Shooting Elvis by
Stuart Pawson
hbk out February 06
Published by Allison Busby
at £18.99
This is the eleventh entry in Stuart Pawson's series about DI (or, here, acting DCI)
Charlie Priest, and the warm and humorous feel of the earlier books is again a
distinctive and richly appealing feature of a story that, in other hands, might have
made grim reading. Someone is killing people with history of serious crime – but
what explains the murder of elderly Alfred Armitage? Alf was unpleasant, to be sure,
but why did he finish up linked by an orange cable to the mains electric supply? Away
from the investigation, there are a great many love-interest scenes, illustrating how
much Charlie is taken up with his girlfriend Sonia. Perhaps this distraction explains
why he claims that the cricket season starts in May – an unforgivable error in a
Yorkshireman! The strength of the book lies in the witty vignettes – the swift and
splendid portrayal of the banker, Mr Jarvis, is but one example of the care with which
Pawson brings even his most peripheral characters to life. The drama of the climactic
scene is extremely well handled and ranks as possibly the most exciting section in any
of the Priest chronicles. And it explains the unexpected title beautifully.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
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Shooting Elvis by
Stuart Pawson
