Age 56

Born Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, Britain

Family Married to Alec Walters; two sons, Roland and Philip

Lives Near Dorchester, Britain

Other works The Ice House (1992), The Sculptress (1993), The Scold's Bridle (1994), The Dark Room (1995), The Echo (1997) The Breaker (1997) The Shape of Snakes (2000), Acid Row (2001) Fox Evil (2002), Disordered Minds (2003), The Tinder Box (2005)

Other jobs Secretary, magazine sub-editor and editor

What the papers say 'Walters has succeeded in uniting the traditional crime narrative with a distressing and effective account of the private cruelties that can flourish amid general mayhem. In doing so, she takes the genre to a deeper level' (The Independent)