Why does your page look like this?

It would be tempting to believe that Terry Shaw’s debut novel, The Way Life Should Be (Touchstone, 295 pp., $14), couldn’t possibly be as interesting as the most recent chapter of his own life story, which reads like a fairy tale for struggling novelists. Last spring, Shaw, who lives in Knoxville, submitted his manuscript to Gather.com’s “First Chapters Writing Competition.” Called the “American Idol for books,” the contest would be judged by voters on the social networking site, and the winner would receive a publishing contract with Touchstone books. Shaw’s novel went up against 2,600 other entries. He won, and there’s no denying why.

John Quinn, the protagonist, has a temperament descended straight from his forbears, Irishmen who settled in the tiny coastal town of Stone Harbor, Maine. It’s been six months since Quinn left Miami with his wife and young son to return and edit his hometown newspaper. Hotheaded yet hard-working, he’s quick to give his (usually contrarian) opinion: “He went through life without a second thought—head-on and reckless—which often put him at odds with everyone else.”

But Quinn’s passion comes in handy when, not even four pages into the book, his best friend turns up dead in a rural park. The police department is inept, the town selectmen ethically challenged. Everyone claims they want to find the murderer, but no one seems willing to dig below the surface. The secrets lying there—infidelity, political corruption, brutal homophobia—might prove too much for one small town to survive.

These characters have such a life of their own it’s as if Shaw himself is only dictating as they speak, and the tangled plot they weave keeps things interesting. By novel’s end, Shaw has resolved the big mystery—the killer’s identity—but he doesn’t answer all the questions the plot raises. It’s hard to decide whether he’s leaving the door open for a sequel’s worth of intrigue, or if he’s a first-time novelist merely leaving a few loose ends. Regardless, the book is a fast-paced thriller—one worthy of its suspenseful journey to publication.

Terry Shaw will appear at the West End Borders at 2 p.m. Oct. 6.