Devil's Feather

Connie Burns knows evil firsthand. She reported on it from West Africa, and now is covering it Iraq. Man’s inhumanity is her beat, but one man in particular is an elusive subject. She believes this violent mercenary who hates women uses third world conflict as a cover for serial murder. She goes after the story when she spots him in Baghdad but he escapes. Soon after, she’s kidnapped and released three days later without visible harm. She can’t pursue the story any further. She’s too terrified. Accused of inventing her kidnapping for attention, she retreats to an isolated house in a bucolic English village where her defenses are no match for her fear. But a blunt-spoken woman farmer with no love for false convention helps her prepare for the mercenary’s return. In the process they learn Connie’s elderly landlady may have been confined in the same prison – one of deliberately-inflicted fear. Walters is an unusual writer - deeply interested in puzzles , curious about social issues, and able to probe deep into the psychology of her characters. This book is perhaps her best, an amazing book that explores the power of fear. As Connie Burns conducts her personal war on terror she learns how it works, both abroad and at home – and so does the reader.