Disordered Minds Walters, Minette

A violent murder from the 1970s. A man executed for it. And decades later, a psychiatrist convinced they hanged the wrong person. Minette Walters digs into questions of justice, memory, and the long shadow of prejudice in this taut psychological crime novel. When Jonathan Hughes starts investigating the case of Howard Stamp — a homeless, learning-disabled man convicted of killing an elderly woman — he uncovers inconsistencies that suggest a rush to judgment. The deeper he digs with journalist Georgina Gardener, the more dangerous the questions become. Walters dissects not just the crime, but the societal assumptions that allowed a vulnerable man to become a scapegoat. Her prose is sharp, her plotting meticulous, and the moral weight of the story lingers long after the final page. For readers who like their crime fiction to ask hard questions about power, prejudice, and the fallibility of the system.