Customer Reviews

The Hand of Death

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The residents of Tellingford, a rural English village, learn that murder is a crime which can happen next door, or across the street, or even closer to home. Ronald Trimm is a model citizen, a successful antiques dealer. But at week's end when the shop is closed, he indulges in erotic fantasy. His dreams suddenly come to life when a rich, lonely widow seduces him. Ronald expects an affair to develop, but is rebuffed. His next sexual humiliation leads to murder, and the hunt is up! This story is quoted as "very convincing" by The Financial Times, and "delicious characterization" by The Yorks Post. Margaret Yorke, the author, is in the forefront among British mystery writers.

Having read three of Margaret Yorke's murder mysteries, I can say she is an excellent crime fiction novelist! She starts with an average day in the life of a person, then shows the incident or beginnings of the discontent that will drive the murder. What makes her novels so enjoyable is the characterization of all involved, the murderer as well as the murdered. In this tale, poor Ronald Trimm is sexually frustrated because his very competent wife is competent in every aspect except sex. She hates it and only did just enough to get him to marry her, then worked it out of their relationship. He dreams of it, has constant erotic fantasies, and has the unfortunate experience of driving home a neighbor, a rich, lonely widow one night who seduces him. Once he crosses that line, he realizes all that he is missing, and his life is never the same again. In Yorke's stories, main characters get killed off as well as minor ones and every scene is compelling. Her writing is crisp, her books are short, usually just over 200 pages, and her stories are suspenseful. I would recommend!

Margaret Yorke will never disappoint those looking for a real page turner. You'll look in vain on the bookshelves of most bookstores. I order online from Amazon and have a new Margaret Yorke book within days. In the meanwhile, I'm content with Dick Francis.