EVIDENCE TO DESTROY

by Margaret Yorke ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 30, 1987

A slightly different twist on the author's usual sensitive probing into tangled relationships. (Find Me a Villain, etc.) Rigidly controlled, ever-correct Lydia Cunningham, respected widow of Henry, who was lord of the manor which is now a hotel, lives along in the former gatekeeper's lodge. Affluent, divorced son Gerald visits from London; restless, promiscuous, twice-married daughter Thelma runs home to mom whenever her ego suffers a blow. She has now arrived after a failed affair in the US, along with casual acquaintance Edward Fletcher, just released from prison on arson charges and on his way to see sister Julie, who works in the hotel. Edward is a pleasant, useful guest whose allegiance soon shifts from spoiled, frigid Thelma to her reserved but lonely mother. This placid situation becomes charged when Thelma finds a housekeeping job with amiable, elderly widower Arthur Morrison, arousing in Lydia painful memories, dread for the future, and a capacity for violence. Slow to build, wordy at times, in the end Yorke has our full attention and has added another carefully constructed picture of emotional turbulence behind a bland facade to her prolific gallery.

Pub Date: Oct. 30, 1987

ISBN: 0753122499

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1987

Categories: FICTION