A Red Death - Walter Mosley

Advantages: gripping, well written
Disadvantages: none

...After the major disappointment of Acid Row, I swore I’d given up on Minette Walters. I considered that novel so beneath her talents that I was determined not to let her let me down again. However, after assurances from my mum that Walters was well and truly back on form, I got myself a copy of her latest paperback, Fox Evil, settled down with a coffee and found myself instantly hooked. The Plot: Nancy Smith, the adopted daughter of gentrified country parents, receives a visit from a solicitor informing her that her natural grandfather wants to get in touch. Happy as she is, she refuses point blank. Then she receives a letter from her grandfather which makes it clear that her natural family is beset by secrets, shame and tragedy. She is intrigued. James Lockyer-Fox, Nancy’s grandfather and a retired army colonel, lives... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Gripping, complex and intelligent
Disadvantages: Disturbing

...No other crime/psychological thriller writer understands the human psyche and its social constraints better than Minette Walters. Her latest novel, The Shape of Snakes, centres around the death of a reclusive black woman who sufered from Tourette's Syndrome and was thus ostracised by her adult neighbours and tormented beyond measure by the local children. Convinced that the victim was murdered, not knocked down by a van as the police and coroner concluded, neighbour Mrs Ranelagh seeks justice and has a nervous breakdown in the process as she is disbelieved by the police and abused and assaulted by her neighbours. Mrs Ranelagh then leaves the country with her husband, but never forgets victim Annie and continues to research the case from afar. Returning to England 21 years later, Mrs Ranelagh once again seeks justice... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: An enjoyable read suitable for everyone!
Disadvantages: That I had initially dismissed 'Quick Reads'

...working in London and came to visit him in his shack. Elsie was not a stable character and after the first couple of pages I had diagnosed her with Borderline Personality Disorder (since I have been told that I am on the border of BPD (!) I have read widely on it). Her relationship with Norman became increasingly difficult. Keen to get rid of the responsibility of Elsie, her parents made the situation worse by talking of weddings and babies. The plot thickens, and culminates with Elsie's death. Norman Thorne was found guilty of murder and hanged on 22nd April 1925. But was he really guilty? The reading experience Minette Walters keeps the language simple, but it is highly effective. The story is easy to follow, and there is no waffle. It had me gripped from the start, I think partly because it is based... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful