Rating: 
Summary: fun and interesting
Review: A book worth reading, an excellent beach read, which is nicely written much of the time, even when the violence is heading towards a troubling pitch. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Minette Walter's gives us a gift with every book she writes
Review: and The Ice House is no exception. Yet another fabulous offering from Minette Walters with all the plot twists and turns that we have come to expect from her.The Ice House is a cozy mystery with a bite. Read this one - you won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!
Review: As a avid mystery reader, I have become somewhat cynical and particular about mysteries. I usually read them but complain about many things- plot, characters, writing style. Minette Walters shows that she is a truly great writer and certainly will become one of the most popular and outstanding mystery writers of the 90s. It is hard to believe that this book is her first novel because it is so complete and perfect. My experience has found that good authors, like Anne Perry and Ruth Rendel, have to "warm up" with a couple of mysteries before they are in the top of their field. Minette Walter's debut has leapfrogged her to the top. This is a truly engrossing book. Try it!
Rating: 
Summary: A good mystery
Review: Being an avid mystery reader I felt this book was top notch with just enough twists and turns to keep a reader at the edge of their seats. It was difficult to put down. My only problem was how Detective Mcloughlin was potrayed by the writer. He speaks in an unarticulate manner and sounding very uneducated at the beggining of the novel and suddenly he becomes this witty well spoken philosophical character. I thought this to be a little odd and unrealistic. With that observation the book is still a great read.
Rating:
Summary: A riveting read couldnt put it down
Review: Having seen the Sculptress on TV last year and being an avid reader of whodunnits and mystery novels I ordered a copy of the Ice House. I was really impressed by the characterisation and the story. I became involved with the characters right from the very beginning feeling sympathy for Phoebe and her friends and downright dislike for the policemen. I really enjoyed this book and truly couldn't put it down. I have been looking for a new author for some time as I have been fed up with the formulaic writing of some of the popular mystery authors such as Patricia Cornwall. Finally being an expat englishwomen from Hampshire where the novel is set I found the descriptions of England etc making me very homesick. I thoroughly recommend this novel.
Rating:
Summary: FINALLY, a British manor house mystery for the '90's!
Review: I read mysteries by the box-full and haven't been this captivated by one in a long time! Three women rejected by society because of ignorance, innuendo and assumption recovering from sexual abuse, vandals' violence, accusations of murder, lesbianism and witchcraft. After building 10 years of emotional walls, an actual body is discovered on the property which proves to be the catalyst for tearing down walls of prejudice, bringing abusers to justice and opening many eyes to true love. All in a story with many zigs and zags. What more could you ask for?
Rating:
Summary: Not just the same old country house formula
Review: I stumbled on this book by accident. What a pleasure to encounter a mystery writer with an original mind who can really write. All too often, new mysteries are just variations on the same old formula, but this was one good novel; well-defined characters, vivid setting, and a complex plot, not to mention a main character sleuth who experiences growth throughout the novel. I'd recommend it to anyone. I've already picked up "The Sculptress" which I happened to catch on PBS more than a year ago. Unfortunately, I only saw the first installation, but since I picked up "The Ice House", I can now find out how the other fascinating story ends!
Rating:
Summary: A great find
Review: In all honesty, I only read this book because I happen to share my name with the deceased husband. While I admit to taking a certain perverse pleasure in all the horrible things written about "me," I honestly found myself tearing through this book in a headlong rush to get to the end of the mystery. Walters produces an agressive, fearless mystery here in her debut work. As you begin to wade into the book, which hits the ground jogging, not running, and never lets up, a long, entangled web begins to reveal itself. As every closet gets opens, skeletons fall out around the detectives, as the reader continues on, almost unaware of how engrossed they have become. Walters possesses a unique gift for populating her stories with a staggering array of multilevel characters, many of whom are very intelligent, which provides quality intellectual sparring. The book truly does not have a hero, though. All characters are flawed, many deeply. These are real people, many of them vile, vindictive, but with soft veneers, and some even with kind hearts. This book was a very enjoyable trip that has not gotten nearly the attention it deserves on this side of the ocean. I highly recommend that my fellow readers work to change that.
Rating:
Summary: A great find
Review: In all honesty, I only read this book because I happen to share my name with the deceased husband. While I admit to taking a certain perverse pleasure in all the horrible things written about "me," I honestly found myself tearing through this book in a headlong rush to get to the end of the mystery. Walters produces an agressive, fearless mystery here in her debut work. As you begin to wade into the book, which hits the ground jogging, not running, and never lets up, a long, entangled web begins to reveal itself. As every closet gets opens, skeletons fall out around the detectives, as the reader continues on, almost unaware of how engrossed they have become. Walters possesses a unique gift for populating her stories with a staggering array of multilevel characters, many of whom are very intelligent, which provides quality intellectual sparring. The book truly does not have a hero, though. All characters are flawed, many deeply. These are real people, many of them vile, vindictive, but with soft veneers, and some even with kind hearts. This book was a very enjoyable trip that has not gotten nearly the attention it deserves on this side of the ocean. I highly recommend that my fellow readers work to change that.
Rating: 
Summary: okay but not great
Review: It was hard to really root for any of the characters in the book. Everyone had too much baggage for me to care if they caught the murderer or not. And in the end, the murderer seemed to appear out of nowhere. I didn't even remember the person's earlier appearance. Still, at least it was a fast read.
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