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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I received a copy via NetGalley. I have read other books by the author and they are all just as good. An interesting cast of characters and a good story made for an enjoyable Easter read
3.5 stars
One of my favourite books of last year was [b:The Birdwatcher|32498061|The Birdwatcher|William Shaw|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481600050s/32498061.jpg|49284521]. The MC was William South, a cop with a dodgy past who runs up against a new colleague named DS Alexandra Cupidi. In this outing she takes over the lead as a member of the Serious Crime team with Kent police.
Alexandra arrived in the area as a transfer from the Met. After an affair with a colleague in London was discovered, she packed up teenage daughter Zoë & moved to Dungeness. It hasn’t been an easy transition for either one of them.
I won’t go into the plot too much, the book blurb gives a good recap. Initially there are 2 puzzling cases on Alexandra’s plate: a dead woman who seems to be in 2 places at the same time & the body of a migrant found in a farm slurry. There are multiple twists to each tale that keep you guessing & Alex seems to have a talent for getting into sticky situations.
I must confess it took me along time to warm up to the MC. Understandably, she feels like a fish out of water in her new home & her involvement with the William South case didn’t exactly endear her to colleagues. Their relationships aren’t helped by her prickly personality but she does form an odd bond with Constable Jill Ferrier, her polar opposite. Her work ethic results in her being a largely absent parent & as Zoë becomes increasingly isolated & withdrawn, there were times I wanted to reach through the pages & give Alexandra a good shake. I was also a little confused about the sudden appearance of a former colleague from the Met. His short inclusion didn’t really add anything to the story & it slowed the pace around the much more intriguing murder investigations.
It’s also a story about fitting in. Doesn’t matter if you’re an African migrant or cop from London. You’re clearly from away & don’t know the people, their past & customs. You have to learn the rhythm of local life which can be as difficult as navigating the fens.
So while I initially found it hard to connect with Alexandra as I did with William South, she started to grow on me. Life in the fens weaves its spell & she goes from feeling like an outsider to thinking maybe, just maybe, she’s found a place she & Zoë belong. The author has a writing style that is eminently readable. That plus the intricate plot will keep you turning the pages to see how it all shakes out.
One of my favourite books of last year was [b:The Birdwatcher|32498061|The Birdwatcher|William Shaw|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481600050s/32498061.jpg|49284521]. The MC was William South, a cop with a dodgy past who runs up against a new colleague named DS Alexandra Cupidi. In this outing she takes over the lead as a member of the Serious Crime team with Kent police.
Alexandra arrived in the area as a transfer from the Met. After an affair with a colleague in London was discovered, she packed up teenage daughter Zoë & moved to Dungeness. It hasn’t been an easy transition for either one of them.
I won’t go into the plot too much, the book blurb gives a good recap. Initially there are 2 puzzling cases on Alexandra’s plate: a dead woman who seems to be in 2 places at the same time & the body of a migrant found in a farm slurry. There are multiple twists to each tale that keep you guessing & Alex seems to have a talent for getting into sticky situations.
I must confess it took me along time to warm up to the MC. Understandably, she feels like a fish out of water in her new home & her involvement with the William South case didn’t exactly endear her to colleagues. Their relationships aren’t helped by her prickly personality but she does form an odd bond with Constable Jill Ferrier, her polar opposite. Her work ethic results in her being a largely absent parent & as Zoë becomes increasingly isolated & withdrawn, there were times I wanted to reach through the pages & give Alexandra a good shake. I was also a little confused about the sudden appearance of a former colleague from the Met. His short inclusion didn’t really add anything to the story & it slowed the pace around the much more intriguing murder investigations.
It’s also a story about fitting in. Doesn’t matter if you’re an African migrant or cop from London. You’re clearly from away & don’t know the people, their past & customs. You have to learn the rhythm of local life which can be as difficult as navigating the fens.
So while I initially found it hard to connect with Alexandra as I did with William South, she started to grow on me. Life in the fens weaves its spell & she goes from feeling like an outsider to thinking maybe, just maybe, she’s found a place she & Zoë belong. The author has a writing style that is eminently readable. That plus the intricate plot will keep you turning the pages to see how it all shakes out.
A few false starts, as I re-familiarised my self with these characters. Loved it.
Not nearly as good as The Birdwatcher, but I enjoyed it.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I let this 450 book sit by my bedside intimidating me for over a month. When I finally started reading, I found I couldn't put it down. Definitely a page turner and I liked it better than Shaw's The Birdwatcher. Looking forward to more books in the DS Alexandra Cupidi series now. My one disappointment was the use of the same old tired plotline where the DS goes somewhere alone without telling anyone and gets herself in trouble. Authors - please stop doing this!
DS Cupidi has moved to Kent after a scandal she would rather her new colleagues don’t find out about. She’s trying to keep her head down and not get too pally with anyone.. a case soon hits her desk to take her mind off the past..at least for a little while.
Two murders take place in a short space of time.. this can’t be a coincidence can it? Is there a link? What makes one of the murders even stranger is the circumstances behind the woman’s death.. the time of death doesn’t make sense.. she was seen alive at the same time as she was dead in a ditch.. how is that possible?
Well I’m not going to spoil it but I will admit it’s very well executed. Until the case unravelled I had no clue where the tale would go and that’s the kind of crime novel I love! Keep me guessing :)
Cupidi herself is flawed like all the good detectives. She’s balancing her work but also her personal life.. a teenage daughter she’s struggling to connect with and a past that will catch up to her at some point.. this gave the character a realness I love to see. It was really refreshing having a female lead too, almost all police type books I’ve read have had male leads.
