For most of the past week, I ploughed through a W. Somerset Maugham collection with that signature pleasure one has in reading one short story after another. Maugham’s stories can wear thin after a while, however, owing to their formulaic structure. So I took a break for something completely different: The Ice House is a crime novel, but Minette Walters plays with a lot of crime conventions. It’s not entirely clear if a crime has been committed or who the victim is, let alone who the murderer might be.I only had a vague conception of what an “ice house” actually is. Being Canadian, the first thing that comes to mind are those hut-like structures one erects atop a frozen lake when ice-fishing. That’s not what this is. It’s actually this, which makes much more sense. Not only are such buildings good for keeping ice cold, but they are also nice places to store bodies. The only thing that surprises me is that this doesn’t happen more often!Walters creates and sustains interest beyond the initial, intriguing selection of the setting. Firstly, there is the question of whether Phoebe actually killed her husband, David, all those years ago. Secondly, there is the related question about the identity of the discovered body and whether its death was accidental or intentional. Finally, the relationships between Phoebe and her friends and the village around Streech Grange result in a tense atmosphere not at all aided by the dynamic among the women of Streech Grange and the police officers assigned to the case.For most of the novel, Walters very carefully avoids providing any hard evidence either way regarding whether Phoebe killed David. She dances deftly around the issue, dangling tantalizing scenes before the reader that seem to imply Phoebe’s guilt, then in the next chapter revealing evidence that seems to preclude her involvement at all. As the situation surrounding David’s disappearance becomes clearer, so too does our understanding of Phoebe’s character and whether she had the motive, opportunity, and willingness to kill her husband. Watching this develop proves a very interesting experience.Similarly, Walters keeps the identity of the body a mystery for as long as possible. It is too recent to be David—unless he disappeared, only to resurface and die in the ice house for some reason. Indeed, I wasn’t that impressed by the resolution to this mystery. It makes a neat sort of sense—the kind of neatness that only really shows up in the twee world of the crime novel, where coincidence is the only thing more common than murder. Regardless, this mystery is even more important because of what it means for the police who are involved. DCI Walsh is in charge of the case, as he was in charge of the first investigation at Streech Grange. His experience ten years ago now colours his expectations of these events, and it soon becomes clear that he is emotionally invested in showing that the body is David’s.The other half of the “dynamic duo” is Sergeant Andy McLoughlin. At the beginning of the book, Walsh is the reasonable, understanding “good cop” and McLoughlin is the rough, straight-to-the-point “bad cop”. Walsh displays a tolerant attitude towards the apparent lesbian relationship among Phoebe, Diana, and Anne; McLoughlin wastes no opportunity to single it out as strange. Gradually, the roles of these two policemen in the eyes of the reader reverse. McLoughlin seems to mellow (though there remains a staunch misogynistic streak in keeping with his overall character) as his attraction to Anne grows and he becomes more committed to finding the truth. Meanwhile, Walsh seems to become more and more obsessed with proving Phoebe guilty of murder, to the point where he almost crosses the line of tampering with the investigation. These two men start as colleagues but soon stop seeing eye-to-eye as each one’s biases take their focuses on the investigation in different directions.For such a slim volume, then, The Ice House has a lot going on. There is far more beneath the surface here than might seem at first glance, and that is the true talent that Walters displays. I don’t often read straight-up crime novels (if they have a supernatural or science-fiction element, then I’m there). That’s just a matter of preference on my part, rather than an issue with the genre as a whole. So as a relative outsider to the genre, take my enthusiasm with a grain of salt—but also take it as a recommendation that this is a story even a dilettante can enjoy.The Ice House was published in 1992. It’s practically pre-Web, pre–mobile phone. We’ve moved on from then; missing persons cases (and murder investigations) have changed. So in this way, the book is a relic of a now-lost time, just like all contemporary crime thrillers through the ages. If it were published today, it would be in a different climate, one influenced by the nascent surveillance society wracked with scandals and the discontent of a generation that cannot go quietly into the good night. For all its differences from the present atmosphere, though, it holds up remarkably well. With tragedy and romance as well as crime, its strength of characters and simple set of interconnected mysteries make The Ice House an enduring novel with more complexity than meets the eye.
