The Birdwatcher : a dark, intelligent thriller from a modern crime master

***THE STANDALONE THRILLER THAT INSPIRED THE DS CUPIDI SERIES***'If you're not a fan yet, why not?' Val McDermid'William Shaw is an outstanding storyteller' Peter May'Grips the reader by the throat and never lets go' IndependentPolice Sergeant William South has a reason for not wanting to be on the murder investigation. He is a murderer himself. But the victim was his only friend; like him, a passionate birdwatcher.South is warily partnered with the strong-willed Detective Sergeant Alexandra Cupidi, newly recruited to the Kent coast from London.Together they find the body, violently beaten, forced inside a wooden chest.Only rage could kill a man like this. South knows it. But soon - too soon - they find a suspect: Donnie Fraser, a drifter from Northern Ireland.His presence in Kent disturbs William - because he knew him as a boy.If the past is catching up with him, South wants to meet it head on.For even as he desperately investigates the connections, he knows there is no crime, however duplicitous or cruel, that can compare to the great lie of his childhood. Moving from the storm-lashed, bird-wheeling skies of the Kent Coast to the wordless war of the Troubles, The Birdwatcher is a crime novel of suspense, intelligence and powerful humanity about fathers and sons, grief and guilt and facing the darkness within. READERS ARE LOVING THE BIRDWATCHER:'An outstanding read' ?????'An engrossing, character driven and steadily paced police procedural' ?????'Shaw certainly knows how to tell a tale!' ?????'Great characters, great plot and a fantastic setting' ?????