Minette Walters Books

'Wonderful and sweeping, with a fabulous sense of place and history.' Kate Mosse on The Last Hours As the year 1349 approaches, the Black Death continues its devastating course across England. In Dorseteshire, the quarantined people of Develish question whether they are the only survivors. Guided by their beloved young mistress, Lady Anne, they wait, knowing that when their dwindling stores are finally gone they will have no choice but to leave. But where will they find safety in the desolate wasteland outside? One man has the courage to find out. Thaddeus Thurkell, a free-thinking, educated serf, strikes out in search of supplies and news. A compelling leader, he and his companions quickly throw off the shackles of serfdom and set their minds to ensuring Develish's future - and freedom for its people. But what use is freedom that cannot be gained lawfully? When Lady Anne and Thaddeus conceive an audacious plan to secure her people's independence, neither foresees the life-threatening struggle over power, money and religion that follows...

A sweeping historical adventure set during one of the most turbulent periods of British history - featuring a heroine you'll never forget...

In prison, they call her the Sculptress for the strange figurines she carves - symbols of the day she hacked her mother and sister to pieces and reassembled them in a blood-drenched jigsaw. Sullen and menacing, Olive Martin is burned-out journalist Rosalind Leigh's only hope of getting a new book published. But as she interviews Olive, in her cell, Roz finds flaws in the Sculptress's confession. Is she really guilty as she insists? Drawn into Olive's world of obsessional lies and love, nothing can stop Roz's pursuit of the chilling, convoluted truth. Not the tidy suburbanites who'd rather forget the murders, not a volatile ex-policeman and her own erotic response to him, not an attack on her life. Not even the thought of what might happen if the Sculptress went free...

A woman doctor in an English village finds herself the center of some nasty attention from police as well as villagers. The will of a murdered woman names her the sole beneficiary and people assume she killed her. By the author of The Sculptress.

In 1970 Howard Stamp, a retarded 20-year-old, was convicted on disputed evidence of brutally murdering his grandmother in her Dorset home. Less than three years later he was dead, driven to suicide by self-hatred and relentless bullying by other prisoners. A fate befitting a murderer, perhaps, but what if he was innocent? When 34-year-old anthropologist Dr. Jonathan Hughes re-examines Stampâs case for a book on injustice, his research into the written evidence leads him to believe that Stamp was wrongly convicted. But is the forgotten story of one friendless young man compelling enough to persuade Jonathan to confront the real murderer? One person believes it is. George Gardener, sixty, has been trying to bring Stampâs case to public attention for years and has unearthed new evidence that might exonerate him. But Gardener needs the young academic on board if it is to be used to maximum effect. On the face of it, there is no similarity between the illiterate Stamp and the highly educated Hughes, yet their lives resonate through their damaged childhoods and their mutual sense of exclusion. With the threat of war in Iraq dominating British hearts and minds, there begins a battle closer to home: an attempt to prove a grotesque miscarriage of justice. But if the killer is still at large....

A terrific example of innovative crime fiction with a new cover treatment

England, 1348: as the Black Death spreads through the country, people start to die by the thousands. In Dorset, young Lady Anne takes control of her lands, with her trusted steward, Thaddeus, at her side. Compassionate and resourceful, she decides to quarantine the estate against the terrifying pestilence, bringing some two hundred serfs inside the moated walls. But in such a confined space, conflicts soon arise. Ignorant of the world outside, Lady Anne's people wrestle with the terrible uncertainty of their futures. Fearing starvation but fearing the disease even more, who amongst them has the courage to leave the security of the walls? And how safe is anyone when a dreadful event threatens the uneasy status quo? From back cover

Minette Walters' stature is growing faster than any other crime writer and this stunning new crime novel will delight and enthrall those who have fallen under her spell.

In this acclaimed psychological mystery, Jinx Kingsley, a prominent photographer and millionaire’s daughter, wakes up in an exclusive hospital suffering from amnesia. Not only can she not remember the car accident that caused her memory loss, but she doesn’t remember that her impending wedding has been called off or that her former fiancé and his girlfriend have been brutally murdered in the same way her first husband had been ten years before. Now she must try to piece together her memories in order to determine her innocence. With deft psychological explorations and shocking twists, Walters brings the story to an awe-inspiring conclusion.

