The Chameleon's Shadow

Minette Walters' novels The Sculptress and The Shape of Snakes were crime classics. In this novel, Walters proves she can still grab readers by the scruff of the neck and make them turn the pages until the end. I couldn't put this book down. However...this was one that ultimately disappointed me, as was her last, The Devil's Feather. All the characters use the same vocabulary/diction. They all say 'PDQ' (pretty damn quick') rather a lot. The young squaddie in his early twenties talks nothing like any young man would talk, let alone a soldier. As in all Walters' novels, there is a gruff character who turns out to have a heart of gold. The solution to the mystery is utterly ludicrous - what the villain does, why he/she does it - it is impossible to take seriously. There is a weapon involved which is extremely rare and unlikely, but everyone seems instantly familiar with it, once it comes to light what it is - no one says, 'What's one of those, then?' Unfortunately, this takes all tension out of the book and makes the ending risible.