Customer Reviews
Disappointing - By: H. NORTH, 23 Aug 2008 
I have previously read & enjoyed a few of Minette Walters books & was really looking forward to trying this one....but it was a complete let down. I found the cliched characters, who were only there to create shock value, very one dimensional. I struggled to find the plot as I was being bombarded with information, a lot of it unnecessary. I ploughed through this bookin the hope that I would be rewarded for all my hard work with a fantastic ending, but this was the point when I felt really cheated, as it was a complete let down & I was left wondering what the point of it all was.
Strange, cruel, complex - sometimes a little off, but generally excellent - By: N. Sones, 29 Jun 2007 
I too find the criticisms laid against this novel odd. The entire point is to revisit the events, constantly picking apart people's stories, revealing half-truths & lies, all the way up to the end. I don't like the heroine, Mrs Ranelagh, that much sometimes - but that's one of the great things about this novel. Too many supposed 'geniuses' of the detective/thriller form give us either saccharine or cookie-cutter 'maverick' heroes - viz Val McDermid & Patricia Cornwell, both of whose books have (in general) plot holes wide enough to drive trucks through & entirely cliche characters. Mrs Ranelagh does & says things that are unexpected, uncomfortable, & disconcerting - which makes herin my mind one of the realler of modern heroesin this genre.
There are a couple of moments when she does & says things which seem to come from 'confrontation moments 101' butin general, this is a superb, real heroine; gritty, tough but not too tough, insightful butin general fuelled by bloody mindedness & an unwillingness to givein to the scum who tried to destroy her life, & to the people close to her who betrayed her, & who caused & ignored the death of a misunderstood woman.
To those who believe this is too harshin places: well, I know what you mean. There are passages which are truly harrowing - whichin itself is also unusual because we're so immersedin gore-spattered, serial-killer-obsessed literature where the main aim of the game seems to be 'let's think of something truly weird & horrific our next killer can do'. Most of these books, many by very respected writers, are completely replaceable & utterly forgettable, because the fact is that serial killers & graphic murders are a lazy way to shock. What makes the passagesin this book so horrific are the casual cruelty & tawdry evil that they reveal, the disgusting attitudes to sexual abuse, racial abuse & mental illness (and I'm sorry but I find thesein general completely believable even now, & certainly nearly thirty years agoin 1978 they would have been predominant) that existsin what isin effect a perfectly ordinary, lower-middle-class street. And M Ranelagh's emotional distance & Nemesis-esque calmin the face of the revelations of stunning abuse & domestic horror, torture & mutilation of pets (again, sorry, but this seems utterly believable, shameful as it is to think) is what makes it have the effect it does.
She is a wonderful character, the plot is virtually perfect. There are moments when the dialogue is weak, but these are moments only. In general, this is a cold, acid-touched gem, constantly retouching the events of a single dayin a cold 70s winter, & peeling back layers of lies, remorselessly. Read it.
Sour - By: Reptile, 28 Mar 2007 
This book concerns Mrs Ranelagh (her full first name is never given) investigating the death of a former neighbour, a black woman with Tourette's syndrome, which took place 20 years ago. She & her husband have been living abroad since then. At first her obsession with a neighbour's death seems implausible, but it gradually becomes apparent that she feels wronged by other happenings at that time & that her quest is not for justice, but revenge. There are some other features of the book which are implausible, not least the killer's motive, & the description of Richmond-upon-Thames does not accord with my recollections of the place at roughly the same period. However, the real problem with the book is the sourness which occasionally creeps into this author's other works & is predominant here.
Close to home - By: P.M. Wood, 03 Jan 2007 Annie Butts suffered from Tourettes Syndrome. Her neighbours consider her a nuisance, an alcoholic with too many cats & they are relieved when she diesin the gutter believed to have been hit by a truck. Only one neighbour is not satisfied & pursues an enquiry to find the facts. Unfortunately Mrs Ranelagh is suffering depression herself & the police will not take her seriously: even her husband is not supportive & relocates his family to South Africa. Mrs Ranelagh is not silenced however & when they return to England she again takes up the investigation. After twenty years she eventually gets to the truth.
Couldn't put it down - By: Kirsty Hall, 02 Jul 2006 I thought this was an excellent book & I loved the way it was written, I especially liked all the different reports & letters. One of the things I really like about Walters writing is that I can't always work out the murderer or motive but I also like that she writes about the larger issues around crime & the way that something like murder can profoundly disrupt lives.
Many reviewers seem to have missed the point that the central character was not just seeking justice for Annie but also for the abuse that she suffered. If she had not been viciously & very nastily assaulted she might well have let things drop. But she had to follow it up, not only because of the assault but also because of the way her husband & mother betrayed her when they believed the police officer rather than her. The events crystallised & focused her & it was onlyin 'getting justice for Annie' that she was able to make herself whole again.
Oh & frankly I'm staggered by all the reviews where people are more upset about the cat torture than child abuse, rape, racism & murder. And yes, I am a cat lover...
