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The Smooth Face of Evil
After a day paddling about on the waters of the old gravel pit, two boys pull into the side to eat and spot the pale white hand of a dead man. Terry Brett, a personable con-man who has "befriended" Alice Armitage - an elderly and lonely widow - finds himself accused of a murder he did not commit.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
About the author
Margaret Yorke
86 books53 followersMargaret Yorke was an English crime fiction writer, real name Margaret Beda Nicholson (née Larminie).
Margaret Yorke was awarded the 1999 CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger.
Born in Surrey, England, to John and Alison Larminie in 1924, Margaret Yorke (Margaret Beda Nicholson) grew up in Dublin before moving back to England in 1937, where the family settled in Hampshire, although she later lived in a small village in Buckinghamshire.
During World War II she saw service in the Women’s Royal Naval Service as a driver. In 1945, she married, but it was only to last some ten years, although there were two children; a son and daughter. Her childhood interest in literature was re-enforced by five years living close to Stratford-upon-Avon and she also worked variously as a bookseller and as a librarian in two Oxford Colleges, being the first woman ever to work in that of Christ Church.
She was widely travelled and has a particular interest in both Greece and Russia.
Her first novel was published in 1957, but it was not until 1970 that she turned her hand to crime writing. There followed a series of five novels featuring Dr. Patrick Grant, an Oxford Don and amateur sleuth, who shares her own love of Shakespeare. More crime and mystery was to follow, and she wrote some forty three books in all, but the Grant novels were limited to five as, in her own words, ‘authors using a series detective are trapped by their series. It stops some of them from expanding as writers’.
She was proud of the fact that many of her novels were essentially about ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary situations which may threatening, or simply horrific. It is this facet of her writing that ensures a loyal following amongst readers, who inevitably identify with some of the characters and recognise conflicts that may occur in everyday life. Indeed, Yorke stated that characters were far more important to her than intricate plots and that when writing ‘I don’t manipulate the characters, they manipulate me’.
Critics have noted that she has a ‘marvellous use of language’ and she has frequently been cited as an equal to P.D. James and Ruth Rendell. She was a past chairman of the Crime Writers' Association and in 1999 was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger, having already been honoured with the Martin Beck Award from the Swedish Academy of Detection.
Margaret Yorke died in 2012.
Margaret Yorke was awarded the 1999 CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger.
Born in Surrey, England, to John and Alison Larminie in 1924, Margaret Yorke (Margaret Beda Nicholson) grew up in Dublin before moving back to England in 1937, where the family settled in Hampshire, although she later lived in a small village in Buckinghamshire.
During World War II she saw service in the Women’s Royal Naval Service as a driver. In 1945, she married, but it was only to last some ten years, although there were two children; a son and daughter. Her childhood interest in literature was re-enforced by five years living close to Stratford-upon-Avon and she also worked variously as a bookseller and as a librarian in two Oxford Colleges, being the first woman ever to work in that of Christ Church.
She was widely travelled and has a particular interest in both Greece and Russia.
Her first novel was published in 1957, but it was not until 1970 that she turned her hand to crime writing. There followed a series of five novels featuring Dr. Patrick Grant, an Oxford Don and amateur sleuth, who shares her own love of Shakespeare. More crime and mystery was to follow, and she wrote some forty three books in all, but the Grant novels were limited to five as, in her own words, ‘authors using a series detective are trapped by their series. It stops some of them from expanding as writers’.
She was proud of the fact that many of her novels were essentially about ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary situations which may threatening, or simply horrific. It is this facet of her writing that ensures a loyal following amongst readers, who inevitably identify with some of the characters and recognise conflicts that may occur in everyday life. Indeed, Yorke stated that characters were far more important to her than intricate plots and that when writing ‘I don’t manipulate the characters, they manipulate me’.
Critics have noted that she has a ‘marvellous use of language’ and she has frequently been cited as an equal to P.D. James and Ruth Rendell. She was a past chairman of the Crime Writers' Association and in 1999 was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger, having already been honoured with the Martin Beck Award from the Swedish Academy of Detection.
Margaret Yorke died in 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 21, 2016
Slow to get underway, but necessary because it is as much a tale about people and relationships, and stages of life, as about the story that unfolds. Enjoyed it in the end, read it quickly, and would read another.
May 24, 2020
As usual with a Margaret Yorke book it was a most enjoyable read.
February 9, 2022
A back to back book by Margaret Yorke. This one is a good suspense and keeps the reader engrossed till the last page.
Story starts with the Armitage family, Mrs. Alice Armitage a widow sold her house so that her son and daughter in law can live in a spacious house giving a small apartment to the old lady.
Her son Giles has married Helea very ambitious lady with whom Giles is not happy. They have rented the lodge in their barn area to Sue and Jonathan. Jonathan has left his wife and is living with Sue who finds men with Money and lures them.
In all this setup walks in Terence Brett a car thief and con man Conning widows and getting money out of them. How the story unfolds is predictable in the beginning but there are twists unforeseen with a proper end.
Overall well written, good plot, characters are very well developed, easy read and ends appropriately.
Story starts with the Armitage family, Mrs. Alice Armitage a widow sold her house so that her son and daughter in law can live in a spacious house giving a small apartment to the old lady.
Her son Giles has married Helea very ambitious lady with whom Giles is not happy. They have rented the lodge in their barn area to Sue and Jonathan. Jonathan has left his wife and is living with Sue who finds men with Money and lures them.
In all this setup walks in Terence Brett a car thief and con man Conning widows and getting money out of them. How the story unfolds is predictable in the beginning but there are twists unforeseen with a proper end.
Overall well written, good plot, characters are very well developed, easy read and ends appropriately.
March 4, 2014
Poor Alice's life has taken a terrible turn. Not only did she lose her beloved husband, she has sold her home to help finance her son's and daughter-in-laws dream property, under the impression that she would be joining the family. Now relegated to her chilly attic room, Alice is lonely and neglected. Her daughter-in-law simply doesn't want Alice around at all. Alice has not just been bamboozled out of her money, she has also been hurt deeply, so when a con man shows her a bit of kindness, she's all too willing to overlook his obvious flaws. Trouble deepens when Terry meets a kindred soul in Sue, a lodger on the estate property that Alice's son owns. However Sue is something more than just a climber and con artist, there is feral, wild quality to her, something that makes Terry's little extortion plots with married women, look like kindergarten pranks. Sue will not stop at anything to get what she wants including a despicable act of violence simply to get Terry a job at the hotel that she works at. This book was disturbing, dark and chilling. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews