Rating: 
Summary: Ugly, Cruel, and Excellent
Review: As a long term fan of great British mysteries written by Agatha Christie, P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, and Elizabeth George (even though she is an American), I looked forward to tucking into this book. I expected, as in others of the genre, that any violence would be viewed after-the-fact, and only through a prism of hedgerows, ancient chapels, and tea cozies. Ms. Walters makes it clear she will not allow the reader to employ a civilized, but distant, involvement in this book. Her use of photos depicting the characters in the book was one of the first things that impressed me. "This was a real person", she seems to be saying, "ugliness has a face, it is not an abstract concept." She continues to grate ever closer to the bone as she introduces pain after pain. I am an intense animal lover, and the abuse was horrible to read, but it happens, or it could, and Ms. Walters refuses to put the gloves on as she pounds your sensibilities. By mid-point in this book, I would have sold my soul for a mention of a scone. This book demands committment by the reader, and no one gets out of this read unscathed. My husband read the book after I did, and he was sceptical about the main character's obsession with finding out the truth behind a 20 year old question, that was answered to everyone's satisfaction years ago. I glanced over at him when he was nearing the end of the book, and noticed a tear on his cheek. "Now you know", I said. "Now I know", he said. And if you read this book, you will know pain.
Rating:
Summary: More social drama than mystery
Review: Fans of Minette Walters are used to her books being intense, dark and demanding. The Shape Of Snakes is no exception. The book is told in first person narrative by Mrs. Ranelagh in whose arms Annie Butts died 20 years ago. At the time of Annie's death Mrs. Ranelagh (whose first name is never mentioned) failed to convince the police to launch an investigation, but as we slowly learn she has never stopped in her efforts, collecting information all these years with the ultimate goal to get the case reopened. Why she is so intent on a proper investigation after all this time is not revealed until much later in the book.In true Walters' fashion the truth is discovered bit by tiny bit, lies and deception stripped away layer by layer. Letters, pictures and emails help to understand the motivation of people as Mrs. Ranelagh continues to work towards her goal taking the reader through an ever-growing nightmare of hate, envy and despair. I am tempted to call this Ms Walters' best work yet, but that's what I said after finishing almost all her books. Highly recommended for all those interested in the darker aspects of the human mind.
Rating:
Summary: Ugly, Cruel, and Excellent
Review: For me, the stomach-turning cruelty to cats - repeatedly described in horrible detail - and disabled woman alike overrides pretty much everything else about this book. I know this - and worse - goes on in the world but I don't want to read about it also in fiction so quit the book halfway through. Too bad, because Ms. Walters is otherwise an excellent author.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved her other books but this is my least favorite.
Review: For some reason--maybe it's me--I just couldn't really get involved and caring about the characters and the plot unfoldment in this novel of Minette Walters. I started with THE BREAKER and found that to be intense, "spot on", and perfectly British as the sinister thriller progressed. THE ICE HOUSE was also great and I recommend either of those over this one.
Other reviewers have done justice to the plot and offered a more positive reading. I'll just offer the analysis that a writing strength can cut both ways. Minette Walters' characters and plots are brilliantly detailed and complex. . .. but if I don't really care about or connect with the characters and/or the unsolved mystery then the density becomes dulling and I am largely unable to follow it with any enthusiatic attentiveness.
And to chime in on one other controversy, I am neutral regarding the cruelty to cats here as well--it seemed to me to be a minimal and anecdotal part of the story
Rating:
Summary: A First-Rate Mystery!
Review: I've enjoyed the dramatizations of British mystery writer Minette Walters' previous novels, and I was, therefore, looking forward to finally reading one; I must say, I was not disappointed. The Shape of Snakes is a well-written and, frankly, unputdownable novel. The story captures the reader's attention and interest right from the start. As it progresses, the characters take shape and the mystery becomes increasingly complex with a good many twists and surprises before the final pieces are in place. The story takes place in the first person. Briefly, and without giving anything away, the narrator (known to us only as M. Ranelagh) had in 1978 discovered the body of her neighbour Annie (a disabled black woman) as Annie lay dying in the gutter in front of M's house. Not satisfied with the coroner's verdict, we find that M has spent the last 20 or so years amassing evidence in support of her belief as to what really happened to Annie. Though the story is told through the less-than-objective eyes of one of the characters, Walters has counterbalanced this obvious bias in a highly effective (and indeed original) manner by including "copies" of letters, newspaper clippings, e-mails, reports, and so on in between most of the chapters. Lest anyone be offended or upset, I ought to mention that there are, unfortunately, fairly graphic descriptions of cruelty to cats which some may find quite distressing (I certainly did and frankly skipped over much of the description). If you are able to withstand the cruelty, however, this is definitely a novel worth reading, for it is an extremely satisfying and masterfully-written mystery. At the core of the story are the related issues of racism, ignorance and intolerance, and Walters succeeds in evoking her readers' emotions and making us think; yet she manages to do so (at least in my opinion) without making us thoroughly depressed in the process. Don't misunderstand me. This novel is somewhat disturbing, not to mention unsettling, and many of the despicable attitudes and actions (toward both humans and cats) can only be described, quite frankly, as evil. Nevertheless, there is still that ever-so-important redeeming element of good that occasionally manages to punctuate the darkness--even if it is only a feeling of remorse or a simple act of kindness. In conclusion, if you enjoy intelligent, realistic, thought-provoking mysteries--if you enjoy the Prime Suspect television series for example--you'll enjoy this novel. It's certainly one of the best mysteries I've read. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Mistress of human duplicity
Review: Minette Walters is one of the few mistery writers of all time, who is a true master of the form. "The shape of snakes" is another one of the complex and deeply disturbing novels that she writes like nobody else. She deals with horrid things: racism, infidelity ,extreme violence, trappings of mental illness. As usual there is no desire to make things more easier on poor readers soul. She writes it as it is. Harsh and brutal and more than a little sickening, just as human suffering is. No cosmetics can cover the bruises and the immense pain that some unfortunate people have to endure.
