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The Point of Murder
‘She went on making sounds in her throat, her eyes rolling frantically. Breathing heavily, he held her down...She freed a hand and pounded at him, but he didn’t feel her blows; then she scratched his face and he released her mouth for a moment. Sandra screamed very loudly, and went on screaming. He had to stop the noise.’
It had been the result of a chance encounter; Gary had never intended to kill the girl. But as his initial panic subsided he realised that there had been a witness, someone whose death he would now have to plan—in a premeditated, col-blooded way...
It had been the result of a chance encounter; Gary had never intended to kill the girl. But as his initial panic subsided he realised that there had been a witness, someone whose death he would now have to plan—in a premeditated, col-blooded way...
- GenresMystery
217 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Yorke
94 books49 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 24, 2009
Margaret Yorke never disappoints, at least for those like me who like cozy British mysteries. Both plot and character development generally excellent. Also, as this one was written in 1978, great reminder of how the times have changed. One character, for example, was selling encyclopedias door to door!
June 11, 2012
Found this unassuming volume at a used book store for a buck. Well, that's the best buck I've spent on a book. Margaret Yorke delivers with a gripping cat and mouse story that doesn't let up until its dramatic conclusion. Highly recommended for all mystery lovers. Grade: A
July 19, 2016
Yorke never disappoints.
December 26, 2023
It's so wonderfully unmistakably a Margaret Yorke crime book and so worth the read. The death of Sandra King is a result of a chance encounter when her car tyre is punctured and a salesman stops to help. Kate Wilson also chances upon her and the person who will eventually kill her, and when Gary realises this, he needs to find her to eliminate her as the only possible witness. Kate has a difficult life, but one she makes the best of, and she's very resilient. When the danger finally catches her up, you'll be willing her onwards.
August 2, 2019
A most enjoyable book.
March 8, 2021
sometimes i wonder where the hell did they get these sort of pictures from for the book covers.
November 13, 2022
With Margaret Yorke the emphasis was often on the plight
of the elderly, often alone and lonely and mostly thought
of as a burden by their uncaring children but in this
book the aged Mrs. Wilson is the one who is making her
daughter's life a misery. Kate acts as a maid of all work
for her mother while holding down a responsible job as a
general help at a busy medical centre. She also finds it
hard to live up to the standard set by her brother -
even though he died in infancy!!
Poor Kate has low self esteem and is also the unknowing butt
of jokes behind her back because she happens to believe
the smooth talking charm of work place Lothario, Paul Fox.
But she has a secret life - her mother and others believe
that once a month she stays with an old school friend, and
years before it had started out like that, but she has now
given herself a new identity and as "Mrs. Havant" people at
the "Black Swan" know her as a stylish widow.
Running parallel with this "pie in the sky" romance is the
grim story of Gary, a pathological rapist, who insist that
women who give him "the come on" (the American title I thought
much more telling) deserve it!! One night Kate stops to assist
a young girl with car trouble but before she can do much good
another car drives up so Kate, already late, drives into the
night. By morning the young girl, Sandra, is dead and Kate,
knowing she has spoken to the man fears she will soon be a
target. The sensible thing to do would be to go to the police
but then her "Mrs. Havant" ruse will be disclosed and she fears
she will be a laughing stock.
Not my favourite Margaret Yorke but still probably more gripping
than many another crime book you could pick up.
of the elderly, often alone and lonely and mostly thought
of as a burden by their uncaring children but in this
book the aged Mrs. Wilson is the one who is making her
daughter's life a misery. Kate acts as a maid of all work
for her mother while holding down a responsible job as a
general help at a busy medical centre. She also finds it
hard to live up to the standard set by her brother -
even though he died in infancy!!
Poor Kate has low self esteem and is also the unknowing butt
of jokes behind her back because she happens to believe
the smooth talking charm of work place Lothario, Paul Fox.
But she has a secret life - her mother and others believe
that once a month she stays with an old school friend, and
years before it had started out like that, but she has now
given herself a new identity and as "Mrs. Havant" people at
the "Black Swan" know her as a stylish widow.
Running parallel with this "pie in the sky" romance is the
grim story of Gary, a pathological rapist, who insist that
women who give him "the come on" (the American title I thought
much more telling) deserve it!! One night Kate stops to assist
a young girl with car trouble but before she can do much good
another car drives up so Kate, already late, drives into the
night. By morning the young girl, Sandra, is dead and Kate,
knowing she has spoken to the man fears she will soon be a
target. The sensible thing to do would be to go to the police
but then her "Mrs. Havant" ruse will be disclosed and she fears
she will be a laughing stock.
Not my favourite Margaret Yorke but still probably more gripping
than many another crime book you could pick up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2013
This was a quick reading mystery with a few twists and turns but it wasn't too difficult to connect the dots. Set in England with a host of characters. Ended too abruptly as soon as the case was solved.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews