Bestselling author Minette Walters has, with her last four novels, edged into a kind of socio-criminal fiction writing, interweaving strong social commentary and psychological insight with scene, sequel and dialogue.Her latest, The Devil’s Feather, takes this tendency to a new level. Superbly crafted and strikingly written, the story comments on welfare, elderly abuse, suicide, panic attacks, relationships, lies and power. It is also pleasingly peppered with allusions to recent news: al-Qaeda’s charismatic Abu Masab al-Zarqawi, prisoner abuse by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib jail and land acquisitions by Mugabe’s ZANU-PF.
Carrie Burns is a rebellious Reuters correspondent, of Zimbabwean origin, reporting on the wars in Sierra Leone and Iraq. Suspecting a local sadist of serial murder, she ruffles bureaucratic feathers - leading said sadist to abduct her. Carrie is caged, degraded, tortured and then, unexpectedly released. She flees to England, where she finds herself hiding in a countrified Dorset community with its own ugly secrets.
The Devil’s Feather is typical of Walters in its use of voice, but unusually global in its setting. I predict that it will satisfy both devoted Walters-philes and readers who are new to her work. It is absolutely gripping.
www.tiffanymarkman.co.za
No comments:
Post a Comment