Convicted of the brutal ax murders of her mother and sister, Olive Martin spends her days in prison carving tiny human figures out of wax. Rosalind Leigh is a best-selling author whose publisher jolts her out of writer's block by telling her to research a book about Olive and the murders, or else. Though repelled by the idea at first, Rosalind soon becomes intrigued by her subject and begins to believe she may be innocent. She soon uncovers plenty of reasons to doubt the official police version of the killings and with Olive's help, untangles a sinister cover-up. The Sculptress won the 1994 Edgar Award for best mystery novel.


From Publishers Weekly
This Edgar Award-winning mystery turns on the relationship between a troubled journalist and a woman convicted of a gruesome murder. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
There are many excellent British actresses who regularly read audiobook productions; so with all the talent available, why did the producer choose an American to read this very British thriller? Sandra Burr handles the dialog with an adequate accent but lapses into American pronunciation for the narrative. The shifts vary from distracting to irritating. The deficiencies in the narration are unfortunate because the story is a good one: Rosalind Leigh is a writer assigned to investigate a sensational murder case. Olive Marting has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the grisly murders of her mother and sister. Roz finds the woman to be sane and comes to believe that Olive is innocent. The Sculptress is a compelling tale of psychological suspense that will appeal to fans of Ruth Rendell. Larger collections may consider purchase.?Nann Blaine Hilyard, Fargo P.L., N.D.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times, Emily Melton
Stunning in its intensity, this powerful novel should establish Walters as one of today's more intelligent writers of psychological suspense.


From AudioFile
Bringing the winner of the 1994 Edgar Award to life, Sandra Burr essays a sizable English cast: an impressive array of crazies, cockneys and coppers. When journalist Rosalind Leigh is commissioned to chronicle a high-profile murder, she's drawn into a web of intrigue. As the capable, committed heroine, Burr sounds carefully sweet, her voice somewhat high-pitched and childlike; as the cop-turned-restauranteur, Hal, Burr uses a gruff, somber tone. This deftly written tale offers a one-woman performance of convincing and compelling characters. One small matter is that Brilliance's signature music/voice-over combo, which is used to transition from side to side, detracts from dramatic tension. K.J.S. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Olive Martin, convicted of the brutal ax murders of her mother and sister, is the Sculptress, so-called because she spends her solitary days in prison carving tiny, grotesquely distorted human figures out of wax. Rosalind Leigh, a best-selling author with a bad case of writer's block, is told by her publisher to produce a book on the hapless ax murderess by the end of the year or else. Reluctantly, Roz interviews Olive and immediately becomes intrigued with the woman whose hideous obesity hides what Roz perceives as childishly devious intelligence. Roz begins to believe Olive is innocent of the horrible crime and, investigating her story, soon finds plenty of reasons to doubt the official police version of the killings. Walters mesmerizes her readers with a sleek, exciting tale whose slick veneer disguises a sinister, menacing evil. Stunning in its intensity, this powerful novel should establish Walters as one of today's more intelligent writers of psychological suspense. Emily Melton


From Kirkus Reviews
Walters follows her dark debut, The Ice House (1992), with the even more striking tale of enormous, unloved Olive Martin, serving a life sentence after confessing to killing and dismembering her mother and sister. Rosalind Leigh, dispatched to interview Olive in prison preparatory to writing a book about the case, finds her unnervingly unrepentant, but finds as well suspicious discrepancies between her confession and the evidence of the crime scene and other witnesses. More and more convinced of Olive's innocence, Roz joins forces with Hal Hawksley--the retired arresting officer whose restaurant has come in for some mysteriously hard times--to dig up whomever Olive's been covering up for. The search will bring Roz up against some singularly nasty neighbors, a brace of spineless lovers, a supremely dysfunctional family--and a denouement whose horrors are touched with unexpected compassion. Walters brings a shivery mastery to the old-fashioned British whodunit, with plotting as twisted as the characters' secrets. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
"Walters mesmerizes with a sleek, exciting tale...stunning in its intensity...powerful."--Booklist

"A dark, superbly plotted tale guaranteed to keep readers up most of the night."--The Denver Post

"Creepy but compulsive...hard to put down."--The New York Times Book Review



Book Description
In prison, they call her the Sculptress for the strange figurines she carves-- symbols of the day she hacked her mother and sister to pieces and reassembled them in a blood-drenched jigsaw. Sullen, menacing, grotesquely fat, Olive Martin is burned-out journalist Rosalind Leigh's only hope of getting a new book published.

