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Saturday, June 23, 2018

Salt Lane by William Shaw

Last year I read Shaw's The Bird Watcher and enjoyed it for several reasons:  the bleak Dungeness setting on the Kent coast, the distinctive characters, the depth of plot.  Salt Lane is also set in Dungeness and DS Alexandra Cupidi continues her struggles to balance work and home life.

Alex isn't an immediately likable character, but she takes the lead role in this latest book, and she grows on you.  Often tactless, she says what she think often without considering the way her words could be received.  She's headstrong and her impulsive nature can make situations more difficult...and dangerous.

An excellent crime novel that tackles some of the current problems that society faces and blends characterization and atmosphere in a first-rate plot.  Two separate cases evolve and intertwine creating a suspenseful and thought-provoking whodunnit...and why.

Alex's partnership with Constable Jill Ferriter is developing into an appealing alliance and her relationship with her mother and her daughter also holds more possibilites.  

Whenever a second novel in a series appears, I wonder if it will hold up to the first--in this case, it does more than that.  Salt Lane gives promise to more stimulating additions to the series.

 NetGalley/Mulholland Books

Crime/Detective Fiction.  June 26, 2018.  Print length:  464 pages.

14 comments:

  1. I remember that you liked the previous book and I think I read another couple of positive reviews. I'm attracted to the setting and will put this one and the previous on my list. They sound very promising.

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    1. It is an interesting setting and a birdwatcher's paradise. Dungeness Nature Reserve --https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/

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  2. I am glad this one turned out to be a good one too! I look forward to giving it a try.

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    1. It is an interesting series, and I look forward to the next one. :)

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  3. You make the two books by Shaw sound interesting, especially the setting and characterization--I suffer from a horrible case of "so many books, so little time."

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    1. Too many books, too little time is a common reader dilemma; the only thing more disagreeable is too few books and too much time. Both are fearsomely stressful!

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  4. Sounds like a good one, and Alex seems to be an interesting character. I like it that a character grows on you as the story progresses. :)

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    1. I do find some of her personality traits interesting--she's the person who often says what others might be thinking, but are too polite to say or ask. She would be a difficult person to make friends with, but a worthwhile friend if you made the effort. :)

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  5. Okay, you sold me on this. I read a brief sample of The Birdwatcher and wasn't sure if it was for me, but your glowing recommendation of his books makes me want to read them.

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    1. Hope you enjoy them if you read them. I'm definitely a crime/mystery reader. :)

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  6. I really like unlikable protagonists that are interesting. Probably a tricky thing for an author to pull off!

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    1. It is a tricky thing, isn't it? To take a character who has a difficult personality and look a little deeper...

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  7. Always a good thing when a series improves with each new book!

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    1. The fact that Dungeoness is a famous bird sanctuary that is a favorite for migratory birds and attracts so many bird watchers made me think of your love of birding, Lark. :)

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