Customer Reviews
A Riveting Mystery With A Cast Of Charismatic Characters - By: Jana L. Perskie, 31 Mar 2005 
When David Maybury disappeared from his home, the Streech Grange Estate, his beautiful, young, red-haired wife, Pheobe, told police he just walked out on her & their two children one evening & never returned. Maybury was known to have beenin financial difficulties. His wine business, funded by his wife, which he ran from the cellars of her estate, was virtually bankrupt. It was widely believed that Maybury physically abused Phoebe, although she excused her often bruised face as the result of clumsiness, falls, etc.. After ten days with no sign of the man, the police searched the Grange & the surrounding wood thoroughly, even digging up the Maybury's extensive gardens - to no avail. An overly zealous detective questioned Pheobe to the point of harassment. He also implied she was responsible for her parents deathin an auto accident a few years before. Finally the unsolved Maybury mystery was laid to restin the cold case files.
Ten years later Pheobe Maybury, nowin her mid-thirties, is still living at her elegant country home, along with her two best friends from childhood, Anne Catrell, a journalist, & Diana Goode, an interior decorator. The three women are shunned by local society, & much maligned - believed to be witches, lesbians, or both. When a badly decomposed corpse is foundin the estate's ice house, two cynical detectives arrive at the scene to investigate. The nightmare of ten years before begins anew. Detective Chief Inspector Walsh was originallyin charge of the missing husband case ten ago. He has never lost his conviction that Pheobe murdered David, & is sure the unidentifiable body must be his. It appears Walsh, with the one-track mind, has his own agenda. Detective Sergeant Andy McLoughlin, a charismatic but troubled man looks at the clues, both recent & past, along with the various testimonies, & begins to take a different view from his superior. To arrive at the truth, however, he must examine his own demons & motivations.
Author Minette Walters won the John Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel with "The Ice House." This unputdownable mystery is richly deserving of the prize & much praise. Phoebe, Anne & Diana are complex characters & their relationships with each other, & with the two detectives, really make the book special - a delightful & thrilling read. I was very much taken with the characters, more so than usual, & cared very much what happened to them. There is much more than a murder mystery, or two, or three, going onin this suspenseful novel. There are unexpected twists & turns along with a number of fascinating subplots. I highly recommend "The Ice House."
JANA
Disappointed - By: , 07 Feb 2005 
Expected so much more from this!
If I was being totally honest (Apologies Minette Walters) I would have to say that the book bored me!
I'll leave you to form your own conclusions
Brilliant - By: , 13 Mar 2004 Kept me hooked from the 1st page. Fab book.
Shocking and Fascinating Crime Novel - By: Veronica, 22 Sep 2003 
THE ICE HOUSE is a sharp & compelling crime novel, and,in my opinion, Minette Walters best. I first read this several years ago but have since re-read it many times & always enjoy the sharp writing & twisted plot.
The characters are a joy to read about. They are all developed well & interesting, but by far the two that stand out the most are Anne Cattrell & Andy McLoughlin. She is a darkly humorous & sarcastic journalist & he is a morose & troubled police detective. The dialogue they share is electric, & tempered with wit & anger, but sometimes they can be surprising understanding towards each other. They are more alike than they realise!
The plot is remarkable & surprising. There are plenty of twists & you are kept guessing as to ‘who done it’ all the way through – we are not even sure if the ‘good guys’,in this case the three women accused of murder, are really as innocent as we’d like to believe. The final scenes are tense & exciting & deliver all the first three quarters of the book promise.
Overall The Ice House is a spectacularly thrilling story with exciting characters & a wonderful ending. I believe that The Ice House is essential reading for everyone who loves crime novels.
JoAnne
An excellent first novel - By: M. V. Clarke, 09 Aug 2003 Minette Walters' first novel, The Ice House, is equally good as her later efforts. As usual, the reader is treated toin depth character analyses, here of the three women at the centre of the story, & DS McLoughlin. The plot is intriguing, with connections stretching back 10 years. Separate elements combine to create a cohesive & mysterious whole - working out how all the characters & their foibles fit together is quite a task! In common with many of Walters' novels, a particular social issue is explored. Here, it is the public's perception of people's relationships & homophobic attitudes. This aspect of the book is particularly though provoking, as it involves all of the characters, police included.
Well worth reading!
