Minette Walter Libri

Londra, novembre 1978. Di ritorno a casa, in una grigia serata di pioggia, la signora Ranelagh trova davanti alla porta della sua abitazione una donna di colore moribonda. I vicini la chiamavano "Annie la matta", era sempre ubriaca, arrabbiata con il mondo, nel quartiere disprezzata da tutti. Quella morte sarebbe passata inosservata se non fosse stato per la signora Ranelagh, convinta che la povera Annie non sia stata investita da un camion, come ha concluso la polizia, bensì crudelmente assassinata.

A Cedar House, in un piccolo paese del Dorset, la ricca e spietata Mathilda Gillespie, figlia di un membro del Parlamento, viene ritrovata nella vasca da bagno con i polsi recisi, troppi sonniferi nello stomaco e, sul volto, il "morso della bisbetica", uno strumento di tortura medievale imposto alle donne che parlavano troppo. Per il suo medico, la dottoressa Sarah Blakeney, non può trattarsi di un suicidio. Perché nel suo testamento Mathilda ha nominato proprio Sarah come unica erede, anziché la figlia e la nipote? Al sergente Cooper, cui sono affidate le indagini, il compito di far luce sul mistero.

Connie Burns, giornalista sudafricana, vive la sua professione con coraggio e passione. Corrispondente in Sierra Leone, è già stata testimone di molti orrori, e lei, donna bianca, impegnata e consapevole del suo ruolo, non può stare inerte a guardare. Una serie di omicidi di prostitute la porta sulle tracce di un mercenario. Lo stesso militare di carriera senza ideali e figlio della violenza che qualche anno dopo ritroverà in Iraq. Connie non si da per vinta: lo accusa, richiama l'attenzione internazionale, però nessuno vuole rivelare le atrocità che si accompagnano a una guerra già impopolare. Ma poi Connie viene rapita, e il suo aguzzino è l'uomo che lei stessa ha cercato di incastrare.

'Wonderful and sweeping, with a fabulous sense of place and history.' Kate Mosse on The Last Hours As the year 1349 approaches, the Black Death continues its devastating course across England. In Dorseteshire, the quarantined people of Develish question whether they are the only survivors. Guided by their beloved young mistress, Lady Anne, they wait, knowing that when their dwindling stores are finally gone they will have no choice but to leave. But where will they find safety in the desolate wasteland outside? One man has the courage to find out. Thaddeus Thurkell, a free-thinking, educated serf, strikes out in search of supplies and news. A compelling leader, he and his companions quickly throw off the shackles of serfdom and set their minds to ensuring Develish's future - and freedom for its people. But what use is freedom that cannot be gained lawfully? When Lady Anne and Thaddeus conceive an audacious plan to secure her people's independence, neither foresees the life-threatening struggle over power, money and religion that follows...

A sweeping historical adventure set during one of the most turbulent periods of British history - featuring a heroine you'll never forget...

In prison, they call her the Sculptress for the strange figurines she carves - symbols of the day she hacked her mother and sister to pieces and reassembled them in a blood-drenched jigsaw. Sullen and menacing, Olive Martin is burned-out journalist Rosalind Leigh's only hope of getting a new book published.But as she interviews Olive, in her cell, Roz finds flaws in the Sculptress's confession. Is she really guilty as she insists? Drawn into Olive's world of obsessional lies and love, nothing can stop Roz's pursuit of the chilling, convoluted truth. Not the tidy suburbanites who'd rather forget the murders, not a volatile ex-policeman and her own erotic response to him, not an attack on her life.Not even the thought of what might happen if the Sculptress went free...

In 1970 Howard Stamp, a retarded 20-year-old, was convicted on disputed evidence of brutally murdering his grandmother in her Dorset home. Less than three years later he was dead, driven to suicide by self-hatred and relentless bullying by other prisoners. A fate befitting a murderer, perhaps, but what if he was innocent? When 34-year-old anthropologist Dr. Jonathan Hughes re-examines Stampâs case for a book on injustice, his research into the written evidence leads him to believe that Stamp was wrongly convicted. But is the forgotten story of one friendless young man compelling enough to persuade Jonathan to confront the real murderer? One person believes it is. George Gardener, sixty, has been trying to bring Stampâs case to public attention for years and has unearthed new evidence that might exonerate him. But Gardener needs the young academic on board if it is to be used to maximum effect. On the face of it, there is no similarity between the illiterate Stamp and the highly educated Hughes, yet their lives resonate through their damaged childhoods and their mutual sense of exclusion. With the threat of war in Iraq dominating British hearts and minds, there begins a battle closer to home: an attempt to prove a grotesque miscarriage of justice. But if the killer is still at large....