Customer Reviews
Ronrig Dundee - By: Ron Dundee, 04 Nov 2008 
I found this book contained everything a good thriller needs & like most of the reviewers could not put the book down. The only reason I give it four stars is the language of the lieutenant was mature beyond his age. Having servedin the Army, young lieutenants tended to be immature due to having a sheltered life due to private school, university etc. Also the Army hasn't issued 'kit bags' for well over 30 years. The author should have done more research for her main character.
The Risks of Love! - By: J. S. Lewison, 02 Sep 2008 
Lieutenant Charles Acland has returned from Iraq with severe head & face injuries & a predilection for sudden rages particularly against women. Three men are killedin London & Acland seems implicated. Walter's compelling exploration of estrangement & psychological chaos owes much to the presence of one of her best characters ever, Jackson, the weight lifting locum G.P. who moonlights as a bouncer at her girlfriend's pub & befriends Acland when he precipates an unnecessary brawl. A monumental `saviour' of near mythic competence, Jackson ironically begins to question Acland's social isolation & sexual anxiety. `He squinted up at her. From the floor she looked like a mountain of white muscle, with calves, thighs, shoulders & neck bulging out of her biker boots..' Salvation can arrivein many forms!
Add to this an ex-girl friend who believes she is Uma Thurman, a secretive tramp, deceitful rent boy & a strangely submissive parent; this is a book that entertains without insult or injury!
Disappointing and unbelieveable - By: Bluebell, 31 Aug 2008 
I've enjoyed the author's earlier books, but was disappointed by this one. I found the first third of the book got tedious with the endless descriptions of the injured soldier's bad temper & violent behaviour without much story to carry the book along. I kept feeling that many of the characters were ludicrous, not least the body-building GP. My faithin the author's accuracy over detail was dented by her putting "MD Psych" on the psychiatrist's headed notepaper as his professional qualification, maybe a minor point, but that's not a British qualificationin psychiatry. Altogether, very disappointing.
Disappointing - By: Heavy Soul, 25 Jul 2008 Disapppointing. OK I am not a big fan of Walters'style of including some kind of memos, newspaper cuttings, reports into her fiction, designedin a different typo & setting etc. I always found it disturbing & more a distraction from the novel than an addition to it. Anyway, this book isin itself disappointing & thrillingin one go. Sounds strange but that's how it felt to me during reading this story around Lt. Acland, terribly wounded Iraq war soldier returning to the UK after having seen two of his men diein a bombing. He is a very unsympathetic character & the acquaintances he makes on the way during this story are imho too overdrawn too larger than life & through that design almost discriminating some special groups of people. The guilty person comes of course outin the end & I will not disclose here who it is but why this person has done the murders is not made clear, the end is writtenin a rush after the book drips on for ages. Still, an interesting read, but do not expect too much from it, especially if you have read the early Minette Walters books that were far more better.
fabulous - By: RD, 15 Jul 2008 I seem to bein the minority who think this was a fabulous book. This may have something to do with the fact that I am not a die hard fan of Ms Walters & have only read about 3/4 of her books. If you are you may want to read the reviews by her more ardent followers for a comparison to her older stuff.
From the books I have read I can say she keeps to the same style of writing by which she uses the periodic inclusion of newspaper cuttings or official documents etc to tell the story. It is a method Ms Walters has mastered & doesn't take anything away from the narrative.
The Chameleons Shadow is addictive & gripping as you're always wondering if the protagonist really is a killer or not. There is depth of character as each one has their own problems, backgrounds & personalities which are well conveyed. I'd strongly recommend reading this book to anyone who likes a good thriller.
