Definition:
Devil’s Feather - [derivation: Turkish] - a woman who stirs a man’s interest without realizing it; the unwitting cause of sexual arousal
The Cast:
Connie Burns - Reuters War Journalist
Dan Fry - Connie’s Reporter Colleague and Friend
Alan Collins - The Manchester Police Inspector
MacKenzie - The Sadist, Rapist, Serial Killer
Jess Derbyshire - The Loner
Peter Colleman - The Amiable Doctor
Madeline Wright - The Spoilt Blonde
A war and terror torn Baghdad, with shells blasting at every alternate step. Connie Burns is used to such difficult situations - reporting every atomic detail to her agency, Reuters. \Born to British parents who settled in Zimbabwe as farm owners, Connie is a smart, intelligent, and tough lady in her early 40s. In her long career, she has been a witness to some of the most horrendous kinds of in humanitarian crimes - both war and civilian kinds. Such is the case of MacKenzie. Her first sighting of him is in Sierra Leonne.
His fame is widespread in the small town - a drunkard, an abuser, a rogue, a women hater! Then there are a series of killings - women being brutally assaulted to death!
And now, Connie is sure she has seen him in Baghdad - the only difference - he has assumed a different name and an altogether different identity. But Connie is confident!
She, after her findings, believes that the murders in Sierra Leonne are somehow his misdeeds; but she has no factual proof to prove him guilty. So, when she finds him in Baghdad, she tries to find more about this beast in disguise.
But to her despair, and with very little help from the security agency for which MacKenzie is working, there’s hardly anything constructive that she is able to gather. But MacKenzie is now on alert!
Baghdad’s a place routine to abductions - especially of westerners. Terrorist organizations abducting westerns, holding them hostage, inflicting them pain, and filming all this on video recorders - to blackmail their governments. And then one fine day, its Connie’s turn!
Surprisingly, Connie is released within three days of her abduction, and then she comes out as a completely changed person - terrified, though completely silent about the incident! The police and media are now very curious!
A few words of praise about the author Minette Walters. Devil’s Feather is one of her recent work of fiction, though my first read of hers. She has an interesting style of narration - fast and lucid, with an ability to pack a lot of meaning in a few words.
Although I took around three weeks or so to finish reading this one (all thanks to my laziness :-) ), I assure you, this is a fast read. In Devil’s Feather, she finely interweaves two altogether different situations, but ably manages to hold the reader’s interest in both.
The main story revolves around Connie, while the other finds Jess as its leading lady.
Coming back to the story, the next half (or I must say three fourths) is set in a completely different backdrop - the calm serene township of Dorset, located in Winterbourne Valley somewhere in England. Here, Connie rents a place called Barton House.
This is where Connie meets Jess Derbyshire, Peter Colleman, and Madeline Wright. Jess and Peter are the helpful kinds, while Madeline plays the bitchy blonde. Connie finds a good friend in Jess. But others have different conceptions about Jess - some perceive her as a loner, and some even as gay! What’s the actual personality hidden behind this tomboyish looking lonely lady?
Is there a secret behind the history of Barton House? Although Connie selects Dorset as her place of solace from media, and to an extent, from the rest of the world, she least expects that there are more interesting things lined up for her here - some good, some bad, and some mystifying - and Connie has to find the answers to these mysteries. And above all, she has her worst nightmare to deal with, that too in person!
Who is behind Conie’s abduction, what trauma she goes through during and after the event, how she finds her courage back, how she fights back her worst nightmare and with whose help, what happens to MacKenzie - to find out all this, you need to get your hands on this excellent work from Walters.
"The secret behind happiness is freedom; and behind freedom, courage!" - is what Devil’s Feather strives to prove!