The Birdwatcher

DS Alex Cupidi Book 0

“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

Dead Rich

A totally gripping, impeccably crafted thriller that never slackens the tension for a minute. . . Hugely enjoyable’ Jane Casey, author of The Killing Kind

Super yachts are secretive, like their owners. The bigger the richer. Like castles, they are created to inspire awe. Like castles too, they are defended. They are an entire world, separate from the rest of us.

Kai, a carefree once-successful musician is invited by his new Russian girlfriend Zina to join her family’s Caribbean holiday. Impulsively accepting he learns that Zina is the daughter of a Russian oligarch, Stepan Pirumov and that the trip is aboard his yacht, the Zinaida, moored in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. The crew consists of Captain Marius Falk, the first mate Erin Wade and a hastily assembled staff, including a chief stewardess Marissa from Miami, a chief engineer from Lagos and a personal trainer from Los Angeles. All know how to behave around the very rich.

On arrival Kai discovers that the head of security has been arrested, armed guards are below deck, there’s an onboard panic room and a strong sense of all not being quite right beneath the gleaming surfaces of the Pirumov’s lives. An unnerving presence punctures the atmosphere: a murderous imposter is on board the Zinaida, but who is it?

Kai will find that the only person he can trust will be Erin and that the world of the super-rich will become a prison from which they must escape. Part locked-room suspense, part adventure story, Dead Rich is an unforgettable, edge of the seat thriller set in the blazing heat of the Caribbean

“Now this is timely – a thriller about what happens when oligarchs fall foul of Putin… It’s a gripping, well-crafted tale and Shaw easily makes the transition to blockbusters.” Simon Cooper, The Sun

“A real page turner.” Woman Magazine

“Unsurprisingly skilful is Dead Rich by G.W. Shaw (riverrun). Why unsurprisingly? Admirers of the talented William Shaw should know that he is also G.W. Shaw, and they will be happy to tackle his alter go, in the latter guise, he supplies writing that is quite as adroit as that written under his usual moniker.” Barry Forshaw, Crime Time

“A sun-drenched, blood-soaked thriller set on a superyacht in the Caribbean. It’s that most wonderful thing: a Thumping Good Read.” Mark Edwards

“GW Shaw delivers a superbly crafted, adrenaline-charged thriller that engages the reader from start to finish.” Myles McWeeney, Irish Independent

“I’ve been a fan of William Shaw for a long time now, but even by his high standards Dead Rich is an extraordinary book.” M. W. Craven

“A joyous escape of a book. A real adventure story set on the high seas, with engaging central characters and a pacy narrative. And because it’s by William Shaw, it is, of course, beautifully written.” Ann Cleeves

“G W Shaw… has set this timely thriller on an oligarch’s yacht in the Caribbean… and there is plenty of action to keep thrill-seekers reading.” Natasha Cooper, Literary Review

“Dead Rich is a cleverly crafted and suspenseful locked room thriller set against the backdrop of the high seas and the world of the super wealthy.” culturefly.co.uk

“Set on a luxury yacht, Dead Rich charts a twisty course between murder, lies, and the dark deeds of oligarchs. A fresh, high-octane take on the ever-popular adventure thriller genre.” Vaseem Khan

“A rip-roaring seaborne adventure thriller. Dead Rich provides thrills and spills in abundance, along with enough sailing lore to satisfy even the most jaded armchair admiral.” Mike Ripley, Shots magazine

“Like a sophisticated, turbo-charged reboot of Alistair MacLean, it’s a completely gripping thriller adventure set on the Caribbean Sea that’s plotted and paced with precision. Loved it.” Paddy Magrane

“Dead Rich is a totally gripping, impeccably crafted thriller that never slackens the tension for a minute. The brilliantly realised setting lets you take a holiday in a billionaire’s nightmare, and the plot has twists that genuinely made me gasp. Hugely enjoyable.” Jane Casey

“Devotees of the wonderful DI Cupidi books, set on Kent’s southern coast, need not worry, though: following last year’s brilliant The Trawlerman, it’s still recognisably the same considered, meticulous and careful hand at the tiller. We are at sea again in this uncannily prescient story of mysterious misadventures of the ultra-high-net-worth bracket, most of which takes place on board a Russian oligarch’s yacht. Dead Rich proves what repeat customers for Shaw’s books have known for several years now: this is an author who can evidently do pretty much anything he puts his mind to. In an afterword to last year’s book he mentioned how the first chapter had been written during a writers’ workshop: here he delivers another masterclass.” Angus Batey, The Quietus

The Conspirators

Jacob Meaney makes so little money as a translator that his girlfriend has given up on him. Then Eloise, an Australian digital marketer, appears out of the blue, offering him unheard of sums for a couple of weeks’ work.

A private plane and helicopter take him to a showcase villa in Carinthia and all the luxury he could ever want. Here he meets the owner of the house Bondarenko. Unwillingly Jacob has become part of an organised crime conspiracy, held captive there by armed guards.

His task is to interpret between Hindi, Russian and English during Zoom calls with Nazim, an Indian criminal whose gang have taken over the manufacture and distribution network of the wonder fertility drug that Bondarenko has been selling on the internet. It becomes clear to Jacob that his employer is in far deeper and more dangerously than he realises. The gang’s plan is to take over the entire operation by any means.

The villa has become a lethal gilded prison to Jacob and Vlada, the maid who’s a trafficked worker. When Nazim finally strikes which side will Jacob take to survive?

Fast-moving, tense, glamorous and witty The Conspirators is G. W. Shaw’s follow-up to Dead Rich (‘A great book by a fabulous writer’ Steve Cavanagh) and shows that he’s a master of the gripping international thriller genre.

“Completely unique and original, The Conspirators by William Shaw is slick, witty, gripping and packed with non-stop action. It’s genre-defying which I loved and a brilliantly pieced together puzzle that keeps you absolutely glued to the page. Stunning.” Helen Fields 

“Delivers a fresh and darkly comic riff on an established format – like an Eric Ambler novel updated to the age of big pharma and cyber crime.” John Williams Mail on Sunday

“Tense and engrossing – a wild ride.” Shari Lapena

“This is fast-moving, superior thriller writing at its best.’ Mike Ripley, Shotsmag

“The gig economy collides with the world of illegal pharmaceuticals in this fast-paced adventure” Yours

“An ending that will make you grin at the sheer cleverness.” Susi Holiday

“This is a very enjoyable thriller which takes elements of the world we live in and spins a fantasy on a grand scale. Jacob is not sold to us as some James Bond wannabee but more like an average person stuck in an impossible situation. There is misdirection and quite a lot of edge of your seat moments which bring to mind some of the thrillers from times gone by such as Alistair McLean and Len Deighton and, more recently, Lee Child.” SF Crowsnest

“A subtle and engrossing read… The tale of an innocent at large and a gallery of well-sketched evil characters, alongside all the requisite twists and turns of a well-engineered plot, make for supreme entertainment with the reader rooting for the everyman character.” Maxim Jakubowski, Crimetime

‘Shaw’s headed for the big time… it’s a heater-skelter ride.’ Peterborough Telegraph

‘Some books should come with a warming: addictive content… Tautly written and satisfyingly plotted, you will be gripped. Guaranteed.’ Sussex Life

‘Blending international glamour and a sense of genuine threat, The Conspirators is stylish, pacy and cleverly plotted too.’ Culturefly