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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I would give this a 3.5 if I could. I like the protagonist. But the actual case felt convoluted.
I loved this author's "The Birdwatcher" so much that I just had to read this title which features Detective Sergeant Cupidi of the Serious Crimes Directorate in Kent.
Alexandra Cupidi has moved to Kent from London where she worked for the Metropolitan Police. After a dead-end affair with a married colleague, she 'up-sticks' with her teenage daughter and moved to Dungeness. She is a workaholic and devoted to her job. As a result her teenage daughter Zoë is often left to her own devices. Zoë harbours a lot of anger at her mother for taking her out of South London and away from all of her friends. Much to everyone's surprise Zoë has taken an eager interest in birdwatching, after being introduced to the pursuit by the protagonist of "The Birdwatcher". As a result, the local 'birders' often double as child-minders for DS Cupidi.
"The sheer scale of nature here was awesome; disturbing."
Things are busy in the Kent Police. They are short-staffed and now there has been two gruesome murders which took place about five miles apart from each other. Are they linked? But how?
A middle-aged woman is found in a drain culvert. She was dead before being put in the culvert but the pathologists cannot determine what killed her. Cupidi and her team discover where the woman was living, in a caravan behind a house in a nearby town. They discover a photograph of another caravan with two small boys in front...
A man's body is discovered immersed in a farmer's slurry pit. There is evidence that he was in hiding and the police presume he was an illegal immigrant.
What could possibly connect these two murders?
And... the dead woman was not who she claimed to be. How could two women share the same identity? The past holds all the secrets.
Impulsive and driven, Alex Cupidi puts herself in mortal danger to determine the truth.
MY THOUGHTS
Touted as the first novel in the D.S. Alex Cupidi series, I can only say that I will be eager to read every one of the future novels. Although technically a police procedural, this title was more about the crimes and the protagonists than police procedure per se. Although Alex Cupidi was introduced in the novel "The Birdwatcher", it is not at all necessary to read that one first - though I personally enjoyed this book's veiled references to the earlier book. I truly hope that William South, the protagonist of "The Birdwatcher" might make a future appearance in one of the Cupidi novels.
I relished the references to Cupidi's personal life. Her relationship with her daughter and her mother especially, but also her growing rapport with her female constable, Jill Ferriter, and her superior, DI McAdam.
"the world was full of desperation"
The crime was well researched and was very relevant to current social problems. The prevalence of 'gangmasters', illegal immigrants and illegal workers is one which is mentioned every day on the news. The author has shed some light on the issue, causing the reader to feel more of a connection to those directly affected. The author reveals humanity in all its guises, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The writing was superb and the plot moved along at a quick pace. The setting was atmospheric. The resolution was believable and realistic. Well done William Shaw! Highly recommended!
I purchased this novel in Kindle format. It is published by Quercus.
To read more of my reviews, visit: https://fictionophile.wordpress.com/
Alexandra Cupidi has moved to Kent from London where she worked for the Metropolitan Police. After a dead-end affair with a married colleague, she 'up-sticks' with her teenage daughter and moved to Dungeness. She is a workaholic and devoted to her job. As a result her teenage daughter Zoë is often left to her own devices. Zoë harbours a lot of anger at her mother for taking her out of South London and away from all of her friends. Much to everyone's surprise Zoë has taken an eager interest in birdwatching, after being introduced to the pursuit by the protagonist of "The Birdwatcher". As a result, the local 'birders' often double as child-minders for DS Cupidi.
"The sheer scale of nature here was awesome; disturbing."
Things are busy in the Kent Police. They are short-staffed and now there has been two gruesome murders which took place about five miles apart from each other. Are they linked? But how?
A middle-aged woman is found in a drain culvert. She was dead before being put in the culvert but the pathologists cannot determine what killed her. Cupidi and her team discover where the woman was living, in a caravan behind a house in a nearby town. They discover a photograph of another caravan with two small boys in front...
A man's body is discovered immersed in a farmer's slurry pit. There is evidence that he was in hiding and the police presume he was an illegal immigrant.
What could possibly connect these two murders?
And... the dead woman was not who she claimed to be. How could two women share the same identity? The past holds all the secrets.
Impulsive and driven, Alex Cupidi puts herself in mortal danger to determine the truth.
MY THOUGHTS
Touted as the first novel in the D.S. Alex Cupidi series, I can only say that I will be eager to read every one of the future novels. Although technically a police procedural, this title was more about the crimes and the protagonists than police procedure per se. Although Alex Cupidi was introduced in the novel "The Birdwatcher", it is not at all necessary to read that one first - though I personally enjoyed this book's veiled references to the earlier book. I truly hope that William South, the protagonist of "The Birdwatcher" might make a future appearance in one of the Cupidi novels.
I relished the references to Cupidi's personal life. Her relationship with her daughter and her mother especially, but also her growing rapport with her female constable, Jill Ferriter, and her superior, DI McAdam.
"the world was full of desperation"
The crime was well researched and was very relevant to current social problems. The prevalence of 'gangmasters', illegal immigrants and illegal workers is one which is mentioned every day on the news. The author has shed some light on the issue, causing the reader to feel more of a connection to those directly affected. The author reveals humanity in all its guises, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The writing was superb and the plot moved along at a quick pace. The setting was atmospheric. The resolution was believable and realistic. Well done William Shaw! Highly recommended!
I purchased this novel in Kindle format. It is published by Quercus.
To read more of my reviews, visit: https://fictionophile.wordpress.com/
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
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.
