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The Shape of Snakes

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 1,935 ratings · 87 reviews

It was the winter of discontent in Britain, and as the dead lay unburied and foul-smelling garbage collected in the streets, the death of a black woman known to her neighbors as "Mad Annie" was causing unprecedented commotion. The uproar was spearheaded by a woman named Mrs. Ranelagh, who had the misfortune of discovering Annie's body in the gutter. She claimed that Annie...more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published June 4th 2002 by Jove (first published 2000)

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Jan 03, 2009 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Another terrific page-turner from my new favorite crime-story author. A black woman, Annie, dies under suspicious circumstances in the working class London neighborhood where she lived. The ensuing investigation resulted in the death being ruled accidental and the woman who found the dying woman labeled hysterical because of her insistence that foul play had been involved. Twenty years later, she returns to find justice for Annie, and a certain measure of revenge on the people who turned their b...more

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Feb 09, 2013 Aniko Carmean rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have never met Minette Walters, but I wish I could. It takes a ballsy writer to tell a story where the narrator openly - almost lewdly - intimates she has more knowledge than the reader. THE SHAPE OF SNAKES is a psychological thriller about the unjust cruelty a culture of racism can hide, but it is also an artful reinvention of the relationship between reader and narrator.

Decades ago, Mad Annie, a black woman suffering of Tourette's Syndrome, died on Graham Road. The death was ruled accidental...more I have never met Minette Walters, but I wish I could. It takes a ballsy writer to tell a story where the narrator openly - almost lewdly - intimates she has more knowledge than the reader. THE SHAPE OF SNAKES is a psychological thriller about the unjust cruelty a culture of racism can hide, but it is also an artful reinvention of the relationship between reader and narrator.

Decades ago, Mad Annie, a black woman suffering of Tourette's Syndrome, died on Graham Road. The death was ruled accidental. Never mind that the coroner was a unreliable drunk who towed the police line because he wasn't sober enough to do his job; never mind that the lead policeman on the scene was routinely racist; never mind that M. Ranelagh saw Mad Annie as she died, smelling of urine and making a wordless plea for help. In late 1970's London, the death of a black woman wasn't something the police wasted much time on, especially when the woman was repeatedly paralytic and prone to wandering the streets.

As the story unfolds, the dirty laundry of Graham Road is revealed. Adultery, prostitution, child negligence, rape, and animal abuse are all variously produced by M. Ranelagh, the narrator, at the exact moment when it would cause the most damage to the doer. In a book where every character ends up carrying two labels -their name and their misdeed - M. Ranelagh remains only "M." Unnamed, yes, but without misdeed? M's cold calculation in the marshaling of information to set people one against another, while actively quelling any pains her conscience gives at misleading, using, and outright duping others to her advantage makes vote me that, no, M. is not without misdeed. Her punishment is righteous and just, but I can't help but believe the brutality of being the lone (and cruelly, intentionally silenced) voice of the unheard, warped M. into something closer to the sort of monster commonly referred to as an 'avenging angel.' M. is, in her own way, as scary as any of the 'bad guys' in THE SHAPE OF SNAKES. That she does everything in the name of justice doesn't make her likable, and I'm not even sure it makes her "good." It does make her interesting, and M's voice carries THE SHAPE OF SNAKES beyond the borders of social commentary and into the realm of narrative philosophy. For as much as M. manipulates the flow of events in the narrative, she is also manipulating you, the reader. M. doesn't ever show you everything, though, and the bits that she keeps back are maddening and every bit as realistic as the ugliness of racism, adultery, or false friendship. THE SHAPE OF SNAKES isn't the sort of book one "likes" or "dislikes." It is the sort that leaves you in awe.

PS What this Texas girl calls "wasted," the Brits call "paralytic," a lovely gem of linguistic deviation that thrills me!
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Jan 02, 2013 Rod rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel concerns the death of a woman in West London in the year 1978. Explaining her death is complicated by the fact the woman suffered from Tourette’s syndrome, which meant she bad-mouthed several of her neighbours on a regular basis, which they didn’t take kindly to. Those of them who were racially prejudiced also took against her because she was black and, for the same reason, the investigating officer was not disposed to examine the case too closely.

The coroner decided that Annie Butt...more This novel concerns the death of a woman in West London in the year 1978. Explaining her death is complicated by the fact the woman suffered from Tourette’s syndrome, which meant she bad-mouthed several of her neighbours on a regular basis, which they didn’t take kindly to. Those of them who were racially prejudiced also took against her because she was black and, for the same reason, the investigating officer was not disposed to examine the case too closely.

