This Picador Classic edition of Minette Walters' The Sculptress features an introduction by Stephanie Merritt, journalist and author of While You Sleep.

'It was a slaughterhouse, the most horrific scene I have ever witnessed . . . Olive Martin is a dangerous woman. I advise you to be extremely wary in your dealings with her.'

The facts of the case were simple: Olive Martin had pleaded guilty to killing and dismembering her sister and mother, earning herself the chilling nickname 'The Sculptress'.

Journalist Rosalind Leigh knew this much before her first meeting with Olive, currently serving a life sentence. How could Roz have foreseen that the encounter was destined to change her life - for ever?

It was a slaughterhouse, the most horrific scene I have ever witnessed . . . Olive Martin is a dangerous woman. I advise you to be extremely wary in your dealings with her.

The facts of the case were simple: Olive Martin murdered her mother and sister and cut them into tiny pieces. She pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Once incarcerated, she spends her days carving miniature human figures out of wax, earning herself the nickname 'The Sculptress'. But is murder ever that simple? When Rosalind Leigh, an investigative journalist, is persuaded to research Olive's background, she believes she has uncovered an injustice. If so, she has found the story of a lifetime, a story that may save her faltering career. Yet to write it she must speak with Olive, and she is ill-prepared, both emotionally and psychologically, for the monstrous - but childlike - woman she meets.

First published in 1994, The Sculptress is a pioneering novel, undeniably influencing many of today's dark, domestic thrillers. An unforgettably menacing and gripping work, Walters will hold you on a knife-edge as Rosalind attempts to untangle the truth about Olive.

'A devastating, effective novel' Observer 'Awesomely accomplished . . . the plot twists and grips like an octopus' Daily Telegraph

A gripping read