The Birdwatcher

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

Author: William Shaw
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Published: 06/27/2017
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.00w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780316316248

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 03/01/2017 pg. 41
Publishers Weekly 04/03/2017
Library Journal 04/15/2017 pg. 78
Shelf Awareness 07/21/2017
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/0001

About the Author
William Shaw is an award-winning music journalist and the author of several non-fiction books including Westsiders: Stories of the Boys in the Hood. Prior to becoming a crime writer, he worked at the post-punk magazine ZigZag and a journalist for The Observer, The New York Times, Wired, Arena, and The Face. He lives in Sussex, England.