The coroner decided that Annie Butt had died of natural causes, but one of her neighbours. A Mrs M Ranelagh, has reason to believe she was murdered. Twenty years after the death she sets out to establish who was responsible. She gradually assembles information, quite a lot of it in written form, and proceeds to interview all of those who might shed light on what had actually happened. This is difficult. Some of them are lying because they were involved in persecuting the dead woman and/or stealing from her. Others are lying because, if they didn’t, they would have to reveal where they had really been at the time in question and who they had been with.

This novel is very well written and much better than The Echo, by the same author. The plot is complex, but Mrs Ranelagh guides us through it as she gradually pieces together the events as they unfolded on the day of the murder and arrives at her conclusion: she knows who did it but can’t prove it.

There are two difficulties. The first is the character of Mrs Ranelagh. There is in her pursuit of justice an element of revenge against those who had dismissed her suspicions at the time and written her off as ‘losing it’. She is also extremely manipulative in the methods she uses to extract information from people. Do we like this woman? Not entirely, but a certain virtue shines through, particularly in her dealings with her husband, who had let her down badly at the time of the original events. If you don’t like her, you can certainly admire both her intelligence and her determination.

The other area of note is one that regularly crops up with this author – her habit of providing documentation. In this book she surely takes it too far. We have numerous official documents, several press reports and many letters. Since this is a work of fiction, the letters are written in unusually legible hands - it wouldn’t do if we had to read them five times each with a magnifying glass. We are even provided with photographs of some of the characters, something I had not come across before. The purpose of all this can only be to give a feeling of actuality, as if the book is not so much a novel but a written documentary.

For good or ill, the author has a social work tendency also to be seen in the work of Elizabeth George, but her writing style is less pedantic and is seen at its best in dialogue, where she is adept at bringing out underlying tensions to good dramatic effect.
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Jan 21, 2012 Jussi rated it 3 of 5 stars

i read the sculptress years ago and loved it. i read the ice house shortly after and disliked it intensely, not because of faulty authorship but because of the way the author portrayed the people in her story. then i saw her on tv expound on her authorship and decided i was right to dislike her. i've avoided her since.

this book i picked up on a whim and read it in one sitting. it was well wrought and interestingly set up - even the slightly tacky trick of including letters and documents in the...more

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Apr 24, 2011 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

A knockout psychological thriller. In November 1978 a spinster black woman with Tourette's syndrome, Mad Annie, was murdered in the shabby West London terrace where she lived and where she was habitually persecuted by the neighbourhood kids and adults alike. Only Margaret Ranelagh, the young local wife who discovered her, seemed interested in doing anything more about the crime than sweeping it under the carpet as swiftly as possible . . . and for her persistence she has paid with social, mental...more

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Oct 02, 2009 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

This psychological murder mystery is, in my opinion, one of Walters’ best. And I have read lots of her work.

The plot is about a woman determined to solve what she believes to be the murder of a neighbour and friend.

The book starts with ‘I could never decide whether ‘Mad Annie’ was murdered because she was mad or because she was black.’ And while her killing may be resolved, this question remains a source of vexation throughout.

In the telling of a really good story, this book raises issues of ra...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-modern

"c2000. I am not sure about this book at all. I have found in the past that its a bit of hit or miss affair with Ms Walters for me. The synopsis, courtesy of Amazon, was nearly a total put off - ""In 1978, a single black woman known locally as ""Mad Annie"" lies dying in the roadside. When a verdict of accidental death is recorded, residents of Graham Road, where she lived, breathe a collective sigh of relief. As far as they were concerned Annie Butts was a repellent alcoholic with a foul mouth....more "c2000. I am not sure about this book at all. I have found in the past that its a bit of hit or miss affair with Ms Walters for me. The synopsis, courtesy of Amazon, was nearly a total put off - ""In 1978, a single black woman known locally as ""Mad Annie"" lies dying in the roadside. When a verdict of accidental death is recorded, residents of Graham Road, where she lived, breathe a collective sigh of relief. As far as they were concerned Annie Butts was a repellent alcoholic with a foul mouth. It is only Mrs Ranelagh, a young teacher who refuses to accept the court's decision. Something convinced her that Annie was murdered and 20 years later she returns from overseas with enough evidence to reopen the case.
Although the story is narrated by Mrs Ranelagh, the inclusion of much of the documentary evidence she has amassed including photographs, letters and e-mails, gives the reader the freedom to interpret characters and events for themselves. Motivation remains an endless source of fascination for Walters and the presence of several of Mrs Ranelagh's psychiatric reports, ensures that the reasons behind her commitment to the case also remain ambiguous."" Certainly, I do not believe that the book deserved all the rave reviews and sound bytes with descriptions such as ""masterful piece of writing"" or ""compelling read that reinforces her position as one of this country's most skilful crime writers"". However, I do agree that it is ""dark"" - in fact if you are any where close to being depressed - do not read this book! Dreary is a word that comes to mind. Written in the first person (never really great for me), some of the ideas formulated do seem a trifle stretched as well. ""The hunched trees that lined the pavements were black and sodden with water and made the street look very grim as I turned into it from the main road. On the other side, a couple paused briefly under one of the few lampposts, then separated, the man to walk ahead, the woman to cross on a diagonal in front of me. I pulled up my coat collar to shield my face from the stabbing rain before stepping off the curb to run through sheets of water towards my house. ""

