The Scold's Bridle (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Minette Walters (Author)

Book Description

Series: G K Hall Large Print Book Series | Publication Date: January 1995

A wealthy English matron is found dead, a medieval instrument of torture over her head, and the investigation implicates one of her few friends, her physician and main beneficiary, Sarah Blakeney. By the author of The Sculptress. Tour.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Britain's Walters, whose The Sculptress won the 1993 Edgar for best novel, excels at depicting monstrously dysfunctional families and the murder and mayhem they wreak; and old Mathilda Gillespie's clan is a humdinger. The daughter of this bitter, snobbish, nasty-minded recluse is a prostitute on dope; the granddaughter's a schoolgirl being blackmailed into theft by a rapist lover. Gillespie's own past contains its share of feeblemindedness, violence, booze, abortion and incest. When the old woman is found dead in her bathtub, a peculiar medieval device over her head (the "scold's bridle" of the title), there is no shortage of suspects in her Dorset village. Both the local woman doctor, one of the few people who could tolerate the dead woman, and the cynical artist husband from whom she is separating spar with empathetic Detective Sgt. Cooper as they search for a killer. The fact that it takes these very bright people longer to figure out the perpetrator than it does a not-especially-smart reader is the chief strike against this otherwise intelligent and enjoyable-if slightly overplotted-mystery, which is essentially an English cozy with distinctly quirky overtones.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Oddly enough, the suicide death of an ill-tempered, snobbish, rude old lady arouses the indignation of local villagers when they learn she willed her fortune to her physician, Dr. Sarah Blakeney, instead of to her own (nasty) daughter and (thieving) granddaughter. Police suspect murder, though, so their investigation creates problems for Sarah. She and her snide, freeloading husband become enmeshed in the intricacies of the dead woman's life-snippets of which introduce each chapter. Articulate and sophisticated prose, complicated plot, imaginative characters, and psychological intensity give this British title high marks.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 494 pages
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0783811314
• ISBN-13: 978-0783811314
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,279,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, March 18, 2002

By 

J. Colucci "viviansbook" (Encinitas, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scold's Bridle: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I discovered Walters by accident about 4 years ago when I found a copy of "The Sculptress". I loved it and I haven't enjoyed anything quite like it until now.

The Scold's Bridle is wonderful. The characters are dark, complex and quirky. You are never really sure that you know any of them. And yet you can't stop reading about their predicaments. This book was impossible to put down. I think Walters has some of the best mystery characters I have ever read.

I did figure out "the murderer" about 2/3 through the book, so I can't give it 5 stars. But the story alone is terrific. Buy & read this book you won't be disappointed!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cat Got your Tounge? Not When It Comes To Minette Walters!, December 2, 1999

By 

Karen Bierman Hirsh (Greenwich, CT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scold's Bridle: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

The Scold's Bridle is one of Minette's best! When the old lady that everyone in Fontwell hates dies a myesterious death in her bathtub - people breathe a sigh of relief.

Not so for her doctor Sarah Blakeney, she sees more to the death than meets the eye and takes it upon herself to discover the truth behind Mathilda Gillespie's gruesome death.

What the reader finds beyond the main plot is ingenious writing, rich characters and wonderful story telling. This is one page turner that I tried desperately not to read in one sitting - I really wanted to savor it.

All in all a fabulous book!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Story..., February 18, 2006

By 

P. Robinson "Relic113" (Calgary) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scold's Bridle: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

The Scold's bridle was winner of the CWA crime novel of the year, and after reading it, there is no doubt in my mind that it is worthy of its accolades. An old, crotchety shrew is found dead in the bathtub. Her wrists horribly slit, pills in her bloodstream, and an antique scold' bridle clasped firmly on her head. A medieval device used to silence nagging women in days of your...All signs point to suicide but for the contraption clamped onto her face, and the protagonist Sarah, her doctor, who said the old woman was emotionally stable. The reader is treated to many twists and turns as the police investigate the small town - only to find out that seemingly everyone had some motive to kill her, as she was entirely dislikeable. Enter the estranged and highly disgruntled family all looking for a share of the considerable family fortune, and you have a sure-fire method of staying up all night waiting for answers.

Read this book for hours of unbridled suspense, but don't do it on a night when you have to get up early, as you won't be going to sleep.

Relic113