Customer Reviews
Was this the way that it really happened? - By: Lance Mitchell, 29 Nov 2008 
Minette Walters does a great job of weaving what could have been the real lives of Norman Thorne & Elsie Cameron around a true story from 1920's Sussex.
Norman was eventually convicted of the murder of his fiancé, Elsie, & hung, despite the doubts around the conviction at the time. The way that the author describes the events leading up to Elsie's death could easily have happened this way, & Chickenfeed casts even more doubts on Norman's conviction.
The pressures exerted on a poor young man, struggling to build a decent living from a small chicken farm, which has been paid for by his father,in the years following the First World War, are enormous. Elsie is depressed, & is obsessed with becoming a married woman, especially after her brother & sister both get marriedin the same year. She will do anything to become Norman's wife, & that obsession, one way or another, undoubtedly contributes to her tragic death.
The author leaves the conclusions to the reader, which I think is a good move.
This is a book that not only makes you think about what happened to these two young unfortunates, but of the wider picture surrounding the death sentence down the years. It takes less than two hours to read, & is well worth the effort.
Not the best Minette Walters has written - By: Julie Burgess, 12 Feb 2007 
I usually love Minette Walters books, but I was very disappointedin this one. I already knew the story that was written aboutin the book, but I think Walters should stick to what she is good at & continue written very good, readable novels.
Chickenfeed - By: Rich Milligan, 09 Apr 2006 "Chickenfeed" is a short novella written by the great crime writer Minette Walters & herein a departure from her normal writings of fiction has taken a true story & put her own spin onto what might have occurred.
The storyin question is the "Chicken Farm Murder" of Elsie Cameron who was found cut up & buriedin the chicken farm owned by her fiancé, Norman Thorne. Thorne was eventually tried & convicted of her murder & went to the gallowsin April 1925.
Obviously with a story like this you have to take what Ms Walters presents to you at face value & whether her version of events is entirely accurate is a question that each reader will have to make up for themselves. Certainly though it's a case that will have you thinking about it for some time & maybe even doing some further investigations.
The story is an extremely tragic one that concerns the doomed relationship between Elsie & Norman. Elsie, a very insecure & disturbed young woman saw her only happinessin marrying Norman Thorne & pursued every opportunityin ensuring she got her man. Norman for his part was younger & much more naive than Elsie. Although he entered into the relationship willingly, as Elsie paranoia & obsessions gained more of a hold over her he found himself trappedin an engagement he could seem to get out of.
And that's the one other area that the book really does well as it makes an interesting & intriguing look into the social niceties & standards of the day. For example when Norman seems to be getting cold feet over marrying Elsie, her father threatens to take Norman to court for "breach of promise".
The book is easy to read & obviously being a novella of only some hundred pages, most keen readers will have it polished offin a single sitting. You could even accuse the book of being writtenin a slightly childish way although that doesn't make it any less readable. It's not really a book that you "enjoy" though, the story is ultimately extremely terrible & when you keep reminding yourself that this is a true story this impact will only increasein its seriousness.
Chicken Feed - By: Mr. David Feltham, 03 Apr 2006 Loved this short book. Read itin one sitting. Loved the build up of the characters.
I wish the book was longer. Excellent.
It's the first book i've read from Waters already ordered a few more!!!
Absorbing. - By: S. Hapgood, 08 Mar 2006 
Anotherin this excellent Quick Reads series. In this one Minette Walters re-examines the death of Elsie Cameronin 1924. Elsie was reputedly murdered by her boyfriend, an impoverished chicken-farmer called Norman Thorne, who was subsequently hanged for the crime. Walters argues that this story may not be as clear-cut as it first appears. Elsie was an unstable young woman (these days she would be diagnosed as suffering from BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder), prone to excessive mood swings, depression, & constant threats to kill herself. When she realised that she was losing Norman's affections, she tried to fool him that she was pregnant, even though they had never had full sex together. Walters argues that Elsiein fact tried to frighten Norman by pretending to commit suicide, only for it all go terribly wrong. At the time there were doubts that Norman was guilty, but the fact that he had panicked & cut up her body, & hid it around his farm, lost him the sympathy of the jury. This is a superb little murder mystery, which was so engrossing I read itin one sitting. I hope Ms Walters turns her attention to other vintage crime mysteries.
