Deadly Friends

Deadly Friends by Stuart Pawson is the 5th book in the DI Charlie Priest series of police procedurals. This is a series that I have come to count on to deliver a well crafted story that will draw me in and hold my interest throughout. The author provides a good mixture of both Priest’s private life and his work life. Charlie works with a team of investigators that help to keep the interest level high as they trade quips and banter yet work well together.

In this outing they are investigating a rape case where they know who the rapist is, but, unfortunately, it comes down to a “he said, she said” situation. Charlie learns that this rapist has struck before and really wants to get him off the streets before he strikes again. Charlie show more is also pulled into a murder case of a young doctor when the chief investigator suffers a broken leg. At first this case seems fairly open and shut, but when they find that their main suspect has a strong alibi, they must start again at the beginning. There are also developments in Charlie’s personal life that I am sure will have consequences in future books.

The biggest mystery here is why is I let so much time pass between these books. It is an excellent series and although Deadly Friends isn’t the strongest book of the ones I have read, I found it to be another entertaining story about DI Priest and his team.

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A return to form from Pawson, and all the customary characteristics are here in abundance: well-structured plot, plausible and empathetic characters, enticing descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside, a handful of arty references and the usual sprinkling of dreadful jokes.
Set around Christmas and New Year from 1998/99 it starts off with the murder of a cosmetic surgeon in a luxurious apartment block in Heckley's more affluent quarter. Meanwhile a part-time barmaid claims that she had been raped on Christams Eve.
Detective Inspector Priest has his hands full over the holiday period, and to make things worse he is missing Annabelle, his partner of five years, who has stayed in Surrey with her sister. All in all he is not in a great mood ...

Another cracking Charlie Priest story. An apparently well-liked doctor is murdered and it proves difficult to find anyone who would dislike him enough to kill him, meantime Charlie's love life seems to have a cloud on the horizon in the shape of a potential rival. The author cleverly weaves all these strands together bringing in characters who live off the page. Highly recommended.