‘Red Shore’ by William Shaw

This is a very accomplished, if not hugely original, novel which combines the murder mystery and thriller genres. The story is compelling and not overly complicated, and I am glad to say, no hanging threads are left at the end. It all makes sense, and William Shaw keeps you guessing through twists and turns in his plot right up to the end. The characters are all well-drawn and it is, all in all, a very satisfying page-turner of a book.

For me though it was a rather special read simply because the lion’s share of the action takes place in the seaside town of Teignmouth on the south Devon coast, very near to where I live. I am thus intimately familiar with the detailed geography and could imagine all the scenes far more precisely than is usual when I read a contemporary novel.

The central protagonist is a Met police officer called Eden Driscoll who travels from London to Teignmouth at the start of the story after being told that his sister has gone missing.

The premise is great. A nine-year-old boy, Eden’s nephew Finn, is discovered locked in the cabin of a small boat drifting about in the bay. His mother has disappeared, and the mystery that needs to be resolved concerns how and why this has happened. Was she murdered? Did she accidentally fall overboard? Did she kill herself? In fact, at the start, is she even alive or dead?

Eden is estranged from his family and has never met Finn before, so the narrative is also a touching tale about their relationship developing in horribly difficult circumstances. Eden is not supposed to be involved in solving the crime, but inevitably ends up prompting and assisting the local police force and, in the well-worn manner of police procedural novels, overstepping the mark somewhat heroically. It is all great fun.

I had two minor quibbles. The first is that it does rather portray my home town as a den of vice, murder and anti-social behaviour. I am sure unsavoury stuff does go on, but it is not apparent to me as a happy resident enjoying very low insurance premia because the area in fact has very low crime rates. I am not sure tourists will be so encouraged to visit us after reading this, which is a shame, because our local economy badly needs them.

The second is the rather bizarre lack of any older people at all in the narrative. Absolutely no-one over the age of about forty-five appears anywhere. This amuses me because Teignmouth and the surrounding districts are home to vast numbers of retired folk. So the general impression of the place is not so accurate.

I was interested to discover that William Shaw himself grew up in Teignmouth, which helps to explain his evident familiarity with the town and its surroundings. He is an established and highly regarded crime novelist, having previously written successful series set in London and Kent, and before turning to fiction worked for many years as a music journalist. ‘The Red Shore’, published in 2025, is the first in a new series featuring Eden Driscoll, and a second instalment called ‘The Burning Tide’, appeared in July 2026.

My quibbles are very minor ones. Overall, wherever you live, if you fancy reading a pacy, well-crafted thriller / mystery tale, this is one that is well worth considering.