Minette Walters Books

The definitive edition of Minette Walters' thrilling tale of courage and defiance during the time of the Black Death, featuring The Last Hours and The Turn of Midnight.

'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...

BITTER HARRIDAN... Few tears fall when rich, spiteful old Mathilda Gillespie's bloody corpse is found in her bathtub, her wrists slit and the ancient scold's bridle clamped on her head. It seems Mathilda's favorite heirloom was also an instrument of torture from the Middle Ages, an iron cage used to gag yapping women. Among the Dorset villagers, only Sarah Blakeney, Mathilda's doctor for her final year, seems even mildly disturbed that the miserable nag has been muzzled forever. OR TRAGIC VICTIM? But suicide starts to look like homicide, and Sarah's sorrow seems a bit contrived when the bombshell drops that Mathilda has disinherited her daughter and granddaughter, leaving her entire fortune to Sarah. Now the object of vicious gossip and the police's prime suspect in a brutal murder, Sarah must prove her innocence by delving into Mathilda's past to unmask the real killer. What she finds beneath the sleepy village facade is a grisly potpourri of blackmail, butchery, and perversion.

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.

Suffering from posttraumatic amnesia, a respected fashion director and millionaire's daughter is placed in an exclusive private clinic after she is involved in a mysterious car accident. She soon begins to recover, but her memories are filled with desperation and absolute terror. A spellbinding tale of psychological suspense from the Edgar-winning author of The Sculptress.

When an unidentified, rotting corpse is discovered in the old ice house at Streech Grange, the assumption is that the body is that of David Maybury, who went missing 10 years before. As village rumours of lesbianism and witchcraft, Sergeant Andy McLoughlin's investigation, focusing on Maybury's ex-wife, phoebe, and the two women who live with her in the Grange, uncovers numerous secrets - some of which people would rather have left buried...

In this hypnotic novel of psychological suspense, a homeless man is found starved to death in the garage of a ritzy London home. The police chalk it up to an unfortunate accident, but a journalist, Michael Deacon, is intrigued. Amanda Powell, a socialite whose wealthy husband vanished five years ago after being accused of embezzlement, is just as interested as Michael in finding out who died in her garage. They have no idea that this simple story will unveil a web of deceit that is an appalling as the people behind it.

Walters' newest thriller is a haunting psychological tale about a scarred Iraq war veteran whose physical trauma may reflect the inner life of a killer.

A man is shunned by the people of his community because they believe him guilty of his wife's murder.

The acclaimed author of The Echo spins a hypnotic tale of mystery and intrigue. After a woman is brutally raped and murdered--events to which her mute three-year-old daughter was a witness--the police turn their investigation on 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.

„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 ...

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.

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.

Olive Martin wordt veroordeeld voor de gruwelijke moord op haar moeder en zusje. Een motief is er niet, maar na Olives snelle bekentenis is dat ook het laatste waar de politie zich zorgen over maakt. Journaliste en schrijfster Roz Leigh raakt geïntrigeerd door de zaak-Martin. Ze bezoekt Olive in de gevangenis en raakt er langzaam maar zeker van overtuigd dat de vrouw onschuldig is. Maar wat heeft haar er dan toe gedreven om zo gemakkelijk schuld te bekennen? Roz besluit de zaak te reconstrueren en komt al doende tot een opmerkelijke conclusie, even afschuwelijk als verrassend...