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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd give it a 3.8 or 3.9. I'm excited about this new series; it fit many of my mystery/crime novel cravings. It's nice to read a series where the detectives have problems, but not so troubled you're surprised they're still functioning. The characters were mostly relatable, and the mystery was interesting. I look forward to see where it goes next.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Competently middle of the road, this is a modern British mystery led by a female detective.
It feels scattershot - there are too many plot threads leading all over the place (troubled relationship with her mother, troubled relationship with her daughter, trouble relationship with an ex-boyfriend, her relationship to the squad, immigrantation questions, fire from the 1980s, three murders, homeless woman who shows up claiming to be an adopted man's mother and more).
I am not a gun advocate, but, this detective keeps getting her butt kicked over and over. She clearly does not know self-defense either. She should obviously not be running around unarmed.
This is exactly what you think it is, there's no new ground broken here and if that's okay with you this book is just fine.
It feels scattershot - there are too many plot threads leading all over the place (troubled relationship with her mother, troubled relationship with her daughter, trouble relationship with an ex-boyfriend, her relationship to the squad, immigrantation questions, fire from the 1980s, three murders, homeless woman who shows up claiming to be an adopted man's mother and more).
I am not a gun advocate, but, this detective keeps getting her butt kicked over and over. She clearly does not know self-defense either. She should obviously not be running around unarmed.
This is exactly what you think it is, there's no new ground broken here and if that's okay with you this book is just fine.
Salt Lane is set in the isolated Kent coast, land of watercourses, fens, stark beaches, the shadow of Dungeness power station and features DS Alex Cupidi, previously encountered in Shaw's brilliant book The Birdwatcher.
There are two dead bodies for Cupidi to investigate, a woman found dead in Salt Lane, whose identity isn't as clear as it originally seemed, and a migrant worker found dead in a slurry pit (nasty, nasty death).
As well as investigating these cases with the help of young constable Ferriter, Cupidi is dealing with the isolation of her teenage daughter, Zoe and the reappearance in her life of the man, involvement with whom is the reason Cupidi had to leave London for Kent.
Shaw writes great, involved and complex characters, and the book is full of incisive social commentary, where a lot of the themes that preoccupy English society today are explored - illegal immigration, drug-taking, fruit picking, isolated communities and distrust of the establishment and the police.
I've read all of William Shaw's novels, and I was excited when I realised who Cupidi's mother is! The relationship between mother and daughter is challenging, but develops satisfactorily through the book.
An excellent read.
ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for honest review.
There are two dead bodies for Cupidi to investigate, a woman found dead in Salt Lane, whose identity isn't as clear as it originally seemed, and a migrant worker found dead in a slurry pit (nasty, nasty death).
As well as investigating these cases with the help of young constable Ferriter, Cupidi is dealing with the isolation of her teenage daughter, Zoe and the reappearance in her life of the man, involvement with whom is the reason Cupidi had to leave London for Kent.
Shaw writes great, involved and complex characters, and the book is full of incisive social commentary, where a lot of the themes that preoccupy English society today are explored - illegal immigration, drug-taking, fruit picking, isolated communities and distrust of the establishment and the police.
I've read all of William Shaw's novels, and I was excited when I realised who Cupidi's mother is! The relationship between mother and daughter is challenging, but develops satisfactorily through the book.
An excellent read.
ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for honest review.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked Alex Cupidi. She's clever in her job but not always clever in her personal relationships - I think we all know someone like that. I liked that she's prickly, that she gets tired and frustrated and even after weighing up the pros and cons of her possible next actions, doesn't always go the right way. I liked the relationship with her daughter - I wasn't quite so sure about the relationship with her mother. And it's a good story, with decent writing. I wasn't in love with this book, but it's certainly good enough to make me want to read the next in the series (or possibly the previous-but-not-previous-because-it's-not-part-of-the-series-but-it-does-introduce-the-characters book).
I love Cupidi and reading about her relationship with her precocious daughter. Shaw did a good job writing these two wonderful female characters. Cupidi's mom is also a well-drawn character that adds to my belief that Shaw can write women. I thought the plot was somewhat less interesting and powerful than in The Birdwatcher, the first novel in the series, but it was still a satisfying read. I'll try to get my hands on the next book in the series.
Having made the acquaintance of DS Alexandra Cupidi some time ago in The Birdwatcher , a wonderfully atmospheric thriller set against the backdrop of the bleak coastline of Dungeness, prepare to be completely absorbed as she makes her return in Salt Lane. Not only is this a well plotted and compelling police procedural, once again using this particular landscape to its full brooding and slightly sinister effect, but Salt Lane reveals itself to be so much more.
