See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

192 used & new from £0.01

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Acid Row
 
See larger image
 

Acid Row (Hardcover)

by Minette Walters (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


15 new from £0.01 156 used from £0.01 21 collectible from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (New edition) £6.99 £5.49 615 used & new from £0.01

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Disordered Minds

Disordered Minds

by Minette Walters
3.4 out of 5 stars (10)  £5.49
Fox Evil

Fox Evil

by Minette Walters
3.3 out of 5 stars (18)  £5.49
The Shape of Snakes

The Shape of Snakes

by Minette Walters
3.7 out of 5 stars (60)  £5.49
The Tinder box

The Tinder box

by Minette Walters
3.3 out of 5 stars (9)  £4.74
The Breaker

The Breaker

by Minette Walters
2.9 out of 5 stars (25)  £5.49
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Macmillan (29 Oct 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0333907485
  • ISBN-13: 978-0333907481
  • Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 16 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 581,378 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #35 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > W > Walters, Minette

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
From the first page, Minette Walters assaults your sensibilities with her psychological thriller Acid Row; she grabs you hard and fast, sustains the onslaught throughout and hits you with a knock-out final blow. Straightaway she informs you that the abduction of 10-year-old Amy and the revelation that a paedophile has been relocated to Acid Row, "a place of deprivation where literacy was poor, drugs endemic and fights commonplace", and where children were left to run wild, leads to rioting and "five hours of savagery leaves three dead".

Even with this prior knowledge, Walters' skill as a novelist never leaves you complacent and nothing prepares you for the horror and tragedy of her novel's shocking denouement. Monsters and heroes are found in the most unlikely places, subverting all your preconceptions: third-time pregnant teenager Melanie incites the protest only to block the rioters when they turn violent; "Big, black" Jimmy James is just out of prison but risks his neck to save the life of an injured policewoman; and the 71-year-old asthmatic father of the so-called paedophile turns out to be more sadistic than your worst imaginings.

A page-turning novel doesn't have to be particularly well written or intelligent to hold you in its grip but occasionally one comes along with both qualities and leaves you reeling in its wake. This is it. Acid Row's numerous narratives are so tightly packed and interconnected that no detail is spurious and everything is channelled towards suspense and shattering revelations. Walters just goes from strength to strength. --Nicola Perry

Review
Back on form with a vengeance, this is another taut thriller from English crime queen, Minette Walters. A chance remark made in Acid Row, a run down council estate, is the nemesis for scenes of horrific violence as a peaceful protest march spirals out of control into full-scale war. GP Sophie Morrison is trapped inside a known paedophile's house with two men. Held hostage by one of them, she attempts to get word to the outside of her plight unknowing of the fact that the police are unable to assist due to all entrances to the estate being blocked by overturned and burning cars. Jimmy James, freshly released from prison, tries to avoid the trouble but is slowly but irrevocably drawn into it against his will. Melanie and her mother Gaynor, instigators of the protest, gradually come to terms with the terror of what they appear to have unleashed and DCI Tyler struggles to find answers to the missing girl's disappearance at the same time as trying to control events from outside the borders of the estate. Based on the scenes in Portsmouth during the hunt for Sarah Payne, Walters highlights the ignorance of those who opt to drop out of education and exist on a life of drugs and crime. Page-turningly tense throughout, she skips between the search for a missing ten year old girl and the scenes gradually unfolding in the fortress-like estate. From the views of those involved in the peaceful protest to those suffering at the hands of the rebel insurgents, the pace never lets up till the final, murderous ending. - Lucy Watson

See all Product Description


Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Acid Row
60% buy the item featured on this page:
Acid Row 3.1 out of 5 stars (35)
The Echo
12% buy
The Echo 4.3 out of 5 stars (9)
£5.49
The Dark Room
10% buy
The Dark Room 3.3 out of 5 stars (12)
£5.49
The Shape of Snakes
10% buy
The Shape of Snakes 3.7 out of 5 stars (60)
£5.49

 

Customer Reviews

35 Reviews
5 star:
 (12)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (10)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Badly written, terrible plot., 11 Dec 2006
By A. Smith (York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Acid Row (Paperback)
Even though this book was badly written, the characters unbelievable, and the dialogue ridiculous, i still found myself wanting to read on to the conclusion of the story. I should have trusted my instincts and put the trash down. The story reached a crescendo, only to fizzle out within a chapter, and it felt as if the writer decided she had written enough words, and needed to finish the story as quickly as possible. Don't bother with this, it makes Dan Brown look good.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment, 28 Sep 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Acid Row (Paperback)
This book was not neary as good as the hype on the covers said it would be. There was no tension at all, i ended up skimming bits of it. Some of the words and phrases she puts in the mouth of her characters are plain daft. Luckily i got if from the library, i would have been mad if i had paid money for it. I did like her early work.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Uneven read, 3 Sep 2003
By A Customer
I have enjoyed previous Minette Walters novels, but unfortunately not this one. Characterisation, plot and dialogue were all very clunky, and some people kept changing their "voices" every time they appeared, eg Jimmy, who one moment was working class and the next giving us very middle-class opinions. Of them all though, he was the best character, but turned nastier at the end, which was a shame. I didn't like Sophie at all. The central section of the novel, with the riots, was the best-written part.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars acid burned dry
Fortunately, I picked up this book from the hotel bookcase on a wet day, so it passed the time!

It's also the first Walters' book I've read. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Michael Watson

5.0 out of 5 stars A difficult read
Maybe the readers who gave this such low marks for unbelievable characters have never lived on a run down council estate or met such people as featured. Read more
Published 16 months ago by M. Reeve

1.0 out of 5 stars Patronising & badly-researched!
This is the worst of her novels. The estate described in the book is something imagined from the worst excesses of many Daily Mail articles and bears no relation to reality... Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2007 by J. BENNY

2.0 out of 5 stars Hmmm...somehow I managed to read it to the end
What a letdown. The story had a very good idea behind it, but the author fails to really picture any of it clearly. Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2007 by T. C. Walker

1.0 out of 5 stars Really nasty piece of work
I have read other books by this writer and enjoyed them but I thought this was awful. The plotting is clumsy and confused. The violence is gratuitous and the story nasty. Read more
Published on 20 May 2005

3.0 out of 5 stars A difficult one to judge....
As my title suggests, this book is difficult to judge. On one hand I applaud Minette Walters for tackling such a sensitive subject in paedophilia but on the other I found that... Read more
Published on 25 Jul 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars A Little Information Is Dangerous
This thought-provoking book is a stark example of how a little bit of information, when it gets into the wrong hands, can be dangerously and tragically misused. Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2003 by Untouchable

5.0 out of 5 stars Rollercoaster
This is a story that could be happening today because it is reflecting our society as it is at present. Being judged by people whom are guided by fear. Read more
Published on 28 Oct 2003 by Ingrid De Kokere

1.0 out of 5 stars Big disappointment
Having enjoyed previous books, i opened this with keen enthusiasm. What a let down. I cannot believe the same woman wrote this book that wrote the Scolds Bridle. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Addictive
I wasn't too sure about this book when I read the back sleeve as it didn't look that interesting. But I've read a few Minette Walters books and decided to give it a go. Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2003 by O. Doyle

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback


Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

Shop the Powerball store

 

Beauty without the Beast

Olay Regenerist Daily 3 Point Treatment Cream
From au naturel to party glam, we have all the best names in cosmetics and skincare.

Discover Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

 

Train Hard...Play Hard

Nike, Gola, Converse, and more
Gear up with up to 60% off athletic and outdoor shoes.

Shop now

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates