Minette Walters

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BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR


Title: The Dark Room: Description:
The author of the award-winning novels The Sculptress and The Scold's Bridle weaves a spellbinding tale of suspense and psychological terror. When heiress Jinx Kingsley is found unconscious in the wreckage of a mysterious car accident, the police suspect a suicide attempt. Suffering from amnesia, Jinx is placed in an exclusive private clinic, where she struggles to regain her memory with the help of Dr. Alan Protheroe -- but the memories that begin to surface are terrifying and desperate. A complex, nontraditional British mystery.

Title: The Shape Of Snakes: Description:
November 1978, Britain is on strike. the dead lie unburied, rubbish piles up in the streets, and in West London a black woman known as "Mad Annie" dies in a rain-soaked gutter. Her passing would have gone unmourned but for the young woman who finds her and who believes - apparently against reason- that she was murdered. For something passed between Annie and Mrs Ranelagh at the moment of death.

Title: The Echo: Description:
Who was Billy Blake, other than a homeless alcoholic who wandered the streets? Why was he found dead from starvation in one of the richest areas of one of the richest capitals of the world? Why did he die in the garage of Amanda Powell without calling for help? Having thwarted press interest for 6 months Amanda is suddenly eager to talk to Michael Deacon, she seems to have developed a strange obsession with her dead visitor and Deacon's curiosity both about her and her motives in trying to establish Billy's true identity is intense. But Deacon's interest in Billy has more to do with echoes in his own life rather than the stance taken by Amanda, a wealth which can only be explained if her husband is also dead.

Title: Fox Evil: Description:
When elderly Ailsa Lockyer-Fox is found dead in her garden, dressed only in nightclothes and with blood stains on the ground near her body, the finger of suspicion points at her wealthy husband, Colonel James Lockyer-Fox. This is a psychological thriller...

Title: The Dark Room: Description:
'Something else had happened...Something so terrible that she was too frightened to search her memory for it...' The newspapers reported the case with relish.Jane (Jinx) Kingsley,fashion photographerand heiress,tried to kill herself after being unceremoniously jilted by her fiance,who has since disappeared - together with Jinx's best friend Meg... But when Jinx wakes from her coma,she can remember nothing about the alleged suicide attempt.With the help of Dr Alan Protheroe of the Nightingale Clinic,she slowly begins to piece together the fragments of the last few weeks.Then the memories begin to surface...Memories of utter desperation and absolute terror.

Title: The Scold's Bridle: Description:
Mathilda Gillespie's body was found two days after she took an overdose and slashed her wrists. But what shocked Dr Sarah Blakeney the most was the rusted metal cage obscuring the dead woman's face - a scold's bridle. Maybe Mathilda's diaries can explain it - but the diaries have disappeared.

Title: The Sculptress: Description:
Rosalind has no idea what awaits her inside the prison. As a journalist, she knows all about the case - how Olive Martin had been found cradling the bodies of her dead mother and sister, how she had pleaded guilty and been nicknamed "The Sculptress". But Roz thinks Olive is hiding something.

Title: The Breaker: Description:
When Kate Sumner's corpse is discovered naked, bruised, prone and violated on the rocks of a sleepy South Coast town by two curious young boys and her tiny, traumatised daughter is found wandering alone several miles away, police are instinctively drawn to two suspects. William Sumner, Kate's husband, and Steven Harding, a handsome would-be actor, find themselves at the centre of the investigation and as police suspicions grow, their fatally flawed personalities are gradually disembowelled in the search for the truth. The clever presentation of part of the evidence in the form of bland witness statements, stylishly contrasting with the fast-paced narrative that swoops between the two prime suspects, is an ingenious tool which allows the weaknesses of each man to be gradually revealed. The Breaker is an example of the crime novel at its very best, with characters and situations so carefully judged that they become all the more believable as the story is pushed towards its chilling climax. Minette Walters has more than proved her exceptional talent for mystery and suspense in the award-winning The Ice House, The Sculptress and The Scold's Bridle and here merely confirms her unquestionable standing as the true Queen of intelligent crime writing. --Susan Harrison

Title: The Echo: Description:
Why was Billy Blake, a homeless alcoholic, found dead from starvation in one of the richest areas in one of the richest capitals in the world? Six months on, Amanda Powell is eager to talk to journalist, Michael Deacon. But Deacon's interest in Blake has more to do with his own past.

