The Wild Swimmers - William Shaw

 

My brother lent me my first William Shaw book (I say lent, I’ve yet to return it!) It was the first in the Breen and Tozer series, A Song for Dead Lips. I read it, finished it, went straight out and bought the next three! I loved them. I wanted the series to go on. But nothing lasts forever, does it? So, I tenderly placed them on my bookshelf nestling together ….in the correct order of course…. and I moved on to other books.

 

But then one day I was sent an advanced reading copy of The Trawlerman by William Shaw (also accompanied by a copy of Grave’s End). I think it was in response to a social media offer for the book. Ok, I might not have started them in the right order, but I didn’t care for I became totally hooked on the Alex Cupidi series. Alex is the daughter of Breen and Tozer! Is that a spoiler? Sorry if it is. I was ecstatic! It felt like one series I had loved was allowed to develop into another that I loved equally. So off I went to get hold of the other two books in the series, oh and The Birdwatcher which features a character from the Cupidi series in a standalone.

 

I knew the Wild Swimmers was due to hit the bookstands in May and, Reader, I was ready!! BUT….but….but… the wonderful Elizabeth Masters at riverrun books sent me a proof which had me hyperventilating with excitement.

 

So, what is it about this series that so stokes my reader infatuation? Firstly, they are set in a part of the country where my paternal family hail from. I know these places. I’ve been visiting them since I was a kid, and it fills me with delight when places I know feature in books that I read. I can picture the locations and I think it enhances the overall experience. But location alone can’t elevate a book without there being some substance beyond that sense of place. Take the locations away and would I still love these books? Yes, I would.

 

Alex is a great character, flawed, yes, real, yes but also determined and intelligent when it comes to solving crime. She’s open and self-critical particularly as a parent for Zoe, her daughter, who is another of the series’ recurring characters. Fascinating depiction of a teenager. The series also has tight and twisty plots that has the reader thinking and surmising. The seamier underworlds that most areas possess to a degree are explored alongside the respectable which may not always be respectable!

 

The Wild Swimmers possesses all the elements that made the previous books in the series so compelling for me. Although Alex is the main character she doesn’t dominate the narrative. There is a sub plot here that allows a couple of the other characters to take a step up from their supporting roles to inject a scrumptious bit of tension and anxiety whilst meandering smoothly alongside Alex’s current investigation. Some parts will have you on the edge of your seat whilst others will have you yelling ‘No!’ at the pages! 

It's a book to pay attention to because the clues are there. And whilst I didn’t identify the perpetrator right away, I was heading in the right direction which made me feel pretty smug.  I refuse to divulge too much more. To suffice I will offer the basic blurb.

 

‘The body of a local woman is found washed up on the Folkestone shoreline. Cupidi must discover the missing link between a group of wild swimmers, an online dating profile and a slippery killer who feels remarkably close to home.’

 

And if that doesn’t whet your appetite I don’t know what will! If you’re a lover of crime fiction and you’ve never read any of this series I do recommend them. 

 

Thanks to Elizabeth Masters at riverrun books for a gifted copy.