A police-procedural written with meticulous care, Salt Lane will introduce many to Detective Sargent Alexandra Cupidi (I find this surname very distracting. If that's by design, okay, but I stumbled over it every time. Sigh). Cupidi recently relocated with some unidentified professional baggage from the glamour of London to the coastal marshlands of Kent (a name I DO love, Dungeness, for I grew beside and now again live near another beautiful Dungeness), where she and her introverted daughter Zoe are in the awkward dance of independence v. mothering that is the inevitable consequence of child growing into young woman. Alex (can I just use her first name, please?) is partnered with rough-around-the-edges constable Jill Ferriter, and the two women are assigned to investigate the death of an unidentified woman who died of unknown cause.
Another body turns up in a ghastly slurry of toxic of cow dung, and soon the scope of investigation widens to the abuse of migrant workers and the opioid epidemic, as of-the-moment in the UK as it is here in the United States.
Although Shaw takes his time, there's something amorphous about Alex Cupidi. It's almost as though author and character haven't quite got the hang of each other (though they did meet in The Birdwatcher, the prequel to Salt Lane, which I haven't yet read). I did wish at times for a sharper editing pencil- I think the pacing could have been tighter with the excision of 50-75 pages- but I wouldn't turn away from the next installment of DS Alexandra Cupidi (oh, sigh).
Another body turns up in a ghastly slurry of toxic of cow dung, and soon the scope of investigation widens to the abuse of migrant workers and the opioid epidemic, as of-the-moment in the UK as it is here in the United States.
Although Shaw takes his time, there's something amorphous about Alex Cupidi. It's almost as though author and character haven't quite got the hang of each other (though they did meet in The Birdwatcher, the prequel to Salt Lane, which I haven't yet read). I did wish at times for a sharper editing pencil- I think the pacing could have been tighter with the excision of 50-75 pages- but I wouldn't turn away from the next installment of DS Alexandra Cupidi (oh, sigh).
An excellent start to this series. The weather finally broke and we had a glorious weekend where I was finally able to sit outside on the patio and read. And that is all I did this weekend - the bulk of this book was read yesterday all day outside. Excellent development this time around of Alexandra Cupidi's character, her work life and her home life. Not only is this an excellent start to a great mystery series that I look forward to continuing reading - it was a very political book as well. Shaw hits squarely on the nose the anti-migrant, anti-immigrant issues running through England (for this setting, but it could be applied all over) for the "England is English" sentiment. Shaw clearly, yet subtly but not preachy mind you, thumps that rhetoric solidly down into the ground. Shaw also took a great (but still subtle) shot at sexism in the workplace too.
I want to expand on it so very much here, but I will hold back because I would be off on a tangent. Just know I appreciated how he deftly took on this insidious rhetoric and showed how ignorant and wrong it is but how it has wonderfully lined the pockets of the few while taking advantage of the many while creating fear and hate.
I do think it is a good idea to read [b:The Birdwatcher|32498061|The Birdwatcher|William Shaw|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481600050s/32498061.jpg|49284521] first so that you get the full story on why Cupidi has left London and moved to Kent, and for all the other background about her and other characters in this series.
I want to expand on it so very much here, but I will hold back because I would be off on a tangent. Just know I appreciated how he deftly took on this insidious rhetoric and showed how ignorant and wrong it is but how it has wonderfully lined the pockets of the few while taking advantage of the many while creating fear and hate.
I do think it is a good idea to read [b:The Birdwatcher|32498061|The Birdwatcher|William Shaw|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481600050s/32498061.jpg|49284521] first so that you get the full story on why Cupidi has left London and moved to Kent, and for all the other background about her and other characters in this series.
This was a bit too long, but otherwise good. The police officers were likeable and believable, and the solution to the murders satisfying, although I did skim the 'action' scene towards the end.
Salt Lane by William Shaw is the second novel involving DS Alexandra Cupidi and the first where she is the main subject in the story.
Shaw weaves a tale that at first seems to involve several threads one can't imagine are related.
The novel opens with the burning deaths of two boys many years ago and then in returning to current times, describes an apparent vagrant mother visiting a son she once abandoned and has had no contact with and then suddenly fleeing the next morning.
A brief time later Shaw turns to Kent police sergeant DS Alexandria Cupidi who is about to make an appeal to the public regarding the finding of a dead woman in a water-filled drainage ditch. It is believed the woman was murdered, however, no apparent murder method can be determined. The story then unfolds into another fine police procedural.
Shaw does such a fine job in developing the characters of the novel and in describing the local environment and surrounding area.
Shaw's novels are certainly among the higher tier of police procedurals and he tells stories with emotional impact involving characters the reader becomes invested in.
Highly recommended.
Shaw weaves a tale that at first seems to involve several threads one can't imagine are related.
The novel opens with the burning deaths of two boys many years ago and then in returning to current times, describes an apparent vagrant mother visiting a son she once abandoned and has had no contact with and then suddenly fleeing the next morning.
A brief time later Shaw turns to Kent police sergeant DS Alexandria Cupidi who is about to make an appeal to the public regarding the finding of a dead woman in a water-filled drainage ditch. It is believed the woman was murdered, however, no apparent murder method can be determined. The story then unfolds into another fine police procedural.
Shaw does such a fine job in developing the characters of the novel and in describing the local environment and surrounding area.
Shaw's novels are certainly among the higher tier of police procedurals and he tells stories with emotional impact involving characters the reader becomes invested in.
Highly recommended.
Ok where do I start with this one... well tbh the main plot is not bad the mystery and crime are pretty good. BUT and it’s very big... the characters are awfully written... there are sooo many editorial mistakes and grammar mistakes it’s embarrassing to point it out on here. I have no sympathy empathy or any feeling for the main character who comes across as being a piece of wood for all the animation she gives... then does wonder women heroics without it being any thing like reality I just don’t know where this author got his ideas from. It’s just a bit bizarre.