Chill Factor

Charlie Priest #7

by Stuart Pawson

A confession too neat, a crime scene too perfect. Detective Priest senses something doesn't add up . . .

Priest is called to a shabby-looking house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. The front door is swinging open.

The body of a well-dressed man lies spread-eagled across the brown and cream kitchen tiles. His pristine white shirt is smeared with blood. A carving knife protrudes from his chest.

Another man is slumped in an armchair. Alive. He calmly pleads guilty to the murder.

Businessman Anthony Silkstone claims he was driven by revenge — the dead man killed his wife. But Priest isn’t buying it.

The confession is too easy, the crime scene too staged.

Priest is about to uncover a series of chilling secrets. But did these secrets warrant a death sentence?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

538 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

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

[Dave Morton]

I love these Charlie Priest stories. Pawson has a lovely touch, nice easy style, just enough humour, three-dimensional cops and villains, and all set in God's own country. What's not to like?

Inevitably, you compare Pawson and his detective with Robinson and misery-guts Banks and, for me, Pawson wins hands down.

Chill Factor was written almost twenty years ago, and already reads like a period piece, but I am thoroughly enjoying it, turning pages late into the Covid night. I have just learned that Pawson died in 2016, so his body of work is complete. Sad, but I've still got a few to go, and they're very re-readable.

Spoiler alert!
In Chill Factor, Priest thinks the suspect sex-criminal is collecting used condoms from the local lovers' lane and using the contents thereof to plant false DNA evidence inside his victims. Pretty nasty, but the scene in which the detective buys one hundred condoms (to test their 'performance' when flushed down a toilet) is priceless.

There is humour also, in a one-boy crime wave, which leaves uniformed police with egg on chins. But then Pawson kills off his 14-year-old criminal, crashing a car he has stolen, and not many tears are shed in the Heckley police station, that is for sure.

Lots to enjoy, including the ingenious plot.

[Spuddie]

I love a good British mystery, and this series featuring DI Charlie Priest was one of my favorite series that I discovered last year. This one in the series felt a little "off" to me, and a couple of things downright annoyed me (Charlie's apparent obsession with one of his DC's, for one thing...it was starting to read as being almost uncomfortable), but not enough to cause me to drop the series. I suspect Charlie will pull through and be back for more adventures sans Annette, who has moved on to a teaching job and married her widowed boyfriend.

One of the things I do enjoy about this series is that it depicts a normal, average, somewhat boring job being a police detective can be--it doesn't isolate "the one big case" from the everyday job of the main character. It has a much more realistic feel to it than many police procedurals.

[Jean Walton]

Once again DI Priest stands up for getting the truth and catching the real perpetrator and not taking the easy route to make the figures look good. One guy escapes but another is caught as much by his own arrogance as by Charlie's persistence. Sadly, despite his latest love being in the job herself, his work life once again destroys his love life.

[Richard]

I have enjoyed this series and the entries seem to get better. The crimes and plots are realistic as are the characters. I look forward to catching up on their lives, so much so that I think I will have a bacon sandwich for breakfast with sweet tea.

[Peter AvillEng]

Another thoroughly enjoyable novel

As usual I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more of his work. My friends have agreed that the series is excellent.

[Brian Gilbert]

Always a good entertaining read. Good mystery stories with loads of humour thrown in.

[Sreader]

As good as usual.

[Pat Park]

I enjoyed another story from the files on Inspector
Charlie Priest.
Stuart Pawson can add humor and mystery to his murder inquiries.

[BEVERLEY TARRAN]

He turned out to be a bit of a tart in the end 😆

[Lourdes Venard]

Salesman Tony Silkstone readily confesses to murder -- for killing the man who murdered his wife. To most, he's a hero for doing so. But a small clue leads DI Charlie Priest to believe there's more to the story. This is a methodical, plodding police procedural -- done by an author who's wonderful at these. Pawson brings his characters to life with great wit. He's one of the best with one-liners. For example, this from Priest on a colleague's love life: "I didn't ask who 'she' was. Pete's love life has more dead ends and branch lines than the London Underground." Or this on eating at a Persian restaurant: "I paid the bill, which went a long way toward compensating the proprietor for the oil wells he lost when the Shah was deposed." This is a great series, and one that doesn't necessarily need to be read in order.

[Alan Denham]

Nice story! Charlie Priest righting wrongs as usual - this time sorting out a nasty bloke who can't properly control his sexual appetites, and a nasty twist to a couple of deaths - murders, of course. And Charlie must be doing something right, because one of the suspects takes out a contract on him. Readers can watch Charlie's doomed attempts at sorting out his own personal relationships, while also trying to sort out a young thief. They will also learn a thing or two about cars - nothing obsessional, just odd facts that might be amusing, and add nice twists to the story. And I don't know for certain whether Dick Lane actually exists - but I strongly suspect that it does (but 'Dick Lane' will only be a nickname).

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

Christmas holiday reading.... minimal comments.

I've skipped the whole middle of this series in order to join in with a group discussion that I ended up not having time to join in with. I hope knowing this part of Charlie's life doesn't ruin the books in between as I plan to read them. I like the construction of the plots and the longish time span covered by the books and I like Charlie himself in general. Mostly I'm trying to deduce the real location of the fictional Heckley in West Yorkshire but I think Pawson has fiddled about with geography such that it's not locatable.

[Virginia Van]

When salesman Tony Silkstone confesses to murdering his wife and her lover in a jealous rage, Detective Inspector Charlie Priest believes things are as simple as they seem. However, he is distracted from the case by the appearance of a hit man - especially when he finds out who the hitman's target is. 7th in the DI Priest series, this book is a fast paced and humourous police procedural, with enough plot twists to keep you turnign pages. Appealling continuing characters and glimpses of the Yorkshire countryside.

[John Lee]

I dont know why I liked this one as much as the rest - but I did. There wasnt even a decent joke for me to quote - but I still did. It wasnt really a who-done-it because you are quite content that you know that from very early on, but I still did.

However you ask yourself at 1-49am why you just had to finish it off - the answer is because you enjoyed it so much.

My only regret is that I only have one more of the series to go - and that is next.

[Alistair]

Another good read. Stuart Pawson has created a character not unlike my much loved Inspector Diamond in the Peter Lovesey series of books.
Highly recommended, but realistically needs to be read in order.

[Stacy]

He is a new author to me and I will be reading him again. I love the dialogue, especially the police banter. DI Priest is very likable and clever and I am always a sucker for the English country or town description.

[David]

If anything I think this series gets better, quite a few passages where I laughed out loud.

[Helene]

slower than the other books I've read by him. just ordered Laughing Boy ,the next in the series.

[Daniel]

Another excellent entry in the series.