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Oct 11, 2011 Joseph rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

'The Shape of Snakes' is an apt title for the book though in all fairness to the creature, the reference to its instinctive nature to human behaviour is somewhat unfair. Nonetheless, 'snakes' we are when we lurk in the crevices of our disposition only to strike at the opportune time to inflict harm and injury to another life form; be it human or animal and then slither away quietly to watch our victim struggle and die.

This is what Minette Walters, so very intelligently exposes in her 7th book h...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Palmreader rated it 2 of 5 stars

I thought this was a great story, full of innuendo and unresolved characters who are more real than the usual lot of portraits in a mystery novel.
Walters has a wonderful ability to scare the pants off you, with nothing more than a few words. Loved it.

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Apr 12, 2013 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-books

A black woman with Tourette's Syndrome is found dying on the side of the street on a dark night by a neighbour, M. Ranleagh (we never find out her first name). The dead woman is portrayed as mad and the death an accident but the woman that found her thinks someone killed her. She insists and pursues justice for "Mad Annie" but the police think she's hysterical. Even her husband doesn't believe her and it nearly ruins her marraige. They move away, have children, and return to England nearly 20 ye...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Lester rated it 4 of 5 stars

At the end..I did an "aawwwwwww" out loud. Definitely going to read other Minette Walters books. This book is 'shaped' by the 'old days' of racism and 'bitterness of the ugliness' of living poor..the choices people make to do with what they have..or do not have. Of course these lives were not just 'in the old days'. I live in the Yukon Territory..and racism and living poor is very much real..here and now. The difference now..is that the power of the government (federal and territorial) keeps rac...more

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May 06, 2009 bin rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a great book, really captivating. Recommended to anyone who loves a mystery.
Come to think of it...I don't even like mysteries that much, and I still loved it!
About a woman who has never accepted the death of a black woman who lived in her street. Searching for answers, she uncovers more than just who murdered the poor woman. And although she never spoke to the dead woman, she grows closer to her by trying to find her killer.

Now something for you to think about- What is the main characte...more

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Jan 25, 2008 Robert Beveridge rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished, owned-and-gave-away

Minette Walters, The Shape of Snakes (Putnam, 2001)

What does it say about a novel when there are errors in the text that any half-blind proofreader could have caught, but the novel is still good enough to demand being read in one sitting? Such is the case with Minette Walters' eagerly-awaited seventh novel, The Shape of Snakes. It starts off rather like The Scold's Bridle, with a not-much-loved member of the community dying a quite suspicious death and a woman who'd rather just be left alone get...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Devorah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Minette Walters' use of various memos, news clippings, and letters in addition to the experience of a primary character to augment our understanding of this crime is amazingly engaging and effective. I found this book devistating in its indictment of British racism and in the petty quarrels of an uneasy street of neighbors. Unexpected cruelty, rationalization, and deception make for a reading experience that will stay with you long after you close the book.

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Mar 04, 2013 Pippa222 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-thrillers

I felt this was a bit too clever for its own good. I didn't much like the smug narrator, and I nearly gave up many times because it was boring or annoying me. Still, I did finish it, though I'm beginning to realise there are not many crime novels I like. I feel that, often, the evil of the world at large is exaggerated, and all the characters are petty and spiteful. I know this is a very personal reaction though, and many people would rate it higher.

