The Ice House [Paperback]

Minette Walters (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (1992)
• ISBN-10: 0312951426
• ISBN-13: 978-0312951429
• ASIN: B000OT4FCQ
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,995,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A cleverly conceived, well-executed mystery, July 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ice House: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

What a great book! The award-winning THE ICE HOUSE is a thoroughly entertaining novel filled with some of the wittiest prose and sharpest dialogue I've ever read. Minette Walters is a gifted writer; her narrative is lucid as well as literate, and her characters are flawlessly constructed. There's also a fine plot in this book, with quite a few crafty twists and turns; my only complaint is that a few of the plot strands could not be deduced by the reader. In the sense of the Golden Age detective story, then, I suppose Walters "cheated" a bit. Nonetheless, THE ICE HOUSE is such a gloriously savory dish it's quite overlookable. Lovers of P.D. James and Ruth Rendell will undoubtedly enjoy the work of this hot new British author. One down, five to go. Next stop: THE SCULPTRESS...

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a murder mystery, December 5, 2002

By 

Fanoula Sevastos (Lyndhurst, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ice House: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a gem of a novel, a well-crafted story of mystery filled with wonderful characters. Three women: Phoebe, Anne and Diane - a coven of lesbians, according to gossip- live in a manor house, secluded. Three murders: Phoebe's parents who died in a car crash many years ago; Phoebe's husband who disappeared 10 years ago, and whose body was never found; and a newly discovered body in the ice house on Phoebe's property. But were all of these, or any of these actually murders? And who is the man in the Ice House and how did he get there? This is a page-turner that has as much to do with discovering the complexities of the three women as who if anyone has been murdered and by whom. Add to that a couple of overzealous detectives - one chief inspector who is convinced of Phoebe's guilt and one detective sergeant who is driven by both the charms and the mysteries of the women, especially Anne. One of the best I've read this year.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting read couldnt put it down, September 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ice House: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Having seen the Sculptress on TV last year and being an avid reader of whodunnits and mystery novels I ordered a copy of the Ice House. I was really impressed by the characterisation and the story. I became involved with the characters right from the very beginning feeling sympathy for Phoebe and her friends and downright dislike for the policemen. I really enjoyed this book and truly couldn't put it down. I have been looking for a new author for some time as I have been fed up with the formulaic writing of some of the popular mystery authors such as Patricia Cornwall. Finally being an expat englishwomen from Hampshire where the novel is set I found the descriptions of England etc making me very homesick. I thoroughly recommend this novel.