Minette Walters, The Shape of Snakes

Minette Walters, The Shape of Snakes - Minette Walter is very skilled at writing about the less attractive sides of people and this is demonstrated particularly well in this book.

The story begins in the late seventies in a run down part of the inner city. When 'Mad Annie'Butts, a verbally abusive, drunken black woman, is found dying in the gutter by her young next door neighbour, it leads to a twenty year quest to find her killer. Why the neighbour, Mrs. Ranelagh, devotes her life to finding the answers is not discovered until the last, poignant page.

What is impressive about Ms. Walters writing is the way you first form an impression of a character, whether good or bad, only to have your opinion slowly change with every layer that is stripped away. No one is quite what they seem. Indeed, you find yourself even a little unsure of the 'heroine' (whose first name you never discover), after reading correspondence from her psychiatrist that describes her as 'frightening'.

There are some parts to the story that more sensitive people may find hard to stomach, and Ms. Walters certainly doesn't shy away from the more cruel aspects of life. Ultimately, as well as being a top thriller, this book makes you think.