The Shape of Snakes, a Mystery Novel. [Hardcover]

Minette Walters (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard (1971)
• ASIN: B0026CQCZM
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A First-Rate Mystery!, February 9, 2002

By 

Tiggah "the Anglophile" (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shape of Snakes (Hardcover)

I've enjoyed the dramatizations of British mystery writer Minette Walters' previous novels, and I was, therefore, looking forward to finally reading one; I must say, I was not disappointed. The Shape of Snakes is a well-written and, frankly, unputdownable novel. The story captures the reader's attention and interest right from the start. As it progresses, the characters take shape and the mystery becomes increasingly complex with a good many twists and surprises before the final pieces are in place.

The story takes place in the first person. Briefly, and without giving anything away, the narrator (known to us only as M. Ranelagh) had in 1978 discovered the body of her neighbour Annie (a disabled black woman) as Annie lay dying in the gutter in front of M's house. Not satisfied with the coroner's verdict, we find that M has spent the last 20 or so years amassing evidence in support of her belief as to what really happened to Annie.

Though the story is told through the less-than-objective eyes of one of the characters, Walters has counterbalanced this obvious bias in a highly effective (and indeed original) manner by including "copies" of letters, newspaper clippings, e-mails, reports, and so on in between most of the chapters.

Lest anyone be offended or upset, I ought to mention that there are, unfortunately, fairly graphic descriptions of cruelty to cats which some may find quite distressing (I certainly did and frankly skipped over much of the description). If you are able to withstand the cruelty, however, this is definitely a novel worth reading, for it is an extremely satisfying and masterfully-written mystery. At the core of the story are the related issues of racism, ignorance and intolerance, and Walters succeeds in evoking her readers' emotions and making us think; yet she manages to do so (at least in my opinion) without making us thoroughly depressed in the process. Don't misunderstand me. This novel is somewhat disturbing, not to mention unsettling, and many of the despicable attitudes and actions (toward both humans and cats) can only be described, quite frankly, as evil. Nevertheless, there is still that ever-so-important redeeming element of good that occasionally manages to punctuate the darkness--even if it is only a feeling of remorse or a simple act of kindness.

In conclusion, if you enjoy intelligent, realistic, thought-provoking mysteries--if you enjoy the Prime Suspect television series for example--you'll enjoy this novel. It's certainly one of the best mysteries I've read. Highly recommended!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning and carefully crafted....mesmerizing, January 25, 2001

By 

jeanne-scott (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shape of Snakes (Hardcover)

Minette Walters writes an absorbing mystery that revolves around the death of a woman in the late 70's in an English neighborhood. There is only one person who is convinced that the death is not an accident, but a vicious racially motivated crime of hate. This main character nearly looses her mind in the following days, and weeks. To save her marriage and her mind, she moves out of the country, but she never forgets about the woman who died. Twenty years later she and her family return to England, and her purpose is to prove that it was murder and catch the killer. She has spent the twenty years carefully gathering information and evidence, and now begins to move her information and those involved like chess pieces in order to attain her goal. Was the investigation done improperly due to the racial prejudice of the police in charge? Was the murderer one person or several? Who was involved in trying to cover up evidence ranging from theft, animal cruelty, adultery, rape, child abuse and more. The question arises, is she in it for justice or for revenge and why? Minette Walters includes letters, notes and e-mails and other correspondence in each chapter of her novel, which while at first glance was a bit disconcerting, began to make you feel a part of the discovery process. Bit by bit each character is revealed in an ever changing light, revealing their past, their motive and their part in the death of the neighborhood woman.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Look At the Dark Side of Humanity, July 19, 2001

By 

Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shape of Snakes (Hardcover)

The near obsessive need to solve a murder and see that justice is done is the premise for Minette Walters' latest thought-provoking novel. The murder is that of a local black woman known by her neighbours as "Mad Annie". She was an alcoholic who also suffered from Tourette's syndrome and was the victim of her neighbours hate and derision because she was different. Although her death appeared to be accidental, one neighbour isn't convinced and begins a quest that almost costs her marriage, her sanity and, certainly, her job.

This is not a cheery, happy-go-lucky, breezy mystery full of feel-good moments. Some pretty polarising issues are highlighted in the telling of this story. Racism, animal cruelty, child and spousal abuse and ignorance towards mental illness are all dealt with. It's a provocative mystery that examines the darker human failings that most of us would prefer to ignore by pretending they don't exist, and no apologies are made.

On top of the social commentary is a very well put together mystery with a long list of possible suspects. Like all good mysteries, the murderer could be just about anyone and isn't revealed until right at the end. The twists in the case are typical Walters as we're fed information, one tantalising piece at a time.