The Ice House

Rating:
Summary: A great find
Review: In all honesty, I only read this book because I happen to share my name with the deceased husband. While I admit to taking a certain perverse pleasure in all the horrible things written about "me," I honestly found myself tearing through this book in a headlong rush to get to the end of the mystery.

Walters produces an agressive, fearless mystery here in her debut work. As you begin to wade into the book, which hits the ground jogging, not running, and never lets up, a long, entangled web begins to reveal itself. As every closet gets opens, skeletons fall out around the detectives, as the reader continues on, almost unaware of how engrossed they have become.

Walters possesses a unique gift for populating her stories with a staggering array of multilevel characters, many of whom are very intelligent, which provides quality intellectual sparring. The book truly does not have a hero, though. All characters are flawed, many deeply. These are real people, many of them vile, vindictive, but with soft veneers, and some even with kind hearts.

This book was a very enjoyable trip that has not gotten nearly the attention it deserves on this side of the ocean. I highly recommend that my fellow readers work to change that.

Rating:
Summary: A great find
Review: In all honesty, I only read this book because I happen to share my name with the deceased husband. While I admit to taking a certain perverse pleasure in all the horrible things written about "me," I honestly found myself tearing through this book in a headlong rush to get to the end of the mystery.

Walters produces an agressive, fearless mystery here in her debut work. As you begin to wade into the book, which hits the ground jogging, not running, and never lets up, a long, entangled web begins to reveal itself. As every closet gets opens, skeletons fall out around the detectives, as the reader continues on, almost unaware of how engrossed they have become.

Walters possesses a unique gift for populating her stories with a staggering array of multilevel characters, many of whom are very intelligent, which provides quality intellectual sparring. The book truly does not have a hero, though. All characters are flawed, many deeply. These are real people, many of them vile, vindictive, but with soft veneers, and some even with kind hearts.

This book was a very enjoyable trip that has not gotten nearly the attention it deserves on this side of the ocean. I highly recommend that my fellow readers work to change that.

Rating:
Summary: Three Gay Ladies and a Dead Ex-Husband. Whodunit?
Review: Streech Grange is an estate occupied by three infamous women, infamous because they are alleged lesbians and because they are suspected murderesses. Ten years ago Diana and Anne moved into Streech Grange, right after Phoebe�s abusive husband vanished.

Many found it hard to accept that he simply walked away from his gorgeous home and beautiful wife. Besides, murder makes for juicer gossip. But did she kill him or not? Enquiring minds want to know and they think maybe they�re going to get their answer, because now a body has been discovered in the ice house. Sure, it�s still in a state of decay, and David vanished ten years ago, but the ice house is very cool, so it�s possible.

Enter Inspector Walsh who is champing at the bit at the thought of the body being Phoebe�s husband, because he�s the one who accused and cast suspicion on her all those years ago. He loathes the thought of those women and their lifestyle and he especially doesn�t like Phoebe.

However there is a good cop too. Inspector McLoughlin spends time with the gorgeous murder suspects and it seems both to arouse him and to compromise his integrity. He�s challenged, intrigued and fascinated by the women and he has a difficult time trying to figure out how to react to them.

I won�t reveal any more but you�ll be happy to know that the descriptions and dialogue are fantastic, each of the characters has something to offer and the many intricate subplots make this story impossible to predict and simply fascinating to read.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking and Fascinating Crime Novel
Review: THE ICE HOUSE is a sharp and compelling crime novel, and, in my opinion, Minette Walters best. I first read this several years ago but have since re-read it many times and always enjoy the sharp writing and twisted plot.

The characters are a joy to read about. They are all developed well and interesting, but by far the two that stand out the most are Anne Cattrell and Andy McLoughlin. She is a darkly humorous and sarcastic journalist and he is a morose and troubled police detective. The dialogue they share is electric, and tempered with wit and anger, but sometimes they can be surprising understanding towards each other. They are more alike than they realise!

The plot is remarkable and surprising. There are plenty of twists and you are kept guessing as to 'who done it' all the way through - we are not even sure if the 'good guys', in this case the three women accused of murder, are really as innocent as we'd like to believe. The final scenes are tense and exciting and deliver all the first three quarters of the book promise.

