Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #160769 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Synopsis
When elderly Ailsa Lockyer-Fox is found dead in her garden, dressed only in night clothes 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 coroner's inquest gives a verdict of 'natural causes' but the gossip surrounding him refuses to go away. Why? Because he's guilty? Or because resentful women in the isolated Dorset village where he lives rule 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 wills? What happened in the past to create such animosity within the family? And why is James so desperate to find his illegitimate grandchild? Friendless and alone, his reclusive behaviour begins to alarm 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 they're a motive for murder?

Customer Reviews

Stunning
The first few pages of this novel are distasteful to say the least, it would not be surprising if readers abandoned the book at this point and missed out on another of Minette Walters great works. The scene is set in a quiet English village which has been almost abandoned of regular residents in favour of holiday homes. The villagers are at loggerheads and when a band of travellers settle in a local copse claiming squatters rights as the land is not registered to anyone tensions rise even more. There has been a murder some months previously and some believe the deceased's elderly husband responsible. The protagonists are the said husband's lawyer and granddaughter who turn up unexpectedly at Christmas when he was thought to be alone. As usual Walters weaves a great plot and it is worth getting through the horror of the opening pages.

The whole is less than the sum of the parts
There are some intriguing devices in this novel, but it does not live up to the promise of the opening chapters. An alienating feature is that the author makes it clear which characters she sympathises with, but it is hard for the reader to agree in the light of their actions. She is very hard on some characters and very tolerant of others. Other readers have already mentioned the disappointing ending. However, the author has a good style and her use of dialogue is effective. Since apparently this is not her best book, I'd be prepared to try others.

An easy, but rather predictable read
This is not one of Minette Walters' best novels unfortunately. I would suggest her earlier works such as The Sculptress, The Dark Room or The Scold's Bridle. This is not a real page turner and the characters do not draw you in, but you can, if you have to, whizz through it easily.