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, show more 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. show less

The Picasso Scam by Stuart Pawson is the first in his series about D.I. Charlie Priest and I am ashamed to say it has sat on my shelves since before I joined LT. Set in Yorkshire this mystery starts with a report about a conspiracy to forge famous artworks, but when D.I. Priest comes to the realization that this case is linked to a particularly lethal type of heroin that is making itself known in his area, he finds himself hot on the trail of a local business man who appears to have his fingers in many pies.

Set in the fictional town of Heckley, Yorkshire, Priest and his crew like to complain that they spend most of their time investigating shop lifters and sheep stealers. I liked the fact that this case wasn’t solved in a matter of show more days, in fact from the beginning to the end, a time span of a couple of years had gone by with the case at times simmering on the back burner and at others being brought to the forefront.

Charlie Priest is an appealing character and we learn just enough about him in this first book to make me want to learn more. Overall a well written police procedural with a darkly humorous undertone that I look forward to continuing on with. Luckily I picked up the first three in the series at the time of purchase so I can enjoy the next one sooner rather than later. show less

An entertaining romp through the world of art theft, with the protagonist, Detective inspector Charlie Priest, leading his colleagues through some excruciatingly bad jokes to challenge a mini drug cartel established in the unnamed North Yorkshire town where he is based.

Charlie Priest has been a policeman a long time, as were his father and grandfather. He is a likeable character, friendly and easy going. Charlie becomes aware of an upcoming art exhibition of ten well known paintings, one a Picasso. He learns four are fakes, his old art teacher tells him so. He knows because he did them. When the artist dies in a suspicious fire, Charlie gets in a dangerous cat and mouse game with an international crime boss who doesn't like Charlie the way most people do.

Great first novel and character in Charlie Priest, full of humerous dialogue and interesting characters. I'm really looking forward to Charlie's future adventures.