When you cast your eye over the backlist of William Shaw, comprising of his evocative 60s series, and the aforementioned The Birdwatcher, one cannot help but be struck by the skill of his storytelling, and the strength of his characterisation. As well as unfailingly producing absorbing, moving and carefully constructed police procedurals, Shaw also uses either the zeitgeist of the period, or the locations to envelop the reader completely in the atmosphere he seeks to produce. In Salt Lane the desolate, but rawly beautiful, locale of Dungeness once again reveals itself as a centrifugal force in the book, being either a place of safety or danger in equal measure, but also effectively acting as a prism for the emotional state of both Cupidi and her troubled teenage daughter, Zoe. As Zoe seeks to deal with her emotional pain and seeks solace from the landscape, also unwittingly leading herself into the heart of her mother’s investigation, Cupidi herself finds herself at times waging an emotional and physical battle with the unique geography of the area, and the murders that occur within its boundaries.
Taking a backward step for a second, I can’t emphasise enough the weight of emotion, and more importantly the completely plausible emotion that Shaw injects into his trinity of female characters, Cupidi, Zoe and Cupidi’s mother Helen, who will be recognisable to some readers from Shaw’s previous books. I was absolutely blown away by how succinctly and honestly Shaw captured the internal and external emotional lives of these women, as they navigate their differences and similarities in the course of the book. The tension and moments of conflict are balanced beautifully with moments of epiphany in their personal relationship with each other, and the scenes featuring these three exceptional characters are a joy to read, feeling raw, true and suffused with realism. I must confess that I don’t read much ‘women’s fiction’ as that which I have encountered always has a slightly mawkish feel in its depiction of ‘women’s experience’, but I was held spellbound by the resonance of these characters in my interpretation of how women truly are, and how that which separates them, can be seen to actually bind them together more than they initially feel.
As for the plot itself, Shaw is given free reign to expose the worst ills of a Britain caught in a monstrous wave of nationalism and post-Brexit turmoil. Against the Kent location of the book, Shaw weaves a disturbing police investigation into an unflinching and, most importantly, objective appraisal of immigration and exploitation, that boils the blood, and tugs at the heartstrings in equal measure, depending on your political viewpoint. Without resorting to soapbox declarations on the state of Britain, Shaw holds a mirror up to the conflicting sides of the immigration issue, whilst keeping the book solidly on track as a crime thriller. Consequently, Salt Lane is never less than a wonderfully multi-layered contemporary thriller, replete with the highest calibre characterisation, and a looming feel of unease. Highly recommended.
When you cast your eye over the backlist of William Shaw, comprising of his evocative 60s series, and the aforementioned The Birdwatcher, one cannot help but be struck by the skill of his storytelling, and the strength of his characterisation. As well as unfailingly producing absorbing, moving and carefully constructed police procedurals, Shaw also uses either the zeitgeist of the period, or the locations to envelop the reader completely in the atmosphere he seeks to produce. In Salt Lane the desolate, but rawly beautiful, locale of Dungeness once again reveals itself as a centrifugal force in the book, being either a place of safety or danger in equal measure, but also effectively acting as a prism for the emotional state of both Cupidi and her troubled teenage daughter, Zoe. As Zoe seeks to deal with her emotional pain and seeks solace from the landscape, also unwittingly leading herself into the heart of her mother’s investigation, Cupidi herself finds herself at times waging an emotional and physical battle with the unique geography of the area, and the murders that occur within its boundaries.
Taking a backward step for a second, I can’t emphasise enough the weight of emotion, and more importantly the completely plausible emotion that Shaw injects into his trinity of female characters, Cupidi, Zoe and Cupidi’s mother Helen, who will be recognisable to some readers from Shaw’s previous books. I was absolutely blown away by how succinctly and honestly Shaw captured the internal and external emotional lives of these women, as they navigate their differences and similarities in the course of the book. The tension and moments of conflict are balanced beautifully with moments of epiphany in their personal relationship with each other, and the scenes featuring these three exceptional characters are a joy to read, feeling raw, true and suffused with realism. I must confess that I don’t read much ‘women’s fiction’ as that which I have encountered always has a slightly mawkish feel in its depiction of ‘women’s experience’, but I was held spellbound by the resonance of these characters in my interpretation of how women truly are, and how that which separates them, can be seen to actually bind them together more than they initially feel.
As for the plot itself, Shaw is given free reign to expose the worst ills of a Britain caught in a monstrous wave of nationalism and post-Brexit turmoil. Against the Kent location of the book, Shaw weaves a disturbing police investigation into an unflinching and, most importantly, objective appraisal of immigration and exploitation, that boils the blood, and tugs at the heartstrings in equal measure, depending on your political viewpoint. Without resorting to soapbox declarations on the state of Britain, Shaw holds a mirror up to the conflicting sides of the immigration issue, whilst keeping the book solidly on track as a crime thriller. Consequently, Salt Lane is never less than a wonderfully multi-layered contemporary thriller, replete with the highest calibre characterisation, and a looming feel of unease. Highly recommended.