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Date Posted: 08:49:50 10/24/03 Fri
Author: Syl
Subject: Acid Row

TITLE: Acid Row
AUTHOR: Minette Walters
GENRE: Crime

Acid Row is the local nickname for the Bassingdale Estate. It’s a place where single mothers, fatherless children, frightened elders, aggressive youngsters and the poor live. A place where the architects and planners had everything in mind but safety and security; either for the people who live there or for the people who represent the law - the police. Be it from ignorance or be it from malice, Acid Row will shortly become a fortress when the heat goes up. Two streets, Humbert Street and Basset Road are the main focus of attention in this book.
The trouble starts when a frustrated health worker tells a young mother of 19, Melanie, that the authorities have put a pedophile in her midst, and that Melanie should take keep a special eye on her 4 year old Rosie.
Melanie thinks that it is ridiculous to put a pedophile right where loads of children live. She and her mother Gaynor plan a protest march to let the authorities know that they will not tolerate a pedophile living beside them.
Word spreads around fast, especially when 10 year old Amy from neighbouring Portisfield Estate only 20 miles away, goes missing. The residents take it upon themselves to flush the pedophile out and punish him.
Dr. Sophie Morrison, from the Nightingale Health Centre, is called out to an emergency at 23, Humbert Street, where two men live. Franek and Milosz Zelowski are father and son, who the estate residents believe to be pedophiles.
While Dr. Morrison is inside No. 23 Humbert St. helping Franek with his asthma attack, the protest march right outside led by Gaynor and Melanie gets out of control. Youngsters have blocked the 4 entrances of Humbert Street and Basset Road, the police can’t get in, no-one can get out. On the outside – i.e. police – it looks like this was very organized. All contact is cut off. Outside of the house the violence escalates and mob rule takes over.
While the mob tries to gain control, there is a search going on for 10-year-old Amy. Has she been kidnapped? Has she been sexually assaulted? How is her father involved? Is there a connection to the uproar in Acid Row?
Minette Walters’ writing style is somewhat different. You have to get accustomed to the police info sheets which show up every once in a while and tell you about the situation after everything is over.
She shows you the situation from every possible angle. Inside No. 23 Humbert St., outside the house, Police Head Quarters, Nightingale Health Center.

You feel like you are in the middle of the chaos and the search for Amy. You are side by side with every single character which she wonderfully created. Even the evil ones, which make you shudder. But also with the “heroes” of the story, which make you feel proud, that they were able to perform as they did under this pressure.
I strongly can recommend Minette Walters Acid Row to people who like good crime and well developed characters. She’s also been called the Queen of Crime in Great Britain. That should tell you something.

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Replies:

[> wasn't sure whether to post my reply here or to you - so I've emailed it to you! -- Jacqui, 01:12:40 10/26/03 Sun


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[> Thanks for the email, Jacqui. Yep, anything you want to say about the book featured, you can in the replies here. All comments are welcome! -- Syl, 08:01:51 10/26/03 Sun


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[> [> Thanks Syl - will certainly be on the lookout for Acid House - a good one for my Chrissy Pressie list! -- Jacqui, 23:16:48 10/28/03 Tue


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[> [> [> . . . and that should have been Row! Too early in the morning for my brain. -- Jacqui, 23:17:44 10/28/03 Tue


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[> Ahem ... *cough* ... I ... err, just wanted to say that book, Acid Row, impressed me so much that when Syl asked for reviews I wrote this one *g*. Syl has been a darling and corrected my wrong grammar. Thanks for that Syl :-)! -- Andrea-Germany, 10:06:36 10/29/03 Wed


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[> A couples of weeks/months ago (I get so timeless these days *g*) in the news somewhere (was it in the UK?) people were talking about to anounce the names of phedophilesand their addresses. This ended by harassments of the wrong people and much disgusting defamation. I dont know whether this book was written because of that or if it was a coincidence that this happened after the book was released. But when I read the book this came back to my mind. Just a little tidbit :-D -- Andrea-Germany, 10:20:51 10/29/03 Wed


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