S & I are arguing about how this book ended up in our house at all. I think he ordered it from the library and he insists it must have been me. Whatever. It was a really good read regardless.Three women, Phoebe Maybury, Diana Thomson and Anne Cattrell, are the residents of Streech Grange, and are under suspicion for murder. Again. Ten years ago, Phoebe's husband David disappeared conveniently into thin air but there was neither a body nor any other evidence to connect Phoebe to his murder. Now, a disgusting, decomposing, unidentifiably ravaged dead body has turned up in the ice house. Could it possibly be David Maybury? Chief Inspector Walsh is thrilled at the prospect of finally solving his first ever case. Sergeant McLoughlin is simply trying to get through the investigation without losing his temper and the (mostly liquid) contents of his stomach. The "three lesbians", though, are tougher and more canny opponents than either of them imagine.I loved the characters. They're complex, each one of them, and in possession of human dignity usually denied to most fictional characters - especially the ones the writer finds politically, morally or socially questionable. No such discrimination in this book.I also loved the story's up-to-date-cosy sensibility. It's a rural English murder mystery, but we have cell phones and internet and feminism and all that jazz. Good to see a genre like this one keeping up with the times. (Though, since I don't read mysteries that often, I might be giving this book too much credit for something that may be standard fare these days. Please enlighten me if that's the case.)The plot is meaty and juicy and other carnivorous-sounding adjectives as well. Also it has the requisite twists, though none that will actually blow your stockings off. Maybe enough to make a couple of ladders spontaneously appear. Adequate.What I found questionable was the personality transplant one of the main characters got about halfway through the novel, apparantly SOLELY for the purpose of turning that character into a believable love interest for another main character. Nah, not buying it. And I despair at YET another romance that begins with the couple just drop dead hating each other at first sight.Much more problematic is the use of omniscient 3rd person POV. This author hops from one character's head to another's within the space of single, unbroken paragraphs, and inserts statements that are clearly the *authorial* voice in addition, so that very often I was confused about what was going on. For example, take the sentence:"He hung on to her every word adoringly."This could mean very different things depending on who is thinking it. If the author is telling me this, I will take it as a simple statement of fact: the guy is smitten. If this is the woman's observation, I'll take it with a slight pinch of salt, because no person is a perfectly accurate judge of what's going on in another person's head. If the man is telling me this, I'll take it with a huge pinch of salt because he has been shown to be deliberately deceptive in the past.The context and placement of this sentence gave me no way of knowing from whose point of view it was written. And there are many more such instances throughout the book, which made for a somewhat confusing read at times, until I stopped letting it bug me too much.
What do You think about The Ice House (2003)?
Minette Walters left me with mixed feelings.It took some time before i was gripped to the story and i thought the start was rather boring despite the fact that the discovery of the body was featured in the very first chapter.I believe if, like me, you happen to have trouble keeping up with a large number of characters, with several names being sent to your face and your mind taking way too long to process, you are probably going to take as long as i did to get into the book.However, once you do and once the intrigue starts growing, reading this book will be far from a burden.As for the genre, i'd say we are dealing with a real crime fiction novel with almost nothing more than investigation involved. Of course, Walters has added just the right amount of family drama and romance (if we can quite call the latter like that) - very little but very much enough. Some good sarcastic/synical lines are also present.The characters' personality traits are not fully explored and even if this could be the one thing i regret, i might also just say she did things right by avoiding the futile blabla.To conclude, i'd say the ending is definitely the best part and is certainly NOT what i expected, at all.I'd even push it further by saying that its what really sets the book apart.
—Hayfaa
I was complaining on Twitter that I don't have enough mystery series to follow or mystery authors who are consistently putting out great books. Minette Walters was someone I'd never heard of before, but she was recommended by author Stephanie Gayle and I'm hugely grateful for it. I feel like Walters and I will have a long and happy relationship.With The Ice House Walters manages to update the old-school Christie-style manor-house mystery with modern characters and settings. (Regular references to lesbianism, alcoholism, birth control, etc. help remind you that you're not in one of those old 30's novels, but it's easy to forget with Walters' breezy yet classic style.) It's a fairly complex plot that starts off appearing quite simple, another Christie hallmark. Everything does get shaken out in the end, and the answers are both unexpected and totally logical. I will definitely be reading much more Walters, hopefully my library has her entire repertoire. How did I go this long without knowing about her??
—Jessica Woodbury
Read by Simon Prebble, whose able use of accents added to the characters' depth.Won Britain's John Creasey Award for best first crime novel.Nothing is what it seems at first in this novel. Especially interesting and unexpected is the depiction of the police officers Inspector Walsh and Detective McLachan (my favorite character).According to the book notes, Minette Walters "writes thrillers that wed classic mystery conventions with contemporary sophistication." I would gladly read other Walters books or anything narrated by Prebble!
—Jim B