Minette Walters dedicated her amazing talent to these people and the world is a better place for it.
Rating:
Summary: Well written, but chilling
Review: Minette Walters is undoubtedly a very talented author, and her ability to write a truly chilling crime mystery which keeps you guessing to the end makes all of her books very entertaining. And I must say I enjoyed the style of writing in this book very much. I like the way she intersperses the story with letters, e-mails, medical and police reports and the like. It all adds texture and interest to the story. But then we are faced with the topic, and it is no simple murder mystery. In this book she deals with all the horror of things that human beings can do to one another, and strong medicine it is too. As such I have given the book 2 stars instead of 5 that I would have given for style and narration. The subject matter is vile. There is prejudice, bigotry, hatred and violence to both humans and animals in all of its ugly glory, and it sickened me. I have read many books with equally graphic horrors without bother - perhaps it is a testament to Ms Wlaters' writing that it got to me so effectively. The end of the book is utterly heart rending and shocking and stayed with me for days. Well, you might say, it is a murder mystery. Surely all such stories are ugly be definition? Perhaps, but with this one Ms Walters has quite outdone herself, and despite all of her undoubted writing skills and ability to tell a tale, this is quite a difficult book to read and to feel comfortable with.
Rating:
Summary: I haven't cried over a book in 20 years -- until now.
Review: Recently I discovered Minette Walters. This is the third of her books I've read & I find it the most powerful so far. There are many things to like about her writing:
1) the interspersing of faxes, emails, letters, pictures, newpaper articles, etc. add interest to the text
2) her characters are complex -- no one is entirely bad or good
3) the story she tells is compelling I don't want to take the pleasure away from a new reader by telling too much of the plot. Suffice it to say that I was completely moved by the story.
Rating:
Summary: She's Back and She's Looking for Revenge
Review: Something happened on Graham Street in London back in 1970. A woman was murdered, the people that lived there knew it, but hushed it up, called it something else and the one woman, Mrs. Ranelagh, who dissented, moved away. The murder victim, a woman named Annie, was the only black person on the street. She also suffered from Tourette's Syndrome, so she muttered and sometimes ticked, or she cursed when she couldn't disguise her anger at the way she was treated. Of course the locals were unaware of her condition, so they assumed she was a drunken lunatic. Unfortunately for her, Annie knew something about the suburban debauchery in her community, which she tried to tell Mrs. Ranelagh before being murdered. Annie's death was written off as an alcoholic accident and when Mrs. Ranelagh tried to tell the police of her suspicions, they conspired with her husband, mother and neighbors in writing her off as an neurotic woman with a persecution complex. Then she ends up being the butt of some very cruel bullying herself from her neighbors, and eventually leaves the country for Hong Kong for a couple of decades, but now she's back, looking for answers, plus maybe a bit of revenge, so now the detective work begins. This story is a complex portrait of Mrs. Ranelagh as an avenging angel, or avenging devil, depending on your point of view. We sometimes wonder if she's a bit off her rocker as she tries to track down the murderer. And the real murderer begins to seem less and less important as we learn how many people actually contributed to what happened all those years ago in this great and gripping read.
Rating: 
Summary: Harrowing mystery for non-mystery readers
Review: This book was a book-club read for me, and I would not have found it otherwise. While I very much enjoy the PBS series "Mystery" I've never been much of a mystery reader-- my little experience with it has been that I grow impatient with the prose and am not engaged enough by the literary pleasures of the book, just waiting for the secrets to be revealed. Well this book is a great mystery for people who thought like me. The prose is wonderful-- it's not so much a whodunnit, although that is part of it, as it is a portrait of a whole town full of cruelty, misunderstanding and pain-- including the guilt of the main character. The first-person narration is wonderful although we do come to learn that the narrator is holding back. But this seems less a ploy of the genre than a function of the character's psychological makeup-- in short, a fine literary device. The book also, unusually for an adult novel, though it's common in YA novels, includes examples of email and photographs. This adds greatly to the uncomfortable feeling of being implicated in the sadness of the past. Warning: some of the episodes we learn about are hard to take. There's cruelty to animals, rape, and cruelty to the disabled. But none of it seems gratuitous, and I found this a very satisfying, harrowing read. Sneaky, scary and sad. As with the best mysteries I have read-- I immediately reread it, this time reading the incidents with the benefit of my new knowledge.
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