Helpful Score: 6
First book I ever read by this author, was in high school. Could not put it down. Just remembered her recently and I am caught up in her all over again. I usually can't read books set in England but these are very easy to follow and hold your attention.
Helpful Score: 3
First time I read this author and found it engaging. Good pace and it keeps your interest. I will read others by this author.
Helpful Score: 3
This is why I love Walters - dark atmosphere, fully-drawn characters, and constant suspense.
Helpful Score: 2
"The Breakers" holds its secrets to almost the end. But this expertly crafted , classic story is even more of a tease then usual. Walters narrows the field of suspesct om a woman's murder then proceeds to persuade you , in turn, of each's guilt. But just when you think you know who the killer realy is, another clue comes along to undermine your confidence and convince you otherwise. I enjoyed it.
Helpful Score: 1
um....not bad. Quick read. Not as thrilling or suspenseful as many of the reviews made it out to be... but still....
Helpful Score: 1
Can always be relied upon to tell an excellent story. This one is no exception. You think you have the "whodunit" figured out, then you don't, then you do, etc. Truly surprising ending.
Helpful Score: 1
one of the best by Walters
Full of surprises--you'll never guess how it ends.
Lovely little murder mystery. Beautifully written.
Another gem by Minette Walters
A beautiful woman is found, naked, thrown upon the rocks near the sea, below Houns-tout cliff in southern England. She had drowned and somehow been tossed by the waves on a rocky area not easily accessible by foot. She is found by a couple of boys who then tell a young man who was hiking in the area. A garbled message is sent to the emergency services, resulting in a helicopter hovering above the body in an effort to rescue the woman. She is beyond rescue.
Also on the scene is a young woman on horseback and soon PC Ingram, who secures the scene and takes note of his surroundings.
The dead woman, Kate Sumner, is the wife of an older man who seems, alternately, distressed by her death and yet quietly cold about her. Many people in the small community believe Kate was bored with her marriage and with the small community to which the couple had moved. Some thought she might have been having an affair.
There turn out to be no lack of suspects, and each one is seen as the likely one until another is. It's enough to make a reader dizzy.
The investigation involves a few police detectives along with PC Ingram, who seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Each has something to offer and ultimately the answer is found. But not without quite a few twists and quite a few characters.
In some ways this novel reminded me of Agatha Christie's works, rather like an updated Christie, as it focuses a lot on characters and even has a bit of a love interest. Both Christie and Walters have senses of humor, and that humor is not lacking here. A thoroughly enjoyable classic detective story.
Also on the scene is a young woman on horseback and soon PC Ingram, who secures the scene and takes note of his surroundings.
The dead woman, Kate Sumner, is the wife of an older man who seems, alternately, distressed by her death and yet quietly cold about her. Many people in the small community believe Kate was bored with her marriage and with the small community to which the couple had moved. Some thought she might have been having an affair.
There turn out to be no lack of suspects, and each one is seen as the likely one until another is. It's enough to make a reader dizzy.
The investigation involves a few police detectives along with PC Ingram, who seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Each has something to offer and ultimately the answer is found. But not without quite a few twists and quite a few characters.
In some ways this novel reminded me of Agatha Christie's works, rather like an updated Christie, as it focuses a lot on characters and even has a bit of a love interest. Both Christie and Walters have senses of humor, and that humor is not lacking here. A thoroughly enjoyable classic detective story.
I really enjoyed this book. It started right in on the action and kept up the pace. It kept me guessing all the way through. Everytime I thought I had it figured out, some clue would be revealed to make me change my mind. Right up until the last few pages, I just wasn't sure who the culprit was. I'll probably look for more books by this author.
Wonderfully chilling book!
From the back cover a quote from the Orlando Sentinel:
Walters narrows the field of suspects in a woman's murder, and then proceeds to persuade you, in turn, of each one's guilt. But just when you think you know who the real killer really is, another clue comes along to undermine your confidence and convince you otherwise. The book begins with a woman drifting in the waves on an August night, floating in and out of consciousness...Daylight brings the discovery of [her] body on an isolated English beach...
Walters narrows the field of suspects in a woman's murder, and then proceeds to persuade you, in turn, of each one's guilt. But just when you think you know who the real killer really is, another clue comes along to undermine your confidence and convince you otherwise. The book begins with a woman drifting in the waves on an August night, floating in and out of consciousness...Daylight brings the discovery of [her] body on an isolated English beach...
She's one of the better female mystery writers that I have read. A really riveting story - enjoyable!
I thought this was Minette Walters' best book! A woman is discovered drifting in and out of consciousness in the sea...
Two young brothers spotted a naked woman laying on the beach. They were spying on her with binoculars when they accidentally dropped them down the side of the cliff. The woman didn't move and they realized something was wrong. She wasn't just sun bathing, she was dead. They ran to find help and found a man who called the police. The police discovered the woman had been raped and drowned. They start questioning everyone that was there to try to identify the woman and also find her killer. Later, at a nearby marina, a blond toddler was found wandering around alone. An older couple brings her to the police and they begin trying to find her parents. They put a picture of the little girl on the news in hopes that someone will recognize her and someone does. An older woman is sure that little girl is her grand-daughter and phones her son. He doesn't really think it could be his daughter because she would be so far from home but when his wife doesn't answer his calls he starts to worry.
Great writing ... one of the few books I read in one day!
Mrs. Sumner is found dead on an isolated stretch of coast. Apparently, she was raped and thrown overboard while still alive. Suspects are a wannabe actor who does the occasional porn shoot, and has a reputation of being a ladies man, and of course, her husband. The narrative swings back and forth between these two suspects and gives you a little more information about each person each time, so that you are convinced that yes, this is the guy.
Great read!
Mrs. Sumner is found dead on an isolated stretch of coast. Apparently, she was raped and thrown overboard while still alive. Suspects are a wannabe actor who does the occasional porn shoot, and has a reputation of being a ladies man, and of course, her husband. The narrative swings back and forth between these two suspects and gives you a little more information about each person each time, so that you are convinced that yes, this is the guy.
Great read!
Typical of her books - nasty but well written!
Great suspense novel!
Twelve hours after Kate Sumner's broken body is washed up on a deserted beach on the south coast of England, her traumatized three-year-old daughter is discovered twenty miles away walking the streets of Poole, alone. The police are puzzled.
Why weren't mother and daughter together? Why was Kate killed and her daughter allowed to live? More curiously, why had Kate boarded a boat - apparently willingly - when she was scared stiff of drowning at sea? Who had tempted her to her death?
The police suspect a young actor, a loner with an appetite for pornography, who lies about his relationship with Kate and whose sailing boat, Crazy Daze, is moored just yards from where the toddler was found...
As the investigation proceeds, the police discover a gaping hole in Kate's husband's alibi. Was he really in Liverpool at a conference the night she died? Was Kate the "respectable woman" he claims she was?
And why does their daughter scream in terror every time he tries to pick her up...?
Why weren't mother and daughter together? Why was Kate killed and her daughter allowed to live? More curiously, why had Kate boarded a boat - apparently willingly - when she was scared stiff of drowning at sea? Who had tempted her to her death?
The police suspect a young actor, a loner with an appetite for pornography, who lies about his relationship with Kate and whose sailing boat, Crazy Daze, is moored just yards from where the toddler was found...
As the investigation proceeds, the police discover a gaping hole in Kate's husband's alibi. Was he really in Liverpool at a conference the night she died? Was Kate the "respectable woman" he claims she was?
And why does their daughter scream in terror every time he tries to pick her up...?
