Guardians of the Marsh: Welsh Peregrine Falcons Become International Commodities

A dead climber. A missing peregrine. A trail that leads from the marshes of South Wales to a world where rare birds are worth a fortune.Journalist Gareth Rhys is still recovering from the injuries that nearly killed him when a routine walk along Newport's waterfront ends at a derelict warehouse and the body of twenty-four-year-old Owen Pritchard.At first, the death looks like a tragic fall. But Owen was an experienced climber, and the scene makes little sense. Falconry equipment lies near the body. His wrists bear signs of restraint. And a single feather points towards something far more organised than an accident.Owen had connections to conservation projects across South Wales, where peregrine nests have been disturbed and valuable birds have vanished. He also had unexplained money, secretive work and links to people whose interests stretch far beyond wildlife.As Gareth begins asking questions, he enters a world where conservation, land, wealth and prestige overlap. Wealthy patrons mix with landowners, security contractors and legitimate falconers, while somewhere beneath the respectable surface a lucrative trade is flourishing.With his wife Lowri challenging his assumptions and wildlife specialist Hannah Rees helping him follow the evidence, Gareth must work out who is exploiting the protected landscapes of the Gwent Levels and who is prepared to silence anyone who gets too close.Then another death changes everything.Atmospheric, intelligent and rooted in the distinctive landscape of Newport, the Gwent Levels and the South Wales marshes, Guardians of the Marsh is a contemporary British crime thriller about greed, conservation and the dangerous distance between what people appear to protect and what they are really prepared to own.Perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven investigations, credible journalism, evocative British settings and mysteries where every answer leads to a more unsettling question.