Liz Loves Books.Com.

Really enjoyed this one from William Shaw – a bit of a different take on the normal whodunnit with a main protagonist who is himself a murderer so prefers to just be a community officer – however when his neighbour is killed he gets sucked into the investigation through the brilliantly portrayed Alexandra Cupidi (I rather loved her and daughter Zoe). South’s hobby, even a bit of an obsession is birdwatching, again a little different from the norm and I’m always a fan of crime writing where the author attempts to change things up a bit or add something a little different into the mix.  The Birdwatcher had loads of that and is a beautifully written atmospheric thriller to boot.

There is a wonderfully clever use of the past/present vibe as we come to learn what led South to murder in the first place and how that follows him through life – mixed in with the present day murder investigation and some beautifully placed scenes of his normal routines in life. The birdwatching aspects were fascinating enough to make me consider taking it up and the relationship South builds with both Cupidi and her daughter just had a beautiful depth  which made you worry about where they would all end up. Especially considering the secrets being kept, all in all its quite the page turner.

The setting is realistic, you can see it right there and I adored the descriptive sense of feeling William Shaw brought to all of that, a true sense of place and it just added so much to the overall. The mystery is enticing and there are surprises along the way, I was very randomly upset by the ending in that “ohhhh” way (the best way)  – I can only hope perhaps that these characters will be revisited in another novel. Yes that is a blatant questioning glare I’m giving there so if you read this Mr Shaw – Hmm.

Really really good. In fact as I said on twitter having just finished it – bloody good.

Highly Recommended.