Overall The Ice House is a spectacularly thrilling story with exciting characters and a wonderful ending. I believe that The Ice House is essential reading for everyone who loves crime novels.

JoAnne

Rating:
Summary: A gem of a murder mystery
Review: This is a gem of a novel, a well-crafted story of mystery filled with wonderful characters. Three women: Phoebe, Anne and Diane - a coven of lesbians, according to gossip- live in a manor house, secluded. Three murders: Phoebe's parents who died in a car crash many years ago; Phoebe's husband who disappeared 10 years ago, and whose body was never found; and a newly discovered body in the ice house on Phoebe's property. But were all of these, or any of these actually murders? And who is the man in the Ice House and how did he get there? This is a page-turner that has as much to do with discovering the complexities of the three women as who if anyone has been murdered and by whom. Add to that a couple of overzealous detectives - one chief inspector who is convinced of Phoebe's guilt and one detective sergeant who is driven by both the charms and the mysteries of the women, especially Anne. One of the best I've read this year.

Rating:
Summary: Read it
Review: Well, it's undoubtedly one of Walter's best novels. The best, I think, is "The Dark Room." The only drawback I find is that the main female character(s) is quite recognizable and keeps appearing on the pages of the author's every novel: a strong-willed woman maltreated by a wicked man and/or suffering from the unhealed wounds of the past. However, you have no time to think about it for the plot and Walter's brilliant language rapidly lead you through the cobweb woven of human sins and hidden poisonous desires. It'a a plasure to read, indeed. I've read all Walter's novels (published, of course) and can assure you that it is impossible to predict (based on the previous experience) who is the murderer.

Rating:
Summary: A cleverly conceived, well-executed mystery
Review: What a great book! The award-winning THE ICE HOUSE is a thoroughly entertaining novel filled with some of the wittiest prose and sharpest dialogue I've ever read. Minette Walters is a gifted writer; her narrative is lucid as well as literate, and her characters are flawlessly constructed. There's also a fine plot in this book, with quite a few crafty twists and turns; my only complaint is that a few of the plot strands could not be deduced by the reader. In the sense of the Golden Age detective story, then, I suppose Walters "cheated" a bit. Nonetheless, THE ICE HOUSE is such a gloriously savory dish it's quite overlookable. Lovers of P.D. James and Ruth Rendell will undoubtedly enjoy the work of this hot new British author. One down, five to go. Next stop: THE SCULPTRESS...

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite Walters to date
Review: When a body is found in an abandoned ice house, an old murder case that the owner of the house would rather forget surfaces again. A really delightful combination of a traditional British mystery and a psychological detective story. The characters are satisfyingly human and Walters avoids most of the stereotypes that it's so easy for writers to fall into. At least as good as _The Scold's Bridal_.

Rating:
Summary: A MOST AUSPICIOUS DEBUT NOVEL...
Review: Winner of Britain's John Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel, this splendid debut novel by the author is a tough act to follow. She weaves a marvelous mystery surrounding three women who live together in an English Country manor house, one of whom, Phoebe Maybury, is suspected of having murdered her bounder of a husband ten years ago. More recently, a corpse in found in an old icehouse on their property and rumors begin flying fast and furious about these three women.

Ostracized by the community in which they live, these three women become larger than life in the minds of the local townfolk. The charming and artistic Diana Goode and the earthy, no nonsense Anne Catrell hunker about their housemate, Phoebe, as the events of the past threaten to crop up again and overwhelm her.

The police, led by Chief Inspector Walsh, a man with his own underlying agenda, seems intent upon putting the screws to these three women, fixating upon Phoebe Maybury. Only Sergeant Detective McLoughlin seems to be genuinely interested in discovering the truth. In order to do so, however, he must confront his own personal demons, as he finds himself drawn into a snare of deceit, good intentions gone awry, loyalty, and a secret that threatens to ruin the lives of three women.

The author cleverly uses the discovery of the corpse as a catalyst for a voyage of self discovery for some of her characters. Brimming with a cornucopeia of subplots and one or two red herrings, the author grips the reader with a literate and compelling narrative. She is a welcome addition to the ever growing list of British mystery novelists. This author's work should appeal to those who enjoy mysteries written by Ruth Rendell.