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Jul 28, 2011 Chris Marsh added it

It's very well-written but the ending left me a little bit disappointed. Finding Annie Butts's murderer becomes as much the reader's cause as Mrs. Ranelagh's, and it's disappointing to know that the murder will likely go unpunished. Otherwise, I enjoyed reading it, and I found it interesting that the murderer was a character I assumed was uninvolved in the events on Graham road, and I never once suspected him/her until the truth was revealed.

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Apr 05, 2011 Brenda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Cat lovers beware! DO. NOT. READ. THIS. BOOK. Seriously. I kept having to cuddle my kittens. As always, Ms. Walters crafts a marvelous mystery told slowly over time. However, there is always something to set off the squeemish and in this story it is cats.

Twenty years ago, a black woman was murdered, but the only person who was willing to take up the cause was persecuted for doing so. Now she's back and ready to see justice done.

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Jan 01, 2011 Katie Q rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

You cannot ever fault a Minette Walters book. This superb story will keep you reading to the last.

What makes this book so special is that it is not your standard crime novel with the police seen as always the good guys. It is obsessive until the end and you will really wonder where it is leading you. Love crime read this one.

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Sep 07, 2012 Lakshmi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow!!...thia book is a page turner!..just when you think u know who did it..there is a twist u need to keep reading till the last page...to find out who is the killer...this is one of her best novel i think...all her novels are good reads..but this one is most moving IMHO!!..thanks lakshmi/india

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Jan 27, 2009 Tess rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It was interesting and kept me questioning everyone. I never ONCE suspected the actual murderer, I'm afraid Mariah will be ashamed of me for that one...I was shocked! I almost cried at the end, it was very bittersweet.

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Mar 06, 2010 KristenR rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller

This was a very dark story, and with information doled out in fragmented bits and pieces it was hard to get a sense of what was really going on. However, the story came together in the end and the revelation on the last page really threw the whole book in a new light. Very interesting.

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Dec 27, 2012 Astrid rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.75 Finally a Walters book that does not involve either pedophiles or incest. Woman comes back to where she lived 20 years ago to find out what happened to a neighbor of hers with Tourettes who was found dead, supposedly of an accident, but really is suspected to be murder. Lots of character development and skeletons in closets and things not being as they appear. On to the next Walters book.

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Feb 10, 2012 Tamara rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story was intriguing and well written, but I admit I got a little turned off by the sometimes irrational obsession of the main character, Margaret, to solve the crime - a little over the top at times.

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Dec 12, 2012 Jocelyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

A good example of crime/mystery, satisfyingly told. The crime itself was horrific, but the details were gradually exposed through the book. This was better than getting hit with it all at once.

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Feb 14, 2013 Deon Stonehouse rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: great-writing-mystery

The Shape of Snakes by Minette Walters has twists and turns to keep the pages turning. This is a dark disturbing mystery with a complex challenging plot. Mad Annie suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome, her neighbors lack sympathy, they find her verbal outbursts and ticks annoying. Annie’s neighbors don’t like the color of her skin either. Mrs. Ranelagh finds the poor woman in the gutter, moments from death. She refuses to believe Mad Annie met with an unfortunate accident, when she starts objecting...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Rick rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is another very well-written book by Minette Walters, and entirely different from her others (that I have read) and from any other book I can recall. It is excellent and very creatively done.

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Jul 26, 2011 Hanna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have loved reading every single one of Minette Walter's novels, but I have to say that The Shape of Snakes is one of the best I have read so far.

The ending is particularly poignant.

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Feb 13, 2010 Kay rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I had difficulty getting into this book and I didn't care for the characters as well as in her other books. The last half of the book was good so it turned out to be a worth while read.

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Sep 11, 2011 aPriL MEOWS often with scratching rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries-suspense-thrillers

The problem? The dots do not connect. The Slaters and Percys make some psychological sense, and the narrator's thirst for revenge makes sense, none of the friendships do.

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Apr 12, 2009 Bettie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fraudio, mystery-thriller, britain-england, plague-disease, aga-saga, cosy, psychology, revenge

Unabridged and read by Francis Barber.

Tourette's Syndrome/Racism/Animal cruelty/domestic violence/child abuse/prostitution/alcoholism/rape/disloyalty.

An uncomfortable and well executed tale; good stuff.

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About Minette Walters

Minette Walters (born 26 September 1949) is a British mystery writer. After studying at Trevelyan College, University of Durham, she began writing in 1987 with The Ice House, which was published in 1992. She followed this with The Sculptress (1993), which received the 1994 Edgar Award for Best Novel. She has been published in 35 countries and won many awards.

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