Minette Walters, The Ice House (1991)

Believe it or not, this engaging British crime story is Minette Walters´ debut. A naked, putrid body is found in Phoebe Maybury´s old, forgotten ice house. It seems that her husband David has finally reappeared after several years.

When the violent spendthrift David Maybury was reported missing, Detective Chief Inspector Walsh soon concluded that his wife had had enough and killed him. A body was never found, at least not until the above-mentioned corpse appeared, so Walsh was never able bring anyone to trial.

After the discovery in the ice house, Inspector Walsh smells blood and together with his sidekick, Detective Sergeant McLoughlin, he throws himself on Phoebe again, certain that now he can close the old case. But is the body really Maybury, and are the three single women who live together at Streech Grange, up to their neck in crime and corruption?

The Ice House is a true ´master mystery´ as well as a gripping story of Phoebe´s life together with her loyal friends, Anne Cattrell and Diana Goode. Slowly it dawns upon the reader what Phoebe and her children have been through, and why she has decided to stick it out in her childhood home.


Minette Walters, En velbevaret hemmelighed (1994)
Tro det eller ej, denne fængslende, britiske krimi er Minette Walters debut. Et nøgent, rådnende lig bliver fundet i Phoebe Mayburys for længst glemte ishus. Det ser ud til, at hendes mand David er dukket op igen efter at have været savnet i mange år.

Da den voldelige ødeland David Maybury blev meldt savnet, gjorde vicekriminalkommissær Walsh snart op med sig selv, at hans kone havde fået nok, og dræbt ham. Men der blev aldrig fundet noget lig, i det mindste ikke før resterne i ishuset, så det lykkedes aldrig for Walsh at få morderen bragt for retten.

Efter fundet af liget lugter Walsh blod, og sammen med sin makker, kriminalassistent McLoughlin, kaster han sig igen over Phoebe, overbevist om, at nu kan sagen omsider lukkes. Men er liget virkelig Maybury, og er det rigtigt, at de tre enlige kvinder, som bor sammen på Streech Grange, er indblandet i korruption og kriminalitet til halsen?

En velbevaret hemmelighed er både et vel tilrettelagt mester-mysterium, og en fængslende historie om Phoebes tilværelse sammen med de to loyale veninder, Anne Cattrell og Diana Goode. Langsomt går det op for læseren, hvad Phoebe og hendes børn har været igennem, og hvorfor hun har valgt ikke at stikke halen mellem benene.