William South is a policeman in the flatlands around Kent. He is a loner by nature and this is reflected in his past time of bird watching: a hobby that requires stealth, patience and a love of being by oneself. However, when his neighbour Bob Rayner is murdered the responsibility falls to him and his immediate superior DS Cupidi to bring the perpetrators of this vile crime to justice. South spent his childhood in the troubled streets of a 70's Belfast and is no stranger to death and suffering his father having been supposedly  murdered by paramilitaries present in the province at that time.

This story has a certain slow tempo and style, South is not a man to be hurried and he approaches his job in the same meticulous manner is his bird watching. He forms a connection with Cupidi whose daughter Zoe it would appear is keen to learn the principles of bird watching and South is almost forced to allow her to accompany him on "twitcher" expeditions. There is a presumption by the reader that South and Cupidi have a mutual romantic interest in each other but the author fails to explore this and their feelings never develop beyond their working environment. The author uses South's troubled childhood to introduce an element of intrigue as past and present collide in a bloody conclusion.

I found the whole story to be somewhat boring and lacking in any real warmth towards the characters. It is told in a present and past time line and indeed William's childhood was the most exciting and dangerous part, in contrast to his laborious and humdrum Kent existence.

This book focuses on William South when he was a child and now as adult investigating a murder. I found his childhood to be a bit more interesting then the events that were happening in his adulthood. There is something that happens during his investigation that ties back to events from his childhood that he has hidden from everyone. I had figured out pretty early on what William did as a child and after that my interest in the book lessened. The present day events did not go as I expected them to and I didn't really like how everything ended.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley.

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.