Visiting a crime-riddled housing project, unaware that a known pedophile lives there, Sophie Morrison learns that a child has gone missing and that the project's vigilantes are out in force, trapping Sophie with a man who is intent on hurting her. Reprint.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Minette Walters is a bestselling crime writer. She has won the CWA John Creasey Award for best first crime novel, the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best crime novel published in America and two CWA Gold Daggers for Fiction. Minette lives in Dorset with her husband.
Ever since she won an Edgar back in 1993, Walters has continually worked outside the standard boundaries of crime drama. Psychological suspense may be the best tagline for her novels, but it still doesn't quite catch her tenor. Her heroes, for example, are anything but moody, disagreeable. Her dialogue wanders and stews and then jabs like a bayonet. Her plots often evolve out of sequence. She simply won't walk the line and she's confoundingly good at taking liberties. Here, Walters transports readers to Acid Row, a dungeon of a housing project in a London suburb populated by single mothers, fatherless children, criminals fresh from prison, gangs and the helpless elderly. It's a community, however, bonded in its destitution, suspicious and unwelcoming of outsiders. When word leaks out that the government has placed a pedophile in No. 23, the beleaguered residents begin to simmer. Then, when a 10-year-old girl goes missing, Acid Row explodes into open revolt. With frightening clarity, Walters breaks down the daylong riot into recurring vignettes. There's the anguish of Sophie Morrison, a young doctor taken hostage by the pedophile and his vicious father; swaggering ex-con Jimmy James, who rises to the occasion with bursts of reluctant heroism; the cowering police and their pathetic attempts at restoring order; and the evasive parents of Amy Biddulph, the little girl nobody can find. Walters (The Shape of Snakes; Edgar-winning The Sculptress) pulls it all off with rhythmic brilliance, the narrative flowing smoothly. Again, she demonstrates her eye for the sociological and psychological avalanche provoked by human temptation and people living in cramped quarters. With her eighth novel, Walters continues to navigate literary pathways few have ventured down before her.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00063187367
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP95692810
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 16220206-6
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: Once Upon A Time Books, Siloam Springs, AR, U.S.A.
Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Good. This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear . This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear . Seller Inventory # mon0000468685
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_VERYGOOD. Very Good condition. Seller Inventory # C08A-03683
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_ASNEW. Like New condition. A near perfect copy that may have very minor cosmetic defects. Seller Inventory # B22B-03492
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Mass Market Paperback. Condition: As New. No Jacket. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.75. Seller Inventory # G0515135828I2N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Half Price Books Inc., Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_336914608
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: HPB Inc., Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Mass Market Paperback. Condition: USED_VERYGOOD. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_313243090
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: HPB-Diamond, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_259766721
Quantity: 1 available