Winner of the CWA John Creasey Award for Best First Novel of the Year - and the start of Minette Walter's long list of bestsellers.It was evident, if there were no other entrance to the ice house, that the body had at some point traversed this thorny barrier . . . The big question was, how long ago? How long had that nightmare been there?' The people of Streech village had never trusted the three women living up at the Grange - not since Phoebe Maybury's husband suddenly, inexplicably, vanished. Ten years later a corpse is discovered in the grounds and Phoebe's nightmare begins. For once they have identified the body the police are determined to charge her with murder . . . 'The most impressive first novel in years' Daily Telegraph 'A seductive writer with an imagination that makes her dangerous to know' Sunday Express 'Terrific first novel with a high Rendellesque frisson count' The Times

Minette Walters has had an illustrious career, in the respect that her first three novels won a major prize, and The Sculptress was adapted as a major BBC drama. The Echo is her latest novel in the crime genre.

In this electrifying new novel from the bestselling author of "The Devils Feather," British lieutenant Charles Acland returns home from Iraq, but his serious head injuries are only the outward manifestation of a profound inner change.

When elderly Ailsa Lockyer-Fox is found dead in her garden, dressed only in nightclothes and with blood stains on the ground near her body, the finger of suspicion points at her wealthy, landowning husband, Colonel James Lockyer-Fox. A Coronerâs inquest gives a verdict of ânatural causesâ but the gossip surrounding James refuses to go away. Why? Because heâs guilty? Or because resentful women in the isolated Dorset village where he lives rules the roost? Shenstead is a place of too few people and too many secrets. Why have James and Ailsa cut their children out of their will? What happened in the past to create such animosity within the family? Any why is James so desperate to find his illegitimate grandchild? Friendless and alone, his reclusive behavior begins to alarms his London-based solicitor, Mark Ankerton, whose concern deepens when he discovers that James has become the victim of a relentless campaign which accuses him of far worse than the death of his wife. Allegations which he refuses to challenge....Why? Because theyâre a motive for murder....?

Twelve hours after a women's broken body is washed up on shore, her traumatised 3-year old daughter is discovered 20 miles away, alone & abandoned. Police suspicion falls on an actor whose boat is moored yards from the toddler & the victim's husband.

A body is discovered in a chicken run in this gripping novel by bestselling author Minette Walters, inspired by the true events of the 'chicken farm murder' that occurred in Blackness, Crowborough, East Sussex in December 1924.

A chilling novella of prejudice, ambition and cunning as villagers react to a brutal double murder.

With private security firms providing bodyguards in war zones, the emergence of a sexual psychopath among mercenaries goes unnoticed. When five women are brutally murdered in Sierra Leone, journalist Connie Burns questions the arrest of three rebel soldiers, but her concerns fall on deaf ears. In the aftermath of a brutal civil war, the rape and murder of women are dismissed, and confessions from child soldiers are coerced. Connie suspects a foreigner, a man claiming to be a former SAS member and now a bodyguard for a Lebanese diamond trader, is responsible. She recalls him from Kinshasa, where he served as a mercenary, and believes he exploits the chaos of war to indulge in sadistic fantasies against women. Two years later, her efforts to expose him in Iraq lead to devastating consequences. Traumatized and forced into hiding in England after enduring three days of conditioning in a Baghdad cellar, Connie seeks to reclaim her former self. In her isolation, she befriends Jess Derbyshire, a reclusive neighbor, and finds strength in their shared struggles. Determined to unmask the serial killer once more, Connie knows she is putting herself in danger, as he will inevitably come looking for her.

The terrifying new Hammer novella by Minette Walters, bestselling author of The Sculptress and The Scold's Bridle 'Muna's fortunes changed for the better on the day that Mr and Mrs Songoli's younger son failed to come home from school.' Before then her bedroom was a dark windowless cellar, her activities confined to cooking and cleaning. She'd grown used to being maltreated by the Songoli family; to being a slave. She's never been outside, doesn't know how to read or write, and cannot speak English. At least that's what the Songolis believe. But Muna is far cleverer - and her plans more terrifying - than the Songolis, or anyone else, can ever imagine ...

Based on a true story ... Caroline Luard is shot dead in broad daylight in the grounds of a large country estate. With few clues available, her husband soon becomes the suspect ... But is he guilty? Bringing to life the people involved in this terrible crime, bestselling author Minette Walters uses modern detective skills to attempt to solve a 100-year-old crime.

