The Wild Swimmers
By William Shaw

So many people are into wild swimming these days, this may send shivers down the spine that is caused more than just the cold water. Discover the blurb and my review below…

Blurb

If only Alexandra Cupidi had turned south instead of north, she would have found the dead woman.

Instead it is her vulnerable daughter Zoë who stumbles across Mimi Greene’s lifeless body on the shoreline. A regular wild swimmer with a group of close friends, it’s out of character for Mimi to have been swimming alone, especially in bad weather. DS Cupidi starts to suspect this is more than just an accidental drowning.

Meanwhile, her friend and colleague Jill Ferriter receives a mysterious letter from a man who claims to be her father. Stephen Dowles has been in prison for the last twenty years, convicted of two brutal and senseless murders.

With Cupidi obsessed by the death of Mimi Greene, Ferriter must lean on Bill South to uncover the facts around Dowles’ conviction, revisiting old colleagues and criminals.

The Wild Swimmers is an explosive return to the DS Alexandra Cupidi Series, where the shores of the south Kent coastline expose deadly secrets.

Review

Wild swimming has increased in popularity to the point where it almost appears a normal pastime. Add a crime and the chills come from more than just the cold water lapping up onto your body.

Tension and suspense is created when regular swimmer, Mimi’s lifeless body is found in an unusual set of circumstances. Of course, accidental drowning seems the most logical explanation, but something more sinister is discovered when DS Alexandra Cupidi digs deeper, unconvinced that this experienced swimmer got into so much trouble that she’d die.

Shaw’s writing envelops you in the atmosphere of the setting he creates and draws you into the complexities and nuances of the characters. It’s a fascinating, involving read that becomes more than just finding a dead body as things become more twisty with mysterious letters and a prison inmate.

Rather fun, there are also unexpected reminisces of the summer of 1990, which lightens the atmosphere up a little here and there.