Title: Disordered Minds: Description:
4 CD AUDIO BOOK.

Title: The Devil's Feather: Description:
Sometimes, an author is obliged to change pace when their usual territory is becoming over-farmed – not least by themselves. And at first glance, The Devil’s Feather would appear to represent a radical new direction for Minette Walters. But -- wait a minute -- why would Walters need to dip into a new genre of novel? After all, she is now unquestionably in the upper echelons of British crime queens, quite as successful as P D James and Ruth Rendell at mining darker psychological territory, with (in her case) a strong sociological underpinning. Such books as Acid Row and Fox Evil have been bitter pictures of Britain as much as they have been crime novels. The Devil’s Feather is more ambitious than any of her preceding work, notably in the massive international canvas (including a war-torn country) that is the novel's backdrop.Five women have been savagely killed in the Sierra Leone conflict. Connie Burns is a correspondent for Reuters who asks awkward questions about the arrest of three young soldiers accused of the crime. Their forced confessions (after savage beatings) count for little in the middle of the Civil War, and Connie's theory -- that the murders were committed by a foreigner indulging his own sanguinary fantasies in the middle of a war -- proves to be very dangerous for her. Her attempts to track the killer down bring catastrophe on her own head, and she is forced to escape, going to ground in Dorset and dealing with the psychic scars she has been left with. It is, of course, inevitable that she will be tracked down even in the safety of the English countryside by her implacable opponent. As the foregoing conveys, this is very different territory from that which Walters has made her own, but she proves equally adept at the International blockbuster thriller as at any of her more tightly focused British novels. It goes without saying that the character portrayal (notably of the terrified Connie) is an on-the-nail as ever, and the considerable tension engendered by The Devil’s Feather may glean a whole new legion of readers for Walters. --Barry Forshaw

Title: Disordered Minds: Description:
In 1970, Harold Stamp, a retarded twenty-year-old was convicted on disputed evidence and a retracted confession of brutally murdering his grandmother - the one person who understood and protected him. Less than three years later he is dead, driven to suicide by isolation and despair. A fate befitting a murderer, perhaps, but what if he were innocent? Thirty years on, Jonathan Hughes, an anthropologist specialising in social stereotyping, comes across the case by accident. He finds alarming disparities in the evidence and has little doubt that Stamp's conviction was a terrible miscarriage of justice. But how far is Hughes prepared to go in the search for justice? Is the forgotten story of one friendless young man compelling enough to make him leave his books and face his own demons? And with what result? If Stamp didn't murder Grace Jeffries then somebody else did... and sleeping dogs are best left alone...

Title: Acid Row: Description:
Acid Row. The name the beleaguered inhabitants give to their 'sink' estate. A noman's land of single mothers and fatherless children - where angry, alienated youth controls the streets. Into this battleground comes Sophie Morrison, a young doctor visiting a patient in Acid Row. Little does she know she that is entering the home of a known paedophile...and with reports circulating that a tormented child called Amy has disappeared, the vigilantes are out in force...Soon Sophie is trapped at the centre of a terrifying siege, with a man she has come to despise. Whipped to a frenzy by unsubstaniated rumour, the mob unleashes its hatred. Against authority...the law...and the 'pervert'. 'Protecting Amy' becomes the catch-all defence for the terrible events that follow. And if murder is part of it, then so be it. BUT IS AMY REALLY MISSING?

Title: The Echo The Breaker Omnibus: Description:
THE ECHO It was the smell that Mrs Powell noticed first. Slightly sweet.Slightly unpleasant... It shocked her badly to find a dead man in the corner, his head slumped on his knees. Who was Billy Blake, other than a homeless alcoholic who wandered the streets? Why was he found starved to death in one of the richest area of one of the richest capitals in the world? And why did he die alone in the garage of wealthy architec Amanda Powell - wose wealth can only be explained if her husband is dead? THE BREAKER Twelve hours after a woman's broken body is washed up on a deserted shore, her traumatized three year old daughter is discovered twently miles away wandering the streets of Poole. Police suspicion centres on a young actor, whose sailing boat is moored just yards from where the toddler is found, and on the murdered woman's husband.Was he really in Liverpool the night she died? And why does their daughter scream in terror every time he tries to pick her up?