I Sierra Leone blir fem kvinnor brutalt mördade, och tre unga rebellsoldater arresteras för brottet. Journalisten Connie Burns ifrågasätter deras skuld, men ingen lyssnar. Efter ett våldsamt inbördeskrig, där hundratusentals dödades, är våldtäkten och morden av fem kvinnor av liten betydelse. De anklagade barnsoldaterna har tvingats till erkännande genom misshandel. Connie, som bevittnat ett brutalt övergrepp på en prostituerad, är övertygad om att en man med kopplingar till Special Air Service är skyldig. Hon minns honom från Kinshasa, där han var legosoldat, och misstänker att han utnyttjar krigets kaos för att agera ut sina sadistiska fantasier. Två år senare möter hon honom i Irak och försöker avslöja honom. Efter att ha kidnappats och utsatts för tortyr i Bagdad släpps hon fri. Förödmjukad och oförmögen att berätta sin historia flyr hon till England, där hon möter Jess, en ensamstående kvinna med liknande hemligheter. Connie ser paralleller mellan dem och inspireras av Jess mod. Hon fattar ett riskfyllt beslut att återigen försöka avslöja mördaren, medveten om att han letar efter henne och vill tysta henne.

„Die Schandmaske“: Die Ärztin Sarah Blakeney ist schockiert, als sie die Leiche von Mathilda Gillespie sieht, denn die Tote trägt eine mittelalterliche Schandmaske. Alles deutet auf Selbstmord. Doch dann erfährt Sarah, dass Mathilda sie zur Alleinerbin gemacht hat, und die junge Frau gerät unter Mordverdacht … „Dunkle Kammern“: Jinx Kingsley hat keine Erinnerung mehr an die letzten Wochen. Man hatte sie aus einem zertrümmerten Auto geborgen, und alle Umstände deuten auf einen Selbstmordversuch. Verzweifelt versucht sie sich zu erinnern und kommt dabei einem alptraumhaften Geheimnis auf die Spur ...

Novine su o tome pisale nadugo i naširoko. Modna fotografkinja i bogata nasljednica Jane Jinx Kingsley forsøkte å ta sitt eget liv etter at forlovede hennes forlot henne, og deretter forsvant med hennes beste venninne Meg... Men da hun våknet fra koma, kunne Jinx ikke huske noe om det angivelige selvmordsforsøket. Men når hun gradvis begynner å sette sammen brikkene fra de siste ukene, begynner også minnene å komme tilbake... Minnene om fortvilelse og uendelig frykt.

In dem kleinen englischen Dorf Shenstead wird die Idylle gestört, als Colonel James Lockyer-Fox seine Frau Ailsa tot auf der Terrasse findet. Der Colonel wird des Mordes beschuldigt, bleibt jedoch stumm. Anwalt Mark Ankerton kommt zu Hilfe und entdeckt, dass hinter der schönen Fassade düstere Geheimnisse lauern.

In veel misdaadverhalen speelt de vrouw een belangrijke rol, maar er zijn uiteraard ook talloze vrouwen die als auteur van misdaadverhalen een bijdrage geleverd hebben aan deze rijke traditie, met name in de achterliggende eeuw. In dit boek presenteert Elizabeth George, de meest toonaangevende vrouwelijke misdaadauteur van dit moment, haar keuze uit de beste verhalen van die vrouwen. Haar overzicht begint in Groot-Brittannië en het Gemenebest, waar de periode van 1920 tot en met de jaren vijftig 'the Golden Age of Mystery' genoemd wordt.

Als Mathilda Gillespie im Badezimmer ihres Landsitzes im kleinen englischen Ort Fontwell gefunden wird, ist sie bereits zwei Tage tot. Ihrer Ärztin bietet sich ein grauenhafter Anblick, denn über Mathildas Kopf ist ein rostiger Metallkäfig gestülpt – eine mittelalterliche Schandmaske, die auch noch mit einem grotesken Blumenschmuck versehen ist. Die Polizei und die Familie vermuten einen Selbstmord, doch als sich herausstellt, dass Mathilda ihre Ärztin zur Alleinerbin bestimmt hat, gerät diese unter schweren Mordverdacht ...

Avec Le Sang du Renard, Minette Walters est au sommet de son assurance et de son talent.", The Times. Par une glaciale nuit d'hiver, Ailsa Jolly-Renard est retrouvée morte sur sa terrasse, à moitié nue. Mort naturelle, conclut le Coroner. Ce n'est pas l'avis de certaines habitantes de Shenstead, petit village du Dorset, persuadées que son mari, le colonel Jolly-Renard, l'a assassinée. A l'origine de ces rumeurs, un sombre secret de famille... Le plus troublant : le Colonel semble déterminé à ne pas se défendre.Pourquoi, s'il est innocent ? Dans la meilleure tradition du roman policier anglais, une intrigue subtile qui explore les recoins les plus obscurs de l'âme humaine, une rare acuité psychologique, un suspense implacable.

Een vrouw probeert de waarheid over de dood van een alleenstaande zwarte vrouw, twintig jaar eerder, te achterhalen.