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Summary
Summary
Susan Trent is in her sixties, the owner of a good-sized house in a prosperous village. Her job in the estate agent of the nearby town keeps her active, as does her garden. She ought to be well-satisfied with her lot. Instead she lives in terror of her semi-employed, abusive, middle-aged son. Her friends and neighbours suspects her cuts and bruises are caused by his fists, not by her clumsy falls as she claims, but no-one voices their fears to her. They keep a wary eye on the situation and wonder between themselves why she doesn't bar him from the house. Then a stranger comes to lodge in the village and his arrival triggers a series of events which eventually reveal why Susan has been so protective of her son, but not until more of her blood is spilled.
Author Notes
Margaret Yorke was born Margaret Beda Larminie Nicholson in Surrey, but lived in Dublin until 1937, before moving back to England. During the war, she served in the Woman's Royal Naval Service as a driver. She then worked in the libraries of two Oxford colleges, and was the first woman ever to work in Christ Church library. She campaigned for Public Lending Rights for authors in Britain, and was also chairman of the Crime Writers' Association between 1979 and 1980.
Her first novel, Summer Flight, was published in 1957. She then turned to the subject of crime with Dead in the Morning, published in 1970. With No Medals for the Major published in 1974, she began writing novels of suspense, which include The Point of Murder, Serious Intent and Act of Violence.
In 1982, she won the Swedish Academy Detection award for the best translated novel, The Scent of Fear. Her books are published in 16 countries. In 1993, she won the Golden Handcuffs award, which is given in recognition of the popularity of the country's leading crime writer within the library service and to its borrowers.
Margaret Yorke died November 17, 2012.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
British author Yorke (A Case to Answer, etc.), who's published a novel almost every year since 1957, offers another leisurely, psychological suspense thriller in which ordinary folks go about their business while danger hums quietly underneath. Much of the story is devoted to the sweet charm of the village of Bishop St. Leon and the neighborly interplay of its residents. For a long time life goes on normally and nothing much happens; the only hints of doom are the presence of a mysterious newcomer, Adam Wilson, who has a secret agenda, and longtime resident Martin Trent, who beats his mother, Susan. The entire community worries that Martin will kill Susan someday, but feels helpless to intervene since she won't acknowledge the problem. Meanwhile, Adam, a pleasant chap who makes friends easily but appears to have no job, displays an unusual interest in the former occupants of the house next door. Eventually, the two plot threads connect, of course, but in a way that reflects logic rather than coincidence. If the final chilling act of violence is completely predictable, given what we know of the people involved, it is also utterly unforgettable. Fans of edgier contemporary thrillers may be disappointed, but Yorke's faithful followers should be well pleased. (Nov.) FYI: Yorke won the 1999 CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
British crime writer Yorke has churned out another tautly constructed psychological thriller. In a quaint English village, lives intersect in a seemingly random fashion. Yet each character and every scene is a vital piece of a meticulously crafted puzzle. When a human skeleton is unearthed in the backyard of a woman physically and emotionally abused by her middle-aged son, the locals suspect it is the body of the husband who deserted her 40 years earlier. The tangled roots of a decades-old homicide and a startling recollection set an inevitable chain of terrifying events into motion. Another chilling and cleverly plotted yarn from an acknowledged master of suspense. Margaret Flanagan