Title: The Ice House: Description:
When a rotting, unidentified corpse is discovered it marks the beginning of a nightmare murder investigation for the three women living there. But is it the beginning? Or does the body lying in the ice-house mean that the police can close an old file? Winner of the John Creasey Award in 1992.

Title: Disordered Minds: Description:
"The only factors that unite her works are her penchant for dark psychological perception; and their excellence" - "The Times". In 1970, Harold Stamp, a retarded, reclusive twenty year-old was convicted on disputed evidence and a retracted confession of brutally murdering his grandmother - the one person who understood and protected him. Less than three years later he is dead, driven to suicide by isolation and despair. Jonathan Hughes, an anthropologist specialising in social stereotyping, is determined to re-examine this case. There were alarming disparities in the evidence and Hughes has little doubt that there has been a terrible miscarriage of justice. But there is also something else pushing this half-Iranian, half-Libyan outsider to reach for the truth...This is more than a mere expose of corruption, it is a dark tale of solitude and the relentless need to contain aberration and section evil. "Minette Walters has stormed her way into crime fiction. With her first three books she claimed the highest accolades the crime-writing world can bestow ...A seductive writer with an imagination that makes her dangerous to know" - "Sunday Express."

Title: Fox Evil: Description:
When elderly Ailsa Lockyer-Fox is found dead in her garden, dressed only in nightclothes and with blood stains on the ground near her body, the finger of suspicion points at her wealthy, landowning husband, Colonel James Lockyer-Fox. A coroner's inquest gives a verdict of 'natural causes' but the gossip surrounding him refuses to go away. Why? Because he's guilty? Or because resentful women in the isolated Dorset village where he lives rule the roost? Shenstead is a place of too few people and too many secrets. Friendless and alone, his reclusive behaviour begins to alarm his London-based solicitor, Mark Ankerton, whose alarm deepens when he discovers that James has become the victim of a relentless campaign which accuses him of far worse than the death of his wife. Allegations which he refuses to challenge ...So begins a bitter war of resentment, and an unlikely alliance between strangers, whose clearer eyes and compassionate natures reveal evil for what it really is...

Title: Acid Row: Description:
Acid Row was the name the beleaguered inhabitants give to their 'sink' estate. A no-man's land of single mothers and fatherless children - where angry, alienated youth controls the streets. Into this battleground comes Sophie Morrison, a young doctor visiting a patient in Acid Row. Little does she know that she is entering the home of a known paedophile...and with reports circulating that a tormented child called Amy has disappeared, the vigilantes are out in force. Soon Sophie is trapped at the centre of a terrifying siege, with a man she has come to despise. Whipped to a frenzy by unsubstantiated rumour, the mob unleashes its hatred. Against authority...the law...and the 'pervert'. 'Protecting Amy' becomes the catch-all defence for the terrible events that follow. And if murder is part of it, then so be it. But is Amy really missing?

Title: Chickenfeed (quick Reads): Description:
A body is found in a chicken run ...Based on the true story of the 'chicken farm murder' which took place in Blackness, Crowborough, East Sussex in December, 1924. Norman Thorne was found guilty of the murder of Elsie Cameron, but even at the time of his execution there were doubts about his guilt. Still swearing his innocence, Norman Thorne was hanged on 22 April 1925. Bestselling author Minette Walters brings a thrilling story to life in this gripping new novel.

Title: The Sculptress: Description:
The facts of the case were simple : Olive Martin had pleaded guilty to kiling and dismembering her sister and mother, earning herself the chilling nickname "The Sculptress". This much journalist Rosalind Leigh knew before her first meeting wit holive, currently serviing a life sentence. how could Roz have foreseen that the encourter was destined to change her life - for ever?

Title: The Shape Of Snakes: Description:
November 1978. Somewhere in West London a black woman dies in a rain-soaked gutter. Her passing would have gone unmourned but for the young woman who finds her and who believes that Annie was murdered, for the police record the death as a simple RTA.