Chapter length and pace of the plot for me was spot on and the mix of personal and professional focused scenes makes it very easy to read... you've never get bogged down. So good infact it’s easy to devour!
The character development of Cupidi was gradual and delivered perfectly.. she’s Impulsive..she’s human..I liked her.
Do I want to read book 2 in the series? Yes!
Will I be pre-ordering book 3 due out next year? Yes!
Two murders take place in a short space of time.. this can’t be a coincidence can it? Is there a link? What makes one of the murders even stranger is the circumstances behind the woman’s death.. the time of death doesn’t make sense.. she was seen alive at the same time as she was dead in a ditch.. how is that possible?
Well I’m not going to spoil it but I will admit it’s very well executed. Until the case unravelled I had no clue where the tale would go and that’s the kind of crime novel I love! Keep me guessing :)
Cupidi herself is flawed like all the good detectives. She’s balancing her work but also her personal life.. a teenage daughter she’s struggling to connect with and a past that will catch up to her at some point.. this gave the character a realness I love to see. It was really refreshing having a female lead too, almost all police type books I’ve read have had male leads.
Chapter length and pace of the plot for me was spot on and the mix of personal and professional focused scenes makes it very easy to read... you've never get bogged down. So good infact it’s easy to devour!
The character development of Cupidi was gradual and delivered perfectly.. she’s Impulsive..she’s human..I liked her.
Do I want to read book 2 in the series? Yes!
Will I be pre-ordering book 3 due out next year? Yes!
I can hear your cries of horror from here. Kestrel is reviewing another mystery- time to gird your loins and read yet another scathing review. Except. EXCEPT.
I really, REALLY liked Salt Lane, written by William Shaw, previously known for his mystery The Birdwatcher.
When police sergeant Alexandra Cupidi moves from London to more rural Kent, she’s expecting a slower pace of life. Surrounded by miles of marshland, she wants to fix her relationship with her daughter, all too aware of the mistakes her own mother made in raising her. Then the first body appears, soaked in water- a woman who seems to have mysteriously re-surfaced after years of being off the radar.
The idea of motherhood and the relationships between women are very much the central theme of this novel. Cupidi’s teenage daughter is a mystery to her, and her mother is only a little more well-known. As the bodies pile up, all seemingly connected in a way she can’t quite grasp, she realizes that her own ideas of where she stands in relationship to the other women in her life is formed from misconceptions and faulty memories.
Interwoven throughout this is timely commentary on the refugee crisis that much of Europe faces. Characters have various degrees of sympathy, yet Shaw manages to come across as someone who understands there is no easy answer and that the system as it stands simply will not suffice. This is a novel without easy answers- though the ultimate mystery is solved, it’s not tied up neatly, and that’s simply how life goes sometimes. There’s a great deal of work still left in Cupidi’s life, and in the broader political implications as a whole, but what Shaw offers is a hint of hope that strikes me as the most ultimately realistic option that could have occurred, and one I felt grateful for.
Difficult to put down, Salt Lane’s evocative marshes make for the perfect read any time of the year. Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Mulholland Books for the review copy.
I really, REALLY liked Salt Lane, written by William Shaw, previously known for his mystery The Birdwatcher.
When police sergeant Alexandra Cupidi moves from London to more rural Kent, she’s expecting a slower pace of life. Surrounded by miles of marshland, she wants to fix her relationship with her daughter, all too aware of the mistakes her own mother made in raising her. Then the first body appears, soaked in water- a woman who seems to have mysteriously re-surfaced after years of being off the radar.
The idea of motherhood and the relationships between women are very much the central theme of this novel. Cupidi’s teenage daughter is a mystery to her, and her mother is only a little more well-known. As the bodies pile up, all seemingly connected in a way she can’t quite grasp, she realizes that her own ideas of where she stands in relationship to the other women in her life is formed from misconceptions and faulty memories.
Interwoven throughout this is timely commentary on the refugee crisis that much of Europe faces. Characters have various degrees of sympathy, yet Shaw manages to come across as someone who understands there is no easy answer and that the system as it stands simply will not suffice. This is a novel without easy answers- though the ultimate mystery is solved, it’s not tied up neatly, and that’s simply how life goes sometimes. There’s a great deal of work still left in Cupidi’s life, and in the broader political implications as a whole, but what Shaw offers is a hint of hope that strikes me as the most ultimately realistic option that could have occurred, and one I felt grateful for.
Difficult to put down, Salt Lane’s evocative marshes make for the perfect read any time of the year. Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Mulholland Books for the review copy.
I absolutely loved this book. The author evokes the beauty and desolation of Dungeness, whilst telling a great crime story.
A woman's body is found in a drainage ditch in the middle of nowhere, but is she really who she says?
How is her death related to that of an illegal immigrant?
The illegal immigrant situation is dealt with sensitivity and shows a good understanding of the absolute desperation of their lives.
Alex Cupidi is a great lead and she should definitely be on tv.
A woman's body is found in a drainage ditch in the middle of nowhere, but is she really who she says?
How is her death related to that of an illegal immigrant?
The illegal immigrant situation is dealt with sensitivity and shows a good understanding of the absolute desperation of their lives.
Alex Cupidi is a great lead and she should definitely be on tv.
Loved this book and the background stories going on. Kept me interested the whole way through