The Shape of Snakes [Paperback]

A psychological thriller about race, family, and the brutal power of raw emotion.Mrs. Ranelagh has never stopped thinking about the dead body she found in the gutter twenty years ago, during Britain’s Winter of Discontent. “Mad Annie,” as she was known, was the only black resident of her West London neighborhood and openly despised by the community. The police called her death an accident, but Mrs. Ranelagh has always suspected it was murder. However, her pleas for an investigation were met with a vicious hate campaign that drove her and her husband from the country. Now, determined to uncover the truth, Mrs. Ranelagh has returned to England, where she quickly discovers a sordid trail of domestic violence, racism and adultery that shockingly could lead back to her own family.“Harrowing. . . . These complex characters can be cunning, deceitful, even mad–which is exactly what makes them such absorbing company.” —The New York Times Book Review“Minette Walters is a master at building engrossing tales around a single, life-shattering event.” —The Washington Post Book World“An intricate, unpredictable, and engrossing tale of passion and revenge.”—The San Diego Union Tribune“A harrowing thriller. . . Seethe[s] with rage and violence . . . A terrific example of psychological suspense.”—Chicago TribuneMinette Walters is the author of 11 novels, 2 novellas, and a number of short stories. Her work, which has received several major awards, has been published in more than thirty-five countries, and has been adapted for television to critical acclaim.o n e I could never decide whether “Mad Annie” was murdered because she was mad or because she was black.We were living in southwest London at the time and I remember my shock when I came home from work one wet November evening to find her collapsed in the gutter outside our house. It was 1978-the wil£§