The Shape of Snakes
Encyclopedia
The Shape of Snakes is a crime novel by English
writer Minette Walters
. The story won Denmark
's Pelle Rosencrantz Award.
woman known as 'Mad Annie' by her neighbours was found dead in a west London
gutter, her body discovered by Mrs. Ranelagh who, despite supposedly not knowing the dead woman, spends the next twenty years trying to convince the police that she was murdered. However, those once familiar with Annie despised her as a mean old eccentric
and animal abuser, whilst Ranelagh's husband seemingly disdains any mention of the case.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer Minette Walters
Minette Walters
Minette Walters is an English crime writer.- Life and work :After her birth in Bishop’s Stortford to a serving army officer, Capt Samuel Jebb and his wife Colleen, the first 10 years of Minette’s life were spent moving between army bases in the north and south of England...
. The story won Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
's Pelle Rosencrantz Award.
Synopsis
In 1978, a blackBlack people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
woman known as 'Mad Annie' by her neighbours was found dead in a west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
gutter, her body discovered by Mrs. Ranelagh who, despite supposedly not knowing the dead woman, spends the next twenty years trying to convince the police that she was murdered. However, those once familiar with Annie despised her as a mean old eccentric
Eccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
and animal abuser, whilst Ranelagh's husband seemingly disdains any mention of the case.