A Midnight Smile

by Aileen Armitage

‘It was then she became aware that Mrs Blackstock was eyeing her with a thoughtful, faraway look, Joanna had a weird sensation that was being mentally taken apart and examined, bit by bit….’. Suddenly left alone in the world, Joanna Forrest and her younger sister slowly come to terms with their new life. But their routine is shattered one day by the arrival of a charming yet totally unpredictable poet. Both women become increasingly obsessed with this man who seems to take over their beautiful riverside house and gradually their lives. Then violence and tragedy reach out and the dream is shattered…

Some years later, Joanna moves to a faraway Yorkshire moorland village with her foster-child, little red-haired Maggie, who knows nothing about her sinister heritage. Perhaps Joanna should now feel secure in this remote community, though eccentric Mrs Blackstock, the local medium, has detected the dark shadows in her past… and senses dangers yet to come.

Meanwhile Maggie herself has begun to notice a mysterious stranger hanging around the playground of the village school, quietly waiting and watching… But for whom? And all Joanna’s deepest fears and forebodings are about to erupt in violence and terror.

Audio Cassette

First published February 1, 2002

About the author

Aka Aileen Quigley, Ruth Fabian, Erica Lindley.

Aileen Armitage was brought up in Huddersfield where her father's family have lived for the past 400 years. Aileen has made use of their story, and that of the town, in her well-known 'Hawksmoor' novels - the series that has earned her a reputation as 'Yorkshire's Catherine Cookson'. After gaining a BA in modern languages, Aileen taught English for ten years. When failing sight obliged her to give up her teaching career, Aileen began writing and had many magazine articles and short stories published before she turned to longer fiction. She has since been widely published in the UK and in the USA. Aileen also lectures on novel writing for writers' seminars and is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio. She is a frequent guest speaker, especially since winning UK Woman of the Year award in 1988. In 2002 she was awarded an honorary D.Litt degree for her contribution to literature. Aileen has four grown-up children from her first marriage. She is now happily remarried to the writer Deric Longden.