Devil's Work

by Yorke Margaret

Alan Parker cannot bring himself to tell his wife that he has lost his job. Each day he goes off to ‘work’, leaving her in both ignorance and trusting her little ambitions for them will be met. Other than playing out this particular deception, Alan is generally honest and intensely loyal, but that all changes when he happens across a child after an accident and then meets her mother, with whom he forms a friendship. The double life he then leads is exposed when the child goes missing and the police commence an investigation, with suspicion falling directly upon him. There are yet more twists to be found in ‘Devil’s Work’, one of Margaret Yorke’s highly regarded novels.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Ana Batista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorei a forma como a autora mistura o mistério com os detalhes da vida do quotidiano. O modo como escreve prende-nos às personagens e à história e faz-nos apaixonar por Tessa. O segundo livro da autora que leio. Vou voltar a esta autora, sem dúvida.

[Elizabeth F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy all of Margaret Yorke's books almost without exception. Yorke blends psychological suspense with the quotidian detail of the lives of everyday people in a way that I like better than Ruth Rendell. The stories are always short and well paced, and at the same time you can't help but feel sympathy for the central characters. You understand why they do the (sometimes stupid) things that they do. In Devil's Work, Alan Parker does just such a thoughtless thing when he fails to tell his wife that he's been laid off from his job at an engineering firm where he'd worked for nearly 25 years. The unlooked-for spare time on his hands sets off a chain of events that are classic Margaret Yorke-style drama -- drama that's completely convincing. If you haven't read Margaret Yorke, give her a try!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another good read by Margaret Yorke. There's never any gore, and rarely any major violence (perhaps the occasional dead body) but I enjoy her mystery thrillers very much. They always include common folk in England who get wrapped up in sine sort of issue. I thought from the blurb on the back that Alan would be charged with the disappearance of Tessa. But he was only questioned about the difference in his tale and the one from Louise, Tessa's mum.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful little girl, a crazy old woman and ordinary people trying to cope with the unexpected twists and turns of life. This then is the basis of this book. I've been thinking about why I enjoy Margaret Yorke's books so much. Then it occurred to me. The characters and the stories are so memorable they are not easily forgotten. The stories proceed at a careful pace, but as they develop there are always twists that keep the reader hooked. Needless to say, I loved this book and if truth be known, I have yet to read a book by Margaret Yorke that I haven't enjoyed. Luckily, even though she passed away in 2012, she wrote 47 books, so I'll have good books to read for quite a while.

[Nona · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of Margaret Yorke books are good! Psychological thriller. Stories of characters and how their lives intersect.

[Jean Cairns · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really entertaining read

A very underrated thriller\crime writer. You want to know more about her characters even when the book finishes. Definitely unputdownable.

[Barbara Messenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Yorke is the best. Every one of her books are great and I’ve read many of them. Each book very well written with well-defined characters and memorable plot .

[Ant Koplowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly matter-of-fact story of a man who loses his job but can't tell his wife. In an attempt to cope with this, he maintains a domestic fiction, whereby he leaves the house each morning and pretends all is well and that he's off to work. Chance encounters and an attempt to cope with his problems lead him to befriend a woman (Louise) with social anxiety. Things spiral out of control when a convicted child killer, who lives downstairs, decides that Louise's daughter should be spared suffering the effects of her mother's loose morals.

Margaret Yorke's unemotional style hides an intelligent study of dysfunctional family and personal relationships and their long-term impacts.


© Koplowitz 2022

[Nancy DeValve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was at my parent's house for a visit. Because I flew, I didn't take much along to read, so I chose a book from their shelves that I could read in five days. This was a good choice as it is fairly short and was hard to put down.
Margaret Yorke's story here is not really a murder mystery because you know all along who is going to do it. But how it is going to happen, why it is going to happen, and whether or not it will actually happen is all very suspenseful.
It was a good light read.

[Rebecca Hock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another very enjoyable read written by Margaret Yorke.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

An uncomplicated easy read.

[Manela · Rating 3 out of 5]

É bom. Não é deslumbrante, mas lê-se muito bem esta história policial.

[The Wee Hen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan has lost his job but can't bring himself to tell his very busy wife who has very little time for him amongst her golf and bridge games. He spends his days at the library and cinema and the park filling up the hours. He meets a rather neglected little girl and her miserable mother and gets drawn into their lives. A neighbour of theirs, meanwhile, watches this relationship and decides that this wicked mother needs to be taught a lesson about women who dabble with strange men and pay no mind to their child. Good thriller here.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have sworn that the man who came into the little girl's life was going to turn out to be a pervert. How wrong I was