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Kathy Shuker

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Angela
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Kathy Shuker

Goodreads Author


Born
The United Kingdom
Website

Genre

Influences
Too many to mention individually!

Member Since
March 2014

URL


I am a British author of absorbing and compelling mysteries, stories of intrigue and long held secrets. I trained as a physiotherapist but a back injury forced me to change career and, after studying design I worked as a freelance artist.
I started writing many years ago and now write full-time. I have written four stand-alone mysteries as well as four novels in the Dechansay Bright Mysteries, a series featuring two itinerant art restorers who become involved in a range of intrigues on their travels.
I live in Devon in southwest England. Art is still a major passion as are the natural world and music. Sadly, despite years of trying, (and the tolerance of both husband and neighbours) mastery of the piano, guitar and fiddle remains as elusive a
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Popular Answered Questions

Kathy Shuker I don't think I've ever suffered complete writer's block fortunately. I write fiction and If I'm stuck with a scene or a section of plot I distance my…moreI don't think I've ever suffered complete writer's block fortunately. I write fiction and If I'm stuck with a scene or a section of plot I distance myself for a short while, try to do something easy on the mind like taking a walk or working in the garden. Then my sub-conscious seems to work on it and often the answer just comes to me. If I try too hard I can just go round in circles. Coming back to a story with fresh eyes is invaluable.(less)
Kathy Shuker Good question! Lots of things. I love inhabiting the worlds I create, getting to know my characters and how they will react to what life will throw at…moreGood question! Lots of things. I love inhabiting the worlds I create, getting to know my characters and how they will react to what life will throw at them, juggling all the different pieces of the jigsaw so the plot intertwines but hopefully comes out making sense at the end! I also love playing with the language, choosing the right words to - with luck - create the same image in the mind of the reader as I have in my own. Despite the inevitable angst, it's a privilege to be able to do it.(less)
Average rating: 4.08 · 154 ratings · 51 reviews · 8 distinct worksSimilar authors
Silent Faces, Painted Ghosts

4.11 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions
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Deep Water Thin Ice

3.82 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 2014 — 9 editions
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That Still and Whispering P...

3.94 avg rating — 32 ratings3 editions
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The Silence Before Thunder

4.53 avg rating — 19 ratings2 editions
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A Crack in the Varnish (Dec...

4.20 avg rating — 15 ratings3 editions
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The Angel Downstairs (Decha...

4.22 avg rating — 9 ratings3 editions
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By a Hand Unknown (Dechansa...

4.13 avg rating — 8 ratings3 editions
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The House at Dart's End

4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings2 editions
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More books by Kathy Shuker…

The fourth instalment in the Dechansay Bright mystery series

It's been nearly two years since The Angel Downstairs was published. I'm shocked. Where has the time gone? In truth, along with the inevitable demands of everyday life, I've spent it writing the next book in the Dechansay Bright series. No AI (just saying...), but a load of research and then the usual drafting and redrafting, editing and re-editing that I always do. Hard work but fun.

Book number 4 Read more of this blog post »
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Published on April 06, 2026 05:24 Tags: coastal-setting, mystery, series, standalone-story
A Crack in the Varnish By a Hand Unknown The Angel Downstairs
(3 books)
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4.19 avg rating — 32 ratings

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Kathy’s Recent Updates

Kathy Shuker is currently reading
Julian of Norwich. Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
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Kathy Shuker and 47 other people liked Pam's review of Roman Fever:
Roman Fever by Edith Wharton
"This is a late Edith Wharton short story published in 1934, just a few years before her death. She’s still using her personal knowledge of upperclass Americans who spent a lot of time in the Old World—here Italy. Unlike many of her stories, the chara" Read more of this review »
Kathy Shuker has read
A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle
A Fatal Crossing
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Kathy Shuker and 1 other person liked Ian's review of Helm:
Helm by Sarah Hall
"I find it hard to review this book. It is so unusual. I don't think that I've read another book quite like it and so am left with a range of emotions. Initially, I found it quite hard to stay with - it almost lacked form (but so does the Helm wind in" Read more of this review »
This Book May Cause Side Effects by Unknown Author
"I don’t know why Goodreads feels unable to list the Author or any other details on this book’s listing. It has other listings for this title but claims that they are not yet published- but this book was published on 7th May 2026! It is written by Hel" Read more of this review »
" Anisha wrote: "Book added!"
Thank you so much Anisha. Brilliant. You're a star!
...more "
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The End of Her Honeymoon by Marie Belloc Lowndes
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Theo of Golden by Allen  Levi
Theo of Golden
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My Friends by Fredrik Backman
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Quotes by Kathy Shuker  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Letting go’ sounded like such an easy thing to do...but actually involved a lot of pain.”
Kathy Shuker, Deep Water, Thin Ice

“There was almost an air of penance about her, as if, by doing these dirty jobs which she found so distasteful, she was trying to repay some debt. And, to judge from the shadowy sadness which she carried around her like a mantle, it was about as effective as throwing in spadefuls of sand to dam a flowing river.”
Kathy Shuker, Deep Water, Thin Ice

“He had found that jealousy – or perhaps the fear of betrayal – was no respecter of age. Indeed, if anything, he thought getting older simply made it worse; he felt more vulnerable now.”
Kathy Shuker, Silent Faces, Painted Ghosts

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
A Good Thriller: Pick It For Me - March Read! 49 144 Feb 28, 2015 02:13PM  
Devon Book Club: Happy New Year 2020 5 8 Jan 02, 2020 02:17PM  
Goodreads Authors...: * Welcome Literary Fiction Authors and Readers!! 681 3301 Jul 19, 2026 11:53AM  
Goodreads Authors...: * Welcome Mystery Authors and Readers! 1022 3593 Aug 19, 2026 11:01AM  
Goodreads Authors...: * Welcome General Fiction Authors and Readers! 980 4230 Sep 07, 2026 05:18AM  
Goodreads Authors...: * Author List 7946 21908 Sep 09, 2026 05:35PM  
Goodreads Authors...: * Introduce Yourself! 23071 26104 12 hours, 22 min ago  
“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.”
Anne Frank

“The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions - the little, soon forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile, a kind look or heartfelt compliment.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear”
Aung San Suu Kyi

“Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.”
Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind

“If you knew in advance that something momentous and terrible would happen you’d make an effort to imprint it all in your mind, wouldn’t you, every detail. But of course you don’t know. And perhaps that’s just as well.”
Kathy Shuker, Silent Faces, Painted Ghosts

148434 Devon Book Club — 611 members — last activity Aug 18, 2026 12:49AM
For book lovers of all kinds who live in, work in or just love Devon and want to be part of this community.
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73787 The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) — 873 members — last activity Jun 17, 2026 07:13AM
This group is moderated by Jessica Bell, publisher of Vine Leaves Press. Jessica is also a widely published indie author and a Goodreads Librarian. Sh ...more
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