Book #54 The Body on the Shore

The Body On The Shore by Nick Louth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A successful architect, Peter Young, is assassinated - shot with two bullets through his office window. A body is found on a remote Lincolnshire shore. Two Albanian children, adopted by a wealthy couple, Sophie and Dag Lund, suddenly disappear. Abducted? Are these seemingly unrelated events connected in any way? DCI Craig Gillard was the on-call detective in Surrey when Young was killed. How was Young shot through his 2nd storey office window? From a high vantage point?

Strange symbols are found at the various locations. Geoff Meadows, a former detective chief superintendent at the National Crime Agency is one of the few experts on Albanian crime outside academia. He recognises the symbol as the triple-headed eagle of the Dragusha clan, a notorious Albanian mafia family.

The police investigation will find connections that take Gillard to Albania and become embroiled in the blood feud between the Dragusha and Kreshniki crime families. Assisted by Sergeant Tokaj:

'This is the empire of blood,' Tokaj said, spreading his hands. 'Built on violence, extended through marriage, cemented by corruption and bulwarked by fear.'

Why is Gillard in Albania? Why has he put himself in harm's way? No more spoilers. Read it and find out. The Body on the Shore is different - full of menace and dark moments and a totally unexpected twist that is breathtaking in its audacity.


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Illegal Killing of Birds in Southern Europe

Across several countries in Southern Europe including France, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Malta and Albania, birds suffer from a wide range of illegal persecution: illegal poisoning, shooting, trapping and the theft of chicks for the bird trade are common practices.

Although migratory birds are protected under EU legislation, hunters continue to blatantly contravene the law in Spain, Italy, France, Cyprus and Malta. The authorities in these countries only pay “lip service” to the legislation but do nothing to prevent the killing of birds.

Albania has recently introduced a 2 year hunting ban but only time will tell whether the authorities enforce the legislation. Albania had become a destination for Italian tourist hunters because in the European Union, at least on paper, there are much stricter controls on what and when you can shoot.

The grim fate of migratory songbirds in Valencia, Spain, has been highlighted by a new video filmed by the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), which also shows police not responding to a call-out.

Despite a clear EU ban on such practices, the Spanish authorities take no action against these installations although these are highly visible and are operated openly by their owners. Heinz Schwarze, CABS President said: “We have informed the police time and again but no one accepts responsibility”.

Champions of the Flyway is a major new international bird race that is being staged in Eilat, Israel on 1st April 2014.

While the racing might be light-hearted, the goal is to raise funds, so that BirdLife International can tackle the illegal killing of birds in Southern and Eastern Europe.