The Wild Swimmers by William Shaw – Alex Cupidi 5 – #20BooksofSummer2025 – Book No 3

William Shaw is one of my favourite UK crime writers. His DS Alex Cupidi novels, which are set in Kent and around Dungeness in particular, are particularly strong for their sense of place, but also there’s always a social justice theme running through them. It’s probably better to have read some of the others before this one so you get to know the characters of Alex, her daughter Zoë, her neighbour former police officer William South, and her DC sidekick, Jill Ferriter better. Links to my reviews here:

• Salt Lane – Immigration and gang masters on Kent farms
• Deadland – Art crime, fraud and teenagers on the run
• Graves End – House building and the environment with a superb badger.
• The Trawlerman – PTSD and environmental scams – You could start the series here, as there was a natural break of sorts.

Called to a report of a body on the beach at Dungeness, Alex is with her daughter Zoë who is now 19, and thinks it probably a hoax. At the beach Alex goes one way, Zoë the other and it’s Zoë who does find a body.

Meanwhile, Jill called round for Alex wanting to talk, but she’s out, so Jill talks to Bill South instead. She’s had an embarrassing experience as the result of a dating app. She and her hook-up Malcolm were caught in the middle of things – by his partner! She’s also had a letter from a man who claims to be her father – he’s a convicted murderer in prison.

It’s Jill who identifies the body. It’s the woman who caught Jill and Malcolm at it, Mimi Greene! Bless her, Jill confesses what happened. This makes Jill a witness, so she’s placed on leave, and the hunt for Malcolm begins – his profile has been wiped from the dating app. Mimi had been part of a group of wild swimmers, who met on the beach regularly to swim together, and Alex will take that avenue to investigate, including going swimming with the ladies, much to Zoë’s worry that she’ll drown.

This leaves Jill free to find out more about the man who purports to be her father, and Bill South will help her. I don’t want to explain more of the plot, other than to say that the main body of the book belongs to Jill and Bill, and it’s Bill who will place himself in terrible danger this time.

As usual, Shaw combines topical social issues into a cracking plot involving dating apps and wild swimming, as well as the perils of researching a dodgy family tree. I was totally gripped, and I loved the initially spiky dynamic between the feisty Jill and the retired copper Bill in particular. Zoë has grown with the series, and is now a highly principled young woman, forming a strong friendship with Rosa, the youngest of the swimming group who grieves for Mimi. I loved that Shaw made space to expand on those closest to Alex’s story, making this a very satisfying and zeitgeisty as always addition to the DS Cupidi novels. Shaw remains a favourite crime author.

This was my third book read, fourth reviewed for #20BooksofSummer2025, and also fits the bill for National Crime Reading Month promoted by the Crime Writer’s Association ahead of their ‘Daggers’ awards at the end of June.

Source: Own copy. Riverrun hardback, 2024, 376 pages.

BUY at Blackwell’s via my affiliate link, now in paperback.