That's the questions Minette Walters' new mystery novel, The Devil's Feather, asks its readers.
The story begins in Sierra Leone, on Africa's war-torn west coast, where Reuters correspondent, Connie Burns, reports on five women who have been brutally murdered. Burns, who grew up in Colonial British Zimbabwe, suspects a British mercenary, who is known throughout the expatriate community for his brutality and violence.
Kidnapped!
When Burns encounters him again later while covering the war in Baghdad, she is again suspicious, but she has no time to act. Her hotel room is ransacked repeatedly and when she's had enough and preparing to go home to England, she is kidnapped on her way to the airport.
Back to England
After three nightmare-ish days, Connie is released and escapes back to England, evading news reporters including her colleagues at Reuters. She leases a remote house on the Dorset coast and sets about trying to guard her privacy and her security. But how can she forget what has happened to her? And, too, how can she let the monster who abducted her go free to harm other women?
Devil's Feather, Walters' 12th mystery novel, is riveting from the very first page. The reader can easily identify with the terror of being isolated by fear and circumstances and we find ourselves rooting for Connie Burns whatever the outcome.
About Minette Walters
Minette Walters is the author of 13 novels and a number of short stories. Her works have been published in 35 countries. She is a past winner of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Allan Poe Award, among several other awards. She lives in Dorset, England. Read more about Ms. Walters on her website.
