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Read The Scold's Bridle (1995)

The Scold's Bridle (1995)

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Rating
3.93 of 5 Votes: 3
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ISBN
0312956126 (ISBN13: 9780312956127)
Language
English
Publisher
st. martin's press

The Scold's Bridle (1995) - Plot & Excerpts

Rating: 2.875* of fiveThe Book Report: Mathilda Gillespie reminds me of my female relatives: Argumentative, judgmental, unforgiving, grudge-holding, snobbish...is it any wonder Mathilda turns up very, very dead? She's so dead, in fact, that no one with a grain of sense could mistake her overkilling for anything but murder. Her daughter and granddaughter, lucky recipients of Mathilda's viciousness all their lives, are logically suspected of doing the old bat in so as to inherit her dragon's hoard...but they don't, the doc who has (inexplicably) kept her alive has scarfed the lot. What about her as public-spirited citizen, I mean murderer? But wait! What about Mathilda's ex-lover, the man next door? Or his wife? For good measure, the much-richer-now doc has an artist husband who, appalling as it seems, verifiably painted the gorgon starkers, and is evasive about what else the two might've got themselves up to.But wait, there's more! We're treated to Mathilda's inner monologue, via her missing diaries, where she's revealed to have been...what else...A Victim Of Abuse. Oh poor lambie, dreadfully abused, now heaping it on her “nearest and dearest” and blahblahblah with quotes from Shakespeare and a whole lot of hand-wringing and then the murderer is discovered, and mercifully the agony ends. tttMy Review: Woman as victim. Standard stuff. Mildly enlivened by the fact that she's not a Saint Who Has Risen Above, but basically another woeful longface tale about how awful it is to be a woman.Amen. Makes me extra-special glad I'm not one.

Minette Walters is a shining star of the mystery genre. She creates intelligent, interesting and complex characters full of as much evil venom as goodness and light. The Scold's Bridle is yet another example of her boundless talent. There is plenty of darkness, I can assure you, so if you possess a weak heart for the horrific criminal nature found in mens' hearts you may want to think twice before indulging.I found this book to be particularly thought provoking. There were so many twists and turns that I wouldn't have been surprised for any of the characters to be found guilty of committing the murder in question. The individual personalities were strong (terribly strong, in some cases) and the level of mental acuity within this small community may be higher than the norm. I don't know that I've encountered as many amateur psychologists in one book. No matter, it worked to good effect. I cannot fault Ms. Walters. I have been reading her books in order, this being my third, and find each one distinctly separate in story, tone and character development. She is a real find and a great delight when you want a well developed whodunnit! Thank you Ian and Liddy for introducing me to her works.

What do You think about The Scold's Bridle (1995)?

When senior Mathilda Gillespie commits suicide, no one in her village seems to mind very much except her doctor, Sarah Blakeney; one of the few people who’d actually liked Mathilda. Sarah finds it odd that Mathilda died by cutting her wrists in the bath while wearing a scold’s bridle entwined with flowers. That she wore a barbaric contraption once used to silence talkative women is strange in itself, but how would she have managed to carefully weave the flowers all the way around her head, especially when the autopsy shows that she’d taken a fair amount of barbiturates? Needless to say, neither Sarah or investigating officers believe Mathilda committed suicide.The Scold’s Bridle is a heart-rending tale of a family who’s taken dysfunction to a new level. While the family at first seems rather hateful, if not pathetic, author Minette Walters does a superb job of layering back the malicious, selfish layers to reveal deep-seated pain that made me more sympathetic to the characters as the story unfolded. At over 450 pages, the book isn’t a fast read, but it is a thought-provoking one which takes a hard look at the ramifications of family secrets, desires, and misunderstandings, past and present. This is an excellent, emotionally charged read.
—Debra

Muito longe do género de policiais a que me tenho vindo a habituar, posso dizer que este 'A Máscara de Desonra' custou a envolver-me... É certo que tem diálogos muito bons, mas considero que algumas das acções paralelas à trama principal são desnecessárias, alongando a história de uma forma que, sinceramente, não me 'agarrou'; em determinadas alturas senti mesmo que a escritora estava meramente a 'encher chouriços'. Quanto ao desenlace, posso dizer que não me surpreendeu: praticamente desde o início que suspeitava do assassino (era um dos meus 2 suspeitos). Contudo, admito que o que mais me desiludiu foram os motivos: esperava algo muito mais sórdido e elaborado, e penso que uma personagem forte como Mathilda o teria merecido...
—Lénia

The Scold’s Bridle, by Minette Walters,a-minus, Narrated by Sharon Williams, Produced by Brilliance Audio, downloaded from audible.com.“Scolds” is a rude woman, middle English. “Scolds Bridle”An instrument of punishment used on “scolds” consisting of a metal frame to enclose the head having a sharp metal gag or bit entering the mouth and restraining the tongue.” In this book, the murder victim owned, as part of her inheritance a Scolds Bridle which had been in her family for generations, and which parents did use on their children. In this case, the police were called to the scene to find Matilda dead in her bathtub, her wrists slashed and blood everywhere, and with the Scolds Bridle on her head adorned with some flowers reminiscent of Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” This is a compelling book more like her usual books bathed in mystery. Very good.
—Kathleen Hagen

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