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The Woman Who Laughed

a brand new installment in the critically acclaimed Finder Mysteries

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The Woman Who Laughed

By: Simon Mason
Narrated by: Matthew Spencer
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'The very definition of unputdownable' David Peace
'Mason packs more into 200 pages than many writers do at twice the length' Sunday Times

In the first months of 2020 there was a spate of murders of Black sex workers in northern cities. One of them was Ella Bailey, last seen talking to a punter in an alley in Sheffield city centre, and although no trace of her was ever found, the punter, Michael Godley, soon confessed to all three murders.

Five years later, as another sex worker is murdered in the same district, the bag Ella had been carrying with her reappears, hanging on the door handles of a café, and a local vagrant claims to have seen Ella sitting on a bench in a churchyard near the site of the murder. South Yorkshire Police call in the Finder.

So begins a search that takes him back to the strange days of the pandemic, to talk to those who knew Ella best, such as her wayward girlfriend 'Loz', abusive boyfriend Caine Poynton-Smith and respectable foster-parents still struggling to come to terms with Ella's life. How did their intelligent, strong-willed daughter - bright student and national schoolgirl athletics champion - end up in that alley?

As fear grips the city, our Finder must court danger to discover the truth.©2025 Simon Mason Crime Thrillers Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Thriller & Suspense Crime Murder
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Critic reviews

The Finder Mysteries are everything great crime fiction aspires to be: human, intricate and hugely entertaining. The Woman Who Laughed kept me guessing, to the last page, and kept me thinking long after that. Simon Mason is a master storyteller whose books should be on every serious reader's wishlist. (Sarah Hilary)
Mason brings to life Sheffield's red-light district, while Finder's quest awakens sleeping dogs with devastating consequences
Simon Mason's Finder mysteries are well-written, elegantly-structured and unputdownable, bringing shades of Simenon's Maigret to contemporary rain soaked Britain
Simon Mason packs more into 200 pages than many writers do at twice the length. Kudos.
[Mason] has struck gold with his laconic, just-the-facts Finder mysteries, about a freelance investigator brought in by police to track missing people
[T]ranslates the ethos of Georges Simenon's Maigret into an English setting: concise, richly characterised, impeccably plotted (Barry Forshaw (The Best of Summer Crime, Financial Times))
Crime fans are hooked on Mason's tight and gripping novellas
Dark, exquisite and utterly absorbing, The Finder Mysteries are a rare and special thing
Mason packs more into 200 pages than many writers do at twice the length
Puzzling, literary, concise and utterly compelling
British procedural with local flavour and dry humour. Brings to mind classic noir, but rooted in the here and now
At once searching, believable, short, well-written, and provided with a Maigret-like protagonist who is used by Mason to offer a wise humanity in another brilliant novel.
All stars
Most relevant
Very moving. A slow burner but became very gripping. The lead character was very humane and interesting.

Gripping and surprisingly moving

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Really like the way these stories have a two steps forward, one step back momentum

Finder’s momentum

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This is the second book I’ve listened to by Simon Mason (clicked on the wrong title so now they’re out of order!). Such a good story, brilliant narration

Unusual to love the narration as much as the storyline

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I liked this series - especially the thoughtful insights into human nature and the final twists

A thoroughly good yarn

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Simon Mason has come of age as a truly intelligent, insightful crime writer. I love The Finder's character and empathise with his tragic past, his need - like the victims he looks for - to be found himself.

The plot is cleverly executed, and I liked the parallels between his female characters in Sheffield's sleazy underworld and those in the book The Finder is reading: Persuasion by Jane Austen.

The narration by Matthew Spencer is brilliant. He lends an extra layer of calm intelligence to an already intelligent novel. His delivery reminds me of Rory Kinnear's understated, sensitive acting.

I look forward to hearing the next Simon Mason book, hopefully with the same narrator!

Great story, great narration

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