingly disconnected murders--the victims have different genders, different ages, and no apparent connection--leaves Charlie and his CID team in Heckley baffled. At first they aren't even sure they are connected at all, but once they realize that is the case, it gets even more weird. Then Charlie is summoned to London and finds out that "his" 3 murders may be connected to another series of 3 murders from a couple of years previously down there. Charlie is then put in charge of the whole investigation as "Acting Chief Inspector," all the while dreaming of early retirement. Or maybe not. There's nothing quite like the thrill of the chase, and if he can save the killer's next victim from that fate, Charlie will be glad he's not sitting at home reading with his feet up!

[R.Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a relief from reading so much 'heavy' stuff. AND, I couldn't put it down. It was very well-written and plotted, and the story was mysterious and intriguing. What more could a reader want??? Well, I gave it four stars, because I felt that I wanted some analysis of who these killers were and why they committed these crimes. After a spectacular catch of the criminal perpetrators, the book stops. Whaaat??

[Lucy Hayward · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story, but very much of its time

An interesting whodunnit that had supposedly been recently updated after being originally published over 20 years ago.....

The plot, characters and story are strong....but the blatant sexism and misogyny are difficult to ignore in 2025.

I'm a prolific reader of police procedurals and mysteries, but this made me cringe unfortunately.... A shame, because there are some great ideas and twists and turns in the action.

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good I literally cold not put it down. The DI Charlie Priest books are one of my favorite 10 authors. This book did not disappoint. Intriguing story line that involved the U.S. during the Vietnam era drawing it into a more current UK. I absolutely loved it.

[Mary Matroni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay mystery

I didn’t find the story to be very interesting or exciting. Suddenly it ended. The killer was caught with very little drama or action. The killings were random and just because the killer felt like it. Felt like the story was missing details.

[Margo Allore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent detective read. A couple of 'related' murders. Some good detective work, the interviews and then the breakthrough.

[Hag · Rating 5 out of 5]

The finale could have been longer. A bit of an epilogue on Priest’s last suspect/criminal? Still a great read.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read. I've driven along some of the roads too.

[Mj · Rating 2 out of 5]

SMH

The prologue has nothing to do with the story and is a red herring. The majority of the book is DCI Priest chasing nought. The ending is a cheat. Don't waste your time.

[Alistair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am really enjoying this series and highly recommend it to others who like gentle police procedure with a bit of human character interest.

The first chapter of this book deals with an American music band and could have been a short story in itself.
Would be 4.5 stars if Goodreads allowed that voting. (They SHOULD!)

[John Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story by one of my favourite authors who still manages to inject his Yorkshire wit into the books.
In this one watch out for the explanation of 'Eeebyegum'.
Its a long time since I've finished a book in a day. It must be my kind of reading ( plus being on holiday )

[Mapole]

There is at the beginning a poem written by Tim Roper ( 1944-1969)
I will be pleased to know who is Tim Roper ( You 're in the eye of the storm. This is the eye of the storm.)

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good police procedural, with an emphasis on the routine slog of police work and the working relationships among detectives. The banter among them was often sharp and funny.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

First read 27 December 2003.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still enjoying this series, light and pleasant. A good read.