Disordered Minds

Rating:
Summary: Childhood of horror
Review: Councillor Georgina Gardener takes up the cause of reopening the case of Howard Stamp, a mentally retarded youth who was accused and convicted of the brutal killing of his grandmother, 25 years ago. The youth was coerced by police into confessing to the murder, even though the evidence was purely circumstantial and because he was simple minded enough to be browbeaten into saying whatever was easiest. Tragically, Howard suicided in prison after 3 years of being bullied and beaten by other inmates. Being convinced of his innocence, Georgina is determined to clear his name and seeks the help of anthropologist and author, Jonathan Hughes, himself suffering from unresolved issues regarding his parentage and his reluctance to acknowledge his racial origins. At first, there is outright hostility between them but, after working together for a short time, an uneasy truce is struck and they find that they work well together as a team. Delving back into the horrific pasts of the children and teenagers who were invoved with the murder case is like opening a door into hell, full of rage, violence, incest, brutality and everything that is warped and hiseous in the lives of these children and their parents. It's not what you'd call a "nice" read but one which, unfortunately, is not uncommon and gives a big jolt to those of us who still see childhood through rose coloured glasses.

Rating:
Summary: So enjoyable and interesting....til the final few pages
Review: First, I wanted to make a comment about Harriet Klausner's review of this book printed below. Harriet Klausner reviews many books and always, always gives them glowing reviews. It is not surprising that she calls this book "an exhilarating thriller". That is the typical review she gives almost all books. However, it is VERY strange that she constantly refers to George Gardener as a 'he'. In the very beginning of the book, it comes as a surprise to readers to find out that George Gardener is a woman. That fact is of course mentioned, reinforced and repeated throughout the book. I do not believe it is remotely possible for someone who has actually read this book to refer to George Gardener over and over as a 'HE' and to mention 'his' childhood, 'his' case, 'his' soul, etc. Harriet Klausner seems to read a lot of books, but I do not believe that Disordered Minds is one that she actually did read. I have always had reservations about her consistantly positive reviews, but I now have serious doubts as to whether the books in question are actually read by her at all.

I, however, did read Disordered Minds. It was very detailed and quite interesting....until the very end. The story is about events that happened over 30 years ago. My disappointment comes from the situation of investing many hours delving into this story, getting hooked on the details and characters and then reading the final page without any real conclusion to the story or answer to the main mystery. The situation was pointed out many times that facts were difficult to ascertain about something that happened so long ago. But, it is a book of FICTION, not a true crime story. Minette Walters could just as easily have given the reader a definitive answer to the crime as to just presenting us with a lot of facts and some speculation as to the solution. It was very annoying to be left hanging after investing so much time in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Not up to her usual standards
Review: I was extremely disappointed with this book. Walters' other books (particularly her early ones) are marked by graceful writing, subtle character development, (at times) creepy psychological insights into the more twisted parts of human nature, and well paced suspense. This book missed on all four counts. I wondered initially why the book was not released first in hardcover in the United States; having read it, I think I know why.

Rating:
Summary: An exhilarating thriller
Review: In 1970 Bournemouth, Dorset, the public is upset with the brutal murder of fifty-seven years old Grace Jefferies that is so reminiscent of the Manson clan. A few days later the police announce that Grace's bizarre twenty-years old grandson Howard Stamp confessed after being held for questioning for thirty-six hours. A year later, a jury convicts Howard. While incarcerated Howard was abused by his peers until less than two years after his conviction he committed suicide.

Three decades later, sexagenarian councilor George Gardener believes that Stamp was guilty of being retarded and different and never killed his grandmother. Gardener has uncovered evidence that he feels might posthumously exonerate Stamp, but the justice system is satisfied with the neat ending. Gardener learns that thirty something years old anthropologist Dr Jonathan Hughes is researching case studies for a book Disordered Minds that he is writing that includes a chapter on Stamp. Gardner thinks he has an ally who might awaken the public that a travesty occurred. However, will the academic risk his reputation on a dead loner who in many ways reminds him of his own childhood that he prefers to forget?

This is an exhilarating thriller that makes the key players seem genuine by selectively providing "chapters" from Hughes book. The story line is action-packed as Gardner makes his case while Hughes wants to hide from the evidence because his own could have easily paralleled that of Stamp. He begins to believe the real killer lurks waiting to murder again. Readers will be hooked from start to finish wondering if Gardener is right or just soothing his soul for failing at defending his client.

Harriet Klausner



Rating:
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: Sadly, this book was not up to the standard I would expect from Minette Walters. From the title, and from Walters' reputation and previous books, one would anticipate a chilling psychological study. But the psychological elements of the murder are bog-standard for any contemporary mystery--none of the "revelations" were remotely surprising.

Walters also goes to a great deal of trouble, early in the book, to establish that one of her main characters, Dr. Jonathan Hughes, has deep emotional problems. Hughes' background and personality are developed at length over the first 150 pages or so, and then the whole issue basically vanishes. Hughes' long-rooted problems apparently receive a miracle cure when he befriends a vibrant older woman. It's a cliche worthy of bad television.

Then there's the prose. The novel suffers from both flatness and "info-dump." Walters drowns us, early on, in vague sociological generalities that are never given life by the book's plot or characters. She makes the novice writer's mistake of telling instead of showing. The novel's tone is lifeless, and the way the plot develops (endless recountings of a few days' events) doesn't help. There's also a certain element of preachiness about racism, poverty, and the Iraq war, which was enough to get on my nerves even though I largely agree with Walters' politics.

I didn't find the ending as dissatisfying as some other reviwers. It's pretty clear whodunnit; the question is whether they'll get away with it.

Disordered Minds could have been a good novel. The elements are mostly there, but it needed a stern editor and a few rewrites. Perhaps it was simply rushed to publication before it was ready.

Rating:
Summary: horrible childhoods, good interplay of relationships
Review: There have been a lot of reviews already written about this book, so won't retell the plot. Several of the people involved, especially Cill, Howard and Louise, had the most horrendous childhoods which contained bullying, beating and parental abuse. This part is not pleasant reading. What I did enjoy however, is the way that Walters developed the characters and especially the interplay between George and Jonathan. Have read all of Walter's books and would not call this the best one but it was a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Good but preachy
Review: This is an interesting and complex mystery, one that kept me going for a while. The characters are likable (the good guys, anyway), though Jonathan Hughes is tiresome when we first meet him. It seems that the author used this book to go on about the war in Iraq, which is fine had she done it a bit more intelligently. Jonathan, who is half Jamaican and half Chinese, tries to pass as an Arab and gets into some trouble for it in the wake of 9/11. There's a lot of this in the beginning but then the author simply lets it drop, as though years of Jonathan's neuroses are healed by George Gardner, the woman who helps him solve the case. There are some nice scenes between the two of them, especially when they first meet. Overall a good read; I may try another of the series, but I'm not running to the bookstore.