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Recently, I've been watching BBC productions
based on some of Minette Walters's mysteries, and it made me want to read the
stories I haven't read or watched already. The Ice House is
her first novel and my favorite so far...
A decayed body is found in an ice house
on the grounds of Streech Grange, an estate which had been much
talked about ten years before, when David Maybury, its inhabitant, disappeared
without a trace. Phoebe Maybury, his wife, was the chief suspect in
his disappearance, but since no corpse had turned up before, no
charges could be brought against her. Chief Inspector Walsh, who
handled the case ten years ago, is adamant that the body is
David's, despite the inconclusive results of forensic analysis...
Anne Cattrell and Diana Goode have been living
in Streech Grange with Phoebe for the past ten years. Local rumor
accuses the three of them of lesbianism and witchcraft. Is there any
truth in these rumors? This is what Detective Sergeant McLoughlin, who
has been recently dumped by his wife, will try to find out, all the
while trying to fight a mixture of attraction and contempt towards
feminist Anne Cattrell. His investigation will uncover the numerous
secrets of Streech Grange and Streech village, some of them people
would rather have left buried...
The Ice House is an excellent
psychological mystery with several surprises in store for the
reader. The characters are interesting, mostly the investigators,
who, like the suspects, are shown as fallible human beings. Walters
paints people as they are, not all black or white, but rather in
different shades of grey, and shows that justice and law are not
necessarily synonyms...
A must-read British mystery!
Rating: 
© Discussing Books, 08/24/2003 |
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