Book Review: The Devil's Feather

A Psychological Thriller by Minette Walters

© Sandy Mitchell

Sep 24, 2006
Minette Walters, (Courtesy of Knopf Publishers)
What would you do if you discovered a killer, one who was "getting away with murder" in the midst of the world's many war zones?

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.


The copyright of the article Book Review: The Devil's Feather in Mystery/Crime Fiction is owned by Sandy Mitchell. Permission to republish Book Review: The Devil's Feather in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.




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