Winner of the CWA John Creasey/New Blood Dagger Award It's been ten years since Phoebe Marbury's husband disappeared from their country manor, Streech Grange, when one afternoon her gardener discovers a decomposed body in the ice house. Now in her mid-thirties, Phoebe shares the manor with two unmarried friends, and the rumors in the village suggest they're up to something--witchcraft, lesbianism, child abuse. Chief Inspector Walsh is eager to find out for himself when he's called to investigate the body. What he discovers is a faceless, contorted corpse and three women who have no interest in helping out the police, and clearly know something they're not telling him. Minette Walters's first novel gives a raw, contemporary spin to a classic mystery convention, and the result is "splendid . . . an extraordinary debut" ("St. Petersburg Times").

米涅・渥特絲

1949年9月26日生於英國的Stortford，從小就喜歡閱讀社會新聞，中學時進人Godolphin寄宿學校學習（阿嘉莎・剋裏斯蒂也曾就讀於此），1968年畢業於Durham大學外語係後，成為其婦女雜誌羅曼司專欄編輯，並迅速被提拔為主編。

1992年她開始嘗試推理小說寫作，處女作《冰屋》甫一齣版即引起轟動，榮獲英國偵探作傢協會年度最佳新作奬；1993年，她的第二本書《女雕刻傢》越過瞭大西洋，到美國拿瞭愛倫坡奬的年度最佳小說，並得到“最強有力的”。“最嘆為觀止的”絕高贊語；1994年，她的第三本書《毒舌鈎》再次轉迴瞭英國，獲得偵探作傢協會金匕首奬的年度最佳小說。她的齣現是20世紀末推理世界的最大驚喜。《紐約時報書評》寫道：“渥特絲小姐突破瞭英國傳統推理小說的既定格式，創作齣更具特色、非傳統、層次感豐富的小說藝術。”