Rating: 
Summary: Her best yet. The most wonderful British author for years.
Review: "I could never decide where Mad Annie was murdered because she was mad or because she was black."is the cracking first line to Minette Walter's most recent novel. even the author herself admits she is proud of this first line, and i can see why. it says quite a lot about the story. especially if you look at it again once you have completed the book. This book is most certainly a very disturbing book to read. It contains graphic scenes of cruelty to animals, wife beating, drug use, dominant familial relationships, etc.. For this reason many people have criticized this book. they say it is too hard to read, and chills you to the bone. indeed it does. but that is the neauty of Minette Walters. whereas other lesser authors might shya way from writing about such motivational topics, she confronts it head on. With style. she isnt afraid to tackle the issues which make our world the unpleasant place it often is (for example; Child abuse, rape, poverty, racism, sexism, fascism (demonstrated to some extene in The Ice house)). It really impresses me. Admittedly this book is quite different from her normal stuff, much darker, less centring on the psychology of the crime, and more on the aspects and effects of the crime. The narrator, Mrs Ranelagh, the woman who found Annie dying in a gutter in 1978, has made it her quest to discover the truth about the death, even though the police are adamant she was simply knocked down by a car. we never find out her first name. that is significant. it adds even more mystery to her quest. she is simply referred to as "M". she is not a likeable character by any means, definitely flawed, very determined, and you do at time wonder whether she is in fact stable. she is manipulative, at times dishonest, and it is clear she has an undisclosed motive aside from the want of justice, that keeps her going. no other novel has ever had photographs in it. this one does. of several of the main cahracters. i must admit that no, this does nothing for the plot, although is quite a nice device. it doesnt enhance anything, and does seem superfluous. the letters between the characters however, do enhance the plot. they are peppered throuought the novel and each one adds a little bit more information to what you know of the murder. there are a lot of characters, and a lot of suspects, and it is hard sometimes not to get them tangled in your mind, but they are all well drawn, and all equally flawed. you do not feel one drop of sympathy for any one of them by the end of the novel. (even the woman who is frequently beaten by her husband. do not think this is not possible, it most certainly is) some people say that the ending is not clear. they are wrong. it says who killed her plainly, in black and white, several times. you cant miss it. although there is one killer who perpetrated the act, the message of the novel is blindingly clear. obvious for all to see. by the end you know all to well that in reality there is no one killer. and everyone did it. they all, through their torture of Annie Butts during her life, contributed somewhat to her death. and are therefore ALL responsible. on the very last page of the novel you discover "M"'s motivation. it is heartbreaking and will, i guarantee, make you weep. (...)
Rating: 
Summary: A Look At the Dark Side of Humanity
Review: The near obsessive need to solve a murder and see that justice is done is the premise for Minette Walters' latest thought-provoking novel. The murder is that of a local black woman known by her neighbours as "Mad Annie". She was an alcoholic who also suffered from Tourette's syndrome and was the victim of her neighbours hate and derision because she was different. Although her death appeared to be accidental, one neighbour isn't convinced and begins a quest that almost costs her marriage, her sanity and, certainly, her job. This is not a cheery, happy-go-lucky, breezy mystery full of feel-good moments. Some pretty polarising issues are highlighted in the telling of this story. Racism, animal cruelty, child and spousal abuse and ignorance towards mental illness are all dealt with. It's a provocative mystery that examines the darker human failings that most of us would prefer to ignore by pretending they don't exist, and no apologies are made. On top of the social commentary is a very well put together mystery with a long list of possible suspects. Like all good mysteries, the murderer could be just about anyone and isn't revealed until right at the end. The twists in the case are typical Walters as we're fed information, one tantalising piece at a time.
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: 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: 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: sickening
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: 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: 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: Different
Review: This is the first book by Minette Walters that I have read. It was a good book, because it has a good structure and an interesting build up until the end. It was interesting that the victim, Annie, had tourette's syndrome. Walters writes about Annie's struggles, as she deals with her problems. Sadly, Annie is badly treated by cruel people that live in her neighbourhood. Very few people try to help her, because they do not understand why she behaves as she does,and because they want to keep out of trouble. Annie also suffers because she is the only black person who lives in the neighbourhood. 20 years later, one neighbour tries to find out what really happened to Annie the day she was murdered.
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