The Chameleon's Shadow: A Novel

Walters is a master of the convoluted mystery: whodunit is not only a matter of the puzzle, but a matter of the person. the candidates' character and psychology are inextricable from motive, means, and opportunity. this is what makes her books such great reads.

in this book, our protag is a wounded iraq war veteran suspected of a string of vicious murders of middle-aged--and possibly gay--men. Charles Acland is a prickly fellow, prone to sudden outbursts of oddly controlled violence. the book begins with his slow recovery from terribly disfiguring wounds and his psychiatrist's attempts to understand this angry and disturbed young man.

it's a fitting if unusual opener for a mystery, because we cannot hope to guess whether Acland did murder the men if we don't understand his character and psyche. Acland isn't the most traditionally sympathetic of characters, but i have to say, having long experience of PTSD-damaged people, he's entirely accurate to the syndrome. that in itself is an accomplishment on Walters' part. and if the reader has ever known a war veteran, Acland is actually a profoundly sympathetic--and deeply moving--character.

i find this an interesting addition to the growing body of war literature. too little of it deals with what happens after the soldiers come home. in this novel, we get a feeling for the aftermath of extreme violence... not always pleasant, but quite enlightening.

and of course we get it wrapped up in an expertly-told mystery.

the narrator of this audiobook did a quite fabulous job of handling a number of different characters--my own personal fave is Jackson, which must have been an interesting conundrum for the narrator.

if it can be said that an audiobook can't be put down, well, i couldn't put this one down. i listened in an almost one unbroken stretch. now i'm going to start it again, and listen for the pleasure of watching Walters toss out clues and herrings and seeing the puzzle unfold.

If it wasn't because I can listen to practically anything that Simon Vance reads, I would probably not have finished this book. The story is ridiculous -- and, worst of all, extremely boring. The coincidences are so absurd that the characters themselves keep pointing out their implausibility. I have read and listened to many other Minette Walters' books. This is by far the worst one. Skip it, but don't skip the author.

I have read all of MW's books, and she just seems to get better and better.