The Devil's Feather by Minette Walters

The Devil's Feather is a mystery told in the first person. The narrator is a woman journalist, Connie Burns, who was raised in Africa and has spent her adult life as a foreign correspondent, covering mostly the Arab and African continents. While covering a war in Sierra Leone, Connie becomes interested in the rape/torture/murders of some local women, and she becomes convinced that the murderer is a mercenary she knows of.

Years later, while covering the Iraq war, Connie deduces that the same man is continuing his crimes, while working as a "security" agent in Iraq. When she begins to investigate the man, she is kidnapped and held for three days, after which she is released.

Connie's parents have repatriated to England, since losing their farm in Africa to the Mugabe regime, so that's where Connie goes to recuperate. Her nerve has been shattered by her experiences, and seeking peace, Connie rents a house in the Dorset countryside where she feels safe. While in Dorset, Connie meets and bonds with another shattered soul, Jess Derbyshire--and the two women work together to meet the challenges that ensue when Connie's tormenter follows her to England.

Devil's feather refers to the term by which Connie's tormenter refers to women. The term is defined on Walters' web site as, "a woman who stirs a man's interest without realising it; the unwitting cause of sexual arousal".

This is another of Walters' gripping psychological mystery/thrillers. While it was not as compelling to me as some of her novels (such as Fox Evil, The Ice House, and The Sculptress) it is well written with beautifully drawn characters. The character of Jess Derbyfield is particularly fascinating. I will remember her long after I've forgotten "whodunnit".

http://www.minettewalters.co.uk/books/devils_feather.htm