Police Sergeant William South has a good reason to shy away from murder investigations: he is a murderer himself.
A methodical, diligent, and exceptionally bright detective, South is an avid birdwatcher and trusted figure in his small town on the rugged Kentish coast. He also lives with the deeply buried secret that, as a child in Northern Ireland, he may have killed a man. When a fellow birdwatcher is found murdered in his remote home, South’s world flips.
The culprit seems to be a drifter from South’s childhood; the victim was the only person connecting South to his early crime; and a troubled, vivacious new female sergeant has been relocated from London and assigned to work with South. As our hero investigates, he must work ever-harder to keep his own connections to the victim, and his past, a secret.
The Birdwatcher is British crime fiction at its finest; a stirring portrait of flawed, vulnerable investigators; a meticulously constructed mystery; and a primal story of fear, loyalty and vengeance.
**Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
“I never do crime novels but it’s brilliant.” Jim Moir/Vic Reeves.
“The most gripping book I’ve read in years. William Shaw is, quite simply, an outstanding storyteller.” Peter May
“Superb description of a haunting, blighted landscape. His best book so far.” C. J. Sansom
“An astoundingly good crime novel.” Elly Griffiths
“A brilliantly constructed thriller, told part in flashback to his traumatic past, it’s utterly compulsive, written in sharp, unsentimental style, and with a wonderfully atmospheric storm-battered setting” Sunday Mirror
“What a pleasure it is when one discovers a writer who combines ironclad storytelling techniques with the linguistic finesse of more literary novelists. William Shaw is surely such a writer, a man whose command of narrative grips the reader by the throat from page one, and never lets go – but also allows every word to register with exactly the right amount of resonance. And that’s not to forget the idiomatic dialogue, which is another Shaw specialty . . . The Birdwatcher, it might be argued, is Shaw’s most accomplished (and most visceral) book yet . . . [The] unsparing treatment of the personality of South – and the dark drives that can lead people to murder – that is at the chilling heart of this book.” Barry Forshaw, Independent
“A fine, atmospheric, emotionally compelling thriller.” John Williams, Mail on Sunday
“A gripping plot, atmospheric setting, highly believable characters and dialogue you can imagine real people saying, make this a contender for thriller of the year” Sun
“Award-winning author Shaw delivers an outstanding stand-alone novel.” Library Journal
“Shaw (A Song for the Brokenhearted) has more than enough material there for a fine procedural, but he interweaves the present-day case with a more personal one. The action builds to a thrilling ending.” Publishers Weekly
One of the summer’s “Chilliest Thrillers”. “Shaw’s prose sinks its hooks in.” Entertainment Weekly
“Exquisite in every way. It’s a slow burn book that begins with a violent crime and ends explosively, with plenty of character development and all of the elements that we have come to love and expect in a police procedural story… the book should certainly bring additional attention to Shaw’s superlative work and undoubtedly will create a demand for more.” Bookreporter
“Fantastic.” Bookriot
“I liked its discreet, thoughtful prose. . . . By its theatrical but moving conclusion, The Birdwatcher has become an excellent read.” Charles Finch, USA Today
“Shaw crafts a delicious atmosphere.” Mystery Scene
Longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year 2017. Shortlisted for the Golden Bullet.