Title: The Chameleon's Shadow: Description:
Lt. Charles Ackland is the central figure in the book, a soldier injured in Iraq who has become prey to unbearable headaches and sudden explosions of temper which are most often directed towards women. Ms Walters attempts to keep us guessing about his true nature, showing his violent side and then revealing some of his difficult history, with which she clearly intends to engage our sympathy.

Title: Echo, The: Description:
Who was billy blake, other than a homeless alcoholic who wandered the streets? why was he found dead from starvation in one of the richest capitals of the world? and why did he die in the garage of wealthy amanda powell, without once calling for help?. minette walters fifth book

Title: Acid Row: Description:
Acid Row. The name the beleaguered inhabitants give to the place they live. A no-man's-land of single mothers and fatherless children where angry, alienated teenagers control the streets. Into this battleground comes Sophie Morrison, a young doctor visiting a patient in Acid Row. Little does she know that she is entering the home of a known paedophile. And with reports circulating that a tormented child called Amy has disappeared, the vigilantes are out in force . . . Soon Sophie is trapped at the centre of a terrifying siege, with a man she has come to despise. Whipped to a frenzy by unsubstantiated rumour, the mob unleashes its hatred. Against authority, the law - and the 'pervert'. 'Protecting Amy' becomes the catch-all defence for the terrible events that follow. And if the murder is part of it, then so be it ...

Title: Acid Row: Description:
A young doctor working with the inhabitants from a local estate plagued with social issues, becomes involved in a seige by inhabitants set to take law into their own hands when news of a paedophile in the area gets about.

Title: The Echo: Description:
Who was Billy Blake, other than a homeless alcoholic who wandered the streets? Why was he found dead from starvation in one of the richest areas of one of the richest capitals in the world? And why did he die alone in the garage of wealthy architect Amanda Powell - a woman who six months on from the tragedy is suddenly very eager to talk to journalist Michael Deacon....?

Title: The Devil's Feather: Description:
about privet security in Sierra Leone. Crime Thriller

Title: The Dark Room: Description:
Excellent suspense novel from the author of The Scold's Bridle & The Ice House.

Title: The Breaker: Description:
Why was Mary killed, and her daughter, a witness, allowed to live? Why weren't they together, and why had Mary willingly boarded a boat when she had a terror of drowning at sea? Police suspicion centres both on a young actor, and the murdered woman's husband.

Title: The Ice House & The Sculptress: Description:
Omnibus Edition includes The Ice House and The Sculptress.

Title: The Scold's Bridle: Description:
Mathilda Gillespie's body was found nearly two days afters she had taken an overdose and slashed her wrists with a Stanly knife. But what shocked Dr Sarah Blakeney the most was the scold's bridle obscuring the dead woman's face, a metal contraption grotesquely adorned with a garland of nettles and Michaelmas daises. What happened at Cedar House in the tortured hours before Mathilda's death?

Title: The Shape Of Snakes (paragon Softcover Large Print Books): Description:
From the internationally acclaimed, bestselling author ofThe SculptressandThe Breakercomes a brilliant new novel. It is November 1978. The winter of discontent. Britain is on strike. The dead lie unburied, rubbish piles in the streets – and somewhere in West London a black woman dies in a rain-soaked gutter. She was known as “Mad Annie” and was despised by her neighbours. Her passing would have gone unmourned and unnoticed but for Mrs. Ranelagh, the young woman who finds Annie as she dies and who believes – apparently against reason – that she was murdered. Whatever the truth about Annie – whether she was as mad as her neighbours claimed, whether she lived in squalor as the police said, whether she cruelly mistreated the many cats found starving in her house – something passed between the two women in the moment of death which binds Mrs. Ranelagh to Annie’s cause for the next twenty years. But why is she so convinced it was murder when, by her own account, Annie died without speaking? Why does the subject make her husband so angry that he refuses to talk about what happened that night? And why would any woman spend twenty years painstakingly uncovering the truth – unless her reasons are personal…? A complex puzzle of deceit and discovery,The Shape of Snakesis Minette Walters at her most intriguing. From the Hardcover edition.