But as she interviews Olive in her cell, Roz finds flaws in the Sculptress's confession. Is she really guilty as she insists? Drawn into Olive's world of obsessive lies and love, nothing can stop Roz's pursuit of the chilling, convoluted truth. Not the tidy suburbanites who would rather forget the murders, not an attack on her life-- not even the thought of what might happen if the Sculptress went free...



Card catalog description
English writings of a Tamil litterateur and Indian freedom fighter.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Everyone knows about Olive Martin, the huge and menacing woman who was found five years ago with the carved-up bodies of her mother and younger sister. Everyone knows how she pleaded guilty to murder at her trial. And everyone knows not to anger "the Sculptress" even now that she is safely locked in prison for a minimum of twenty-five years. When journalist Rosalind Leigh accepts a commission to write a book about Olive, she finds herself wondering what lies behind all these facts that everyone knows. When Roz first visits her in prison, she finds that Olive is not quite what she expected. And if - as Roz is repeatedly warned - Olive lies about almost everything, then why did she confess so readily to two hideous murders? Roz may well wonder. The deeper she is drawn into the shadowy, disturbing world of the Sculptress, the more firmly she is convinced that Olive is hiding something - perhaps even her innocence. But whom could Olive be protecting, and why? Desperate to forget the tragedy in her own past, Roz hurls herself into the investigation with a determination bordering on obsession. And when she finds herself attracted to the very policeman who arrested Olive, she begins to wonder if perhaps the case hasn't taken over her life. But nothing can shake Roz from her purpose - not a community that wants Olive locked away and forgotten, not an attack on her own life, and not the thought of what might ultimately happen if she helps to set the Sculptress free...

FROM THE CRITICS

Gale Research

The Sculptress won Walters the 1994 Edgar Allen Poe Award for best mystery novel, and was adapted and broadcast on public television in England and the United States.

Publishers Weekly

This Edgar Award-winning mystery turns on the relationship between a troubled journalist and a woman convicted of a gruesome murder. (Oct.)

BookList - Emily Melton

Olive Martin, convicted of the brutal ax murders of her mother and sister, is the Sculptress, so-called because she spends her solitary days in prison carving tiny, grotesquely distorted human figures out of wax. Rosalind Leigh, a best-selling author with a bad case of writer's block, is told by her publisher to produce a book on the hapless ax murderess by the end of the year or else. Reluctantly, Roz interviews Olive and immediately becomes intrigued with the woman whose hideous obesity hides what Roz perceives as childishly devious intelligence. Roz begins to believe Olive is innocent of the horrible crime and, investigating her story, soon finds plenty of reasons to doubt the official police version of the killings. Walters mesmerizes her readers with a sleek, exciting tale whose slick veneer disguises a sinister, menacing evil. Stunning in its intensity, this powerful novel should establish Walters as one of today's more intelligent writers of psychological suspense.

Kirkus Reviews

Walters follows her dark debut, The Ice House (1992), with the even more striking tale of enormous, unloved Olive Martin, serving a life sentence after confessing to killing and dismembering her mother and sister. Rosalind Leigh, dispatched to interview Olive in prison preparatory to writing a book about the case, finds her unnervingly unrepentant, but finds as well suspicious discrepancies between her confession and the evidence of the crime scene and other witnesses. More and more convinced of Olive's innocence, Roz joins forces with Hal Hawksley—the retired arresting officer whose restaurant has come in for some mysteriously hard times—to dig up whomever Olive's been covering up for. The search will bring Roz up against some singularly nasty neighbors, a brace of spineless lovers, a supremely dysfunctional family—and a denouement whose horrors are touched with unexpected compassion. Walters brings a shivery mastery to the old-fashioned British whodunit, with plotting as twisted as the characters' secrets.