THE SHAPE OF SNAKES
Book ID/图书代码： 05430000B1204
English Summary/英文概要： November 1978. Britain is on strike. The dead lie unburied, rubbish piles in the streets and somewhere is West London a black woman dies in a rain-soaked gutter. Her passing would have gone unmourned but for the young woman who finds her and who believes apparently against reason that Annie was murdered. But whatever the truth about Annie whether she was as mad as her neighbours claimed, whether she lived in squalor as the police said something passed between her and Mrs Ranelagh in the moment of death which binds this one woman to her cause for the next twenty years. But why is Mrs Ranelagh so convinced it was murder when by her own account Annie died without speaking? And why would any woman spend twenty painstaking years uncovering the truth unless her reasons are personal ...?
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 「瘋子安妮」的遇害揭露了七、八十年代嚴重的種族歧視，以及因為對「杜萊德氏徵候群」的無知所引發的悲劇。 驗屍官斷定黑女人安妮之死是意外身亡──車禍。發現安妮屍體的目擊證人，不滿意警方因人設事草草結案，於是挺身而出，卻在街坊及警方的逼迫下，舉家遷往國外。 二十年後，目擊證人再度出擊，鍥而不捨的重新調查，發現到一個驚人的事實：人人都在「安妮之死」中插了一腳。警方、驗屍官、街坊小混混、鬻肉維生的妓女，甚至多年至交都成了幫凶。 信件、剪報、醫療報告貫穿全書，藉以還原事件真相。背叛、貪婪、無知、恐懼、自私，道出可怕又真實的人性。誰是悲劇的始作俑者？誰又是臨門一腳的凶手？ 「蛇之形」指的恐怕就是扭曲的人性吧！
Awards/获奖情况：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.
Shape of Snakes is a masterful piece of writing that probes deeply into the mind of an isolated, bruised woman, showing remarkable psychological insight. Using her unrivalled talent for characterisation, Walters examines the ease with which we accept the public persona as an accurate representation of the true nature of an individual. In peeling back the layers of this public face, Walters has created a dark and uncomfortable novel--a compelling read that reinforces her position as one of this country’s most skilful crime writers. -Sarah Crawford --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"A complex psychological story with hidden depths." -Guardian, Maxim Jakubowski--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author/作者介绍： 1949年出生於英國，從小喜歡閱讀社會新聞，37歲時開始寫作罪案小說。
她的作品曾獲英國犯罪作家協會約翰·克雷西獎、金匕首獎以及美國的愛倫·坡獎和麥卡維帝獎，囊括了大西洋兩岸象徵罪案小說最高榮譽的所有可能獎項，是當之無愧的“罪案小說女王”。
渥特絲的作品被翻譯成二十多種文字，並陸續被BBC改編成一系列電視影集。
渥特絲目前和丈夫及兩個孩子定居在英國。1992年以處女作《冰屋》獲頒英國推理作家協會-約翰·克雷西獎最佳新作。第二本小說《女雕刻家》獲頒1993年美國愛倫·坡獎最佳小說獎和麥卡維帝獎。1994年以《毒舌鉤》獲頒英國推理作家協會年度最佳小說金匕首獎，創造連續三年以三本新書獲獎的紀錄。
Minette Walters is England’s bestselling female crime writer. She has won the CWA John Creasey Award for best first crime novel, the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best crime novel published in America and two CWA Gold Daggers for Fiction. Minette Walters lives in Dorset with her husband and two children.
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Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)
Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)
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