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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I love Mr. Shaw’s writing and the way he unfolds the story. There is no slow slog through repetitive crap followed by a “big twist” like so many novels I’ve read recently. His novels keep my interest the entire way through. This one tackles a modern societal concern (immigration) delicately and with respect. He nicely covers several of the perspectives on this complex issue and of course, how these individuals can be exploited. We also were able to delve deeper into the Alex Cupidi character and she’s wonderful...even though I do miss William South.
Salt Lane is the newest novel from William Shaw, the beginning of a series featuring DI Alex Cupidi, who made an appearance in the book Shaw released last year, The Birdwatcher. Salt Lane too is set in rural Kent, that strange flat marshy part of England where the sea and the sky and the land flow into one another. This time, Shaw sets his sights on immigrant labour: the illegal fruit picking and farm work that goes on under the noses of police. Two murders in quick succession—a local woman who has been living under an assumed name for twenty years, found in a ditch, and a migrant labourer who has been drowned in a farm’s slurry pit—assume sinister proportions when it turns out that they’re related. Cupidi must find who’s responsible while also developing her relationship with her teenage daughter Zoe, acting as a mentor to the insouciant and pretty DS Ferriter, and protecting her own reputation on a squad to which she is new, and which knows all about the scandal that drove her away from London.
There is slightly too much going on in Salt Lane; some of the supporting characters confuse the arc of the investigation, rather than adding to it, as does the fact that the dead woman is connected to a cold case from 1995. (We learn about this in the prologue, a flashback which misleads us into thinking that the old crime is going to be more significant in the present-day storyline than it actually is.) I’m also not certain about Shaw’s portrayal of immigrant workers; he’s not offensive about them or about the hell in their countries of origin that drives them to the UK, but I wasn’t convinced that he’d ever spoken to a refugee. Najiba, a migrant worker who acts as a police informant, is fairly well-rounded, but the others seem like ciphers; Marina Lewycka’s Strawberry Fields is a more moving and humanising portrait of this world. As ever, though, Shaw’s grasp of pacing and procedure makes it hard to put Salt Lane down.
There is slightly too much going on in Salt Lane; some of the supporting characters confuse the arc of the investigation, rather than adding to it, as does the fact that the dead woman is connected to a cold case from 1995. (We learn about this in the prologue, a flashback which misleads us into thinking that the old crime is going to be more significant in the present-day storyline than it actually is.) I’m also not certain about Shaw’s portrayal of immigrant workers; he’s not offensive about them or about the hell in their countries of origin that drives them to the UK, but I wasn’t convinced that he’d ever spoken to a refugee. Najiba, a migrant worker who acts as a police informant, is fairly well-rounded, but the others seem like ciphers; Marina Lewycka’s Strawberry Fields is a more moving and humanising portrait of this world. As ever, though, Shaw’s grasp of pacing and procedure makes it hard to put Salt Lane down.
A bit of a slow burn but I enjoyed it in the end. I didn't particularly love the main character, she was quite reckless in her pursuit of her duties as a police officer which landed her in trouble for a majority of the book but I suppose that is what made it suspenseful. Overall enjoyed, would recommend for a mystery lover.
Well-written and thoughtful with an absorbing plot incorporating references to illegal migrants, gang masters, Greenham Common and stolen identities. Enjoyed exploring Dungeness and finding out more about the nature and landscape.
Closer to a 3.5 - good but dragged on a bit. Who the killer turned out to be was pretty surprising to me - so that's something you don't always get!
Got a little bit annoyed about the protagonist being referred to, throughout by her surname, seemed oddly formal and was a little bit confused the odd time her name was used.
I'll probably, eventually checkout the next in the series at a later date.
Got a little bit annoyed about the protagonist being referred to, throughout by her surname, seemed oddly formal and was a little bit confused the odd time her name was used.
I'll probably, eventually checkout the next in the series at a later date.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Salt Lane” offers a solid British mystery that combines murder with societal issues of homelessness and immigration. Det. Sargent Alexandra Cupidi has transferred from the Metropolitan Police to the Kentish countryside.
She’s looking for a new start, but she does nothing to integrate herself into her new community. And even with the hopes of a new start, her emotional baggage makes it difficult. Her relationships with her mother and her teenage daughter are strained and fragile at best. Her complicated love life is, well, complicated.
The mystery starts off strong with a fire, a missing person showing up, and a dead woman. As we get further into the mystery, all the stories start to merge and we begin to feel like there’s a connection to everything, we just don’t know what it is. And as these connections come to light, the tension and danger intensify, and more murder victims are found.
Unfortunately, as we hit the 2/3rds mark, the story focuses on Cupidi’s private life. It brings the tension created by the murders to a halt. Her daughter’s continuous antics became annoying. I liked Cupidi, I found her to be smart and tenacious, but at times her really poor decision-making had me shaking my head.
Overall, the mystery kept me interested. Everything away from the mystery I just started skipping.
She’s looking for a new start, but she does nothing to integrate herself into her new community. And even with the hopes of a new start, her emotional baggage makes it difficult. Her relationships with her mother and her teenage daughter are strained and fragile at best. Her complicated love life is, well, complicated.
The mystery starts off strong with a fire, a missing person showing up, and a dead woman. As we get further into the mystery, all the stories start to merge and we begin to feel like there’s a connection to everything, we just don’t know what it is. And as these connections come to light, the tension and danger intensify, and more murder victims are found.
Unfortunately, as we hit the 2/3rds mark, the story focuses on Cupidi’s private life. It brings the tension created by the murders to a halt. Her daughter’s continuous antics became annoying. I liked Cupidi, I found her to be smart and tenacious, but at times her really poor decision-making had me shaking my head.
Overall, the mystery kept me interested. Everything away from the mystery I just started skipping.