Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Traditional British Detective Novel with a Twist, 15 Mar 2002
By A Customer
When I first read this I was shocked - by its incredible originality, style and sheer top-quality. The characters are some of the most carefully formed, interesting, and complicated I have ever come across. The plot is great too, filled with twists at every corner that leave you stumbling in the dark in this maze of a mystery. The dialogue is pin sharp - full of smart, wry observations - especially from the character Anne Cattrel who is no shrinking violet to put it mildly. She is brash, honest, and funny and her conversations with Seargant Andy McLoughlin are simply stunning. I am so surprised this is Minette Walters first novel because, in my opinion it is her best. There are simply so many layers in this book, and it just gets better and better. The action scenes near the end are brilliant - the kind that makes you feel horrified and excited at the same time. What else can I say? Just read it!
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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Riveting Mystery With A Cast Of Charismatic Characters, 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 and their two children one evening and never returned. Maybury was known to have been in 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 and 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 death in an auto accident a few years before. Finally the unsolved Maybury mystery was laid to rest in the cold case files.Ten years later Pheobe Maybury, now in her mid-thirties, is still living at her elegant country home, along with her two best friends from childhood, Anne Catrell, a journalist, and Diana Goode, an interior decorator. The three women are shunned by local society, and much maligned - believed to be witches, lesbians, or both. When a badly decomposed corpse is found in 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 originally in charge of the missing husband case ten ago. He has never lost his conviction that Pheobe murdered David, and 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 and past, along with the various testimonies, and begins to take a different view from his superior. To arrive at the truth, however, he must examine his own demons and 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 and much praise. Phoebe, Anne and Diana are complex characters and their relationships with each other, and with the two detectives, really make the book special - a delightful and thrilling read. I was very much taken with the characters, more so than usual, and cared very much what happened to them. There is much more than a murder mystery, or two, or three, going on in this suspenseful novel. There are unexpected twists and turns along with a number of fascinating subplots. I highly recommend "The Ice House."
JANA
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
AN AUSPICIOUS DEBUT NOVEL..., 26 Jan 2003
Winner of Britain's John Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel, this splendid debut novel by the author is a tough act to follow. She weaves a marvelous mystery surrounding three women who live together in an English Country manor house, one of whom, Phoebe Maybury, is suspected of having murdered her bounder of a husband ten years ago. More recently, a corpse in found in an old icehouse on their property and rumors begin flying fast and furious about these three women.Ostracized by the community in which they live, these three women become larger than life in the minds of the local townsfolk. The charming and artistic Diana Goode and the earthy, no nonsense Anne Catrell hunker about their housemate, Phoebe, as the events of the past threaten to crop up again and overwhelm her. The police, led by Chief Inspector Walsh, a man with his own underlying agenda, seems intent upon putting the screws to these three women, fixating upon Phoebe Maybury. Only Sergeant Detective McLoughlin seems to be genuinely interested in discovering the truth. In order to do so, however, he must confront his own personal demons, as he finds himself drawn into a snare of deceit, good intentions gone awry, loyalty, and a secret that threatens to ruin the lives of three women. The author cleverly uses the discovery of the corpse as a catalyst for a voyage of self-discovery for some of her characters. Brimming with a cornucopia of subplots and one or two red herrings, the author grips the reader with a literate and compelling narrative. She is a welcome addition to the ever growing list of British mystery novelists. This author's work should appeal to those who enjoy mysteries written by Ruth Rendell.
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