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37 ratings | 3 reviews | avg rating:4.68

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Amy Pike

79 books | 27 friends

Stella Voskan

1 book | 2,185 friends

John Wyburn

1 book | 12 friends

Veronica Mack

931 books | 20 friends

Jonah Larchwood

2 books | 1 friend

Ellery Shaw

Goodreads Author

Born

London, The United Kingdom

Genre

Fiction, Mystery, Science

Influences

Jasper FForde
T. Kingfisher
RichardOsman
TerryPratchett
CoryDoctorow ...more

Member Since

December 2025

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I was originally from the UK, where I went to university in Manchester and London, which figure heavily in my book(s). When I'd just finished my PhD and was starting my first real job in academia, the HR person took one look at me and said, "You're not a scientist!"

It took me a while to work out she was right, and I was much too easily distracted to be a research scientist. Also, I was born to live in bare feet, not a lab coat, let alone a suit.

So I dropped out of academia, packed my bags and moved to the beach in Australia. For 10 years or so, I've been a freelance science writer, zipping between my office and the surf in my elderly VW kombi.

Having written hundreds of papers and articles about science, I started writing my first novel – An ...more

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Ellery Shaw’s books

Average rating: 3.83 · 6 ratings · 3 reviews · 1 distinct work

An Improbable Hypothesis

3.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions

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1 post
Ellery Shaw's Blog

An Improbable Hypothesis – Available Now

Having written hundreds of science articles, my first full-length fiction novel – An Improbable Hypothesis – is available on Kindle now (other formats coming soon).

With a mix of real science, humor, academia, history, heartbreak and mystery, An Improbable Hypothesis is probably best described as a cosy scientific mystery.

Here's the blurb ...

Academic ambition, a biological mystery, and a long-hidd Read more of this blog post »

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Published on February 22, 2026 17:16

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Ellery’s Recent Updates

Ellery Shaw made a comment in the group Get Honest Book Reviews without Review Swaps — Please introduce yourself topic " Hi, I'm Ellery, a British–Australian author, and I recently published my first novel, An Improbable Hypothesis (just on Kindle, including Kindle Unlimi ...more "
May 06, 2026 08:08PM
Ellery Shaw answered John Wyburn's question: This question contains spoilers… (view spoiler) Hi John, Thanks, that's great! I'll let you know when it goes live at my end. Dr E
May 04, 2026 03:56PM · like
Ellery Shaw rated a book it was amazing Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Set in 1899 in North Carolina, and told in the first person, this horror-ish tale could have descended into a twee gothic horror, but T. Kingfisher gets away with it using her light touch and gentle humour (between the gross bits). With a large chunk ...more
Apr 28, 2026 10:12PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ellery Shaw is now following T. Kingfisher Author of Nettle & Bone
Apr 12, 2026 04:23PM · like
Ellery Shaw rated a book really liked it The Big Steal (MCM Investigations Book 3) by Caimh McDonnell (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A crime thriller for people who don't do crime stories. I'm not a crime story fan, but Caimh McDonnell writes funny, easy-to-read crime thrillers, so I've enjoyed the MCM Investigations series, which is itself a spin-off of the Bunny McGarry series. T ...more
Apr 09, 2026 06:42PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Big Steal by Caimh McDonnell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Big Steal by Caimh McDonnell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ellery Shaw is now following Caimh McDonnell Author of A Man With One of Those Faces (Dublin Trilogy p...
Mar 24, 2026 10:52PM · like
Ellery Shaw answered John Wyburn's question: This question contains spoilers… (view spoiler) Thanks John, that's great ... unlike my proofreading abilities. I've fixed the errors and/or mildly tweaked the text, and I'm very pleased that my firstborn novel is perfect again (... right until someone spots a few more typos). "Peter rotated the sc See Full Answer
Mar 17, 2026 12:06AM · like
Ellery Shaw rated a book it was amazing The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 23, 2026 02:27PM · like
Ellery Shaw made a comment on their status in An Improbable Hypothesis " Hi Rosie, Yes, I'm hoping to get a few reviews on GoodReads, so I'm happy to send out some review copies to interested readers. I've just realised that ...more "
Feb 18, 2026 09:04PM
Ellery Shaw made a comment in the group Goodreads Authors/Readers — Introduce Yourself! topic " Hi, I'm Ellery Shaw, an ex-scientist who has written dozens of research papers, but now I live at the beach and write books instead. I have just publi ...more "
Feb 17, 2026 08:30PM