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Find Me a Villain
A chance encounter with a stranger, Priscilla Blunt, seems to offer Nina Crowther an escape from her problems. Middle-aged, struggling to recover from the shock of her husband divorcing her to marry a younger (and pregnant) woman, Nina happily falls in with Priscilla's idea to house-sit for her while she and her husband visit South Africa. When the phone rings on her first night in the Blunts' Berkshire manor house she expects it to be one of her duaghters, but when she lifts the receiver no-one speaks. All Nina hears is a shuddering sigh. As the calls persist Nina fears she has attracted an unwelcome suitor - or is it the man who is brutally murdering women in a nearby village? Or could it be one and the same person?
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First published January 1, 1983
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About the author
Margaret Yorke
94 books50 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 29, 2024
favorite m. yorke book. Have read this book more than twice. One of my favorite authors.
August 16, 2023
When the bodies of young girls are starting to be found - it's only a red herring to
provide the opportunity for one of Yorke's favourite plot devices, the suspicion thrown
on a completely innocent character and the anticipation of - will they prove
themselves entirely innocent or will they start digging a hole for themselves.
The main plot line is to do with Nina, a woman whose husband has just informed her
that he is leaving her for a younger woman. Suddenly, everything gets on top of her
and she finds she is pouring her heart out to a complete stranger in a cafe who comes
up with an interesting solution - would Nina be interested in house sitting for them?
Nina starts to thrive and get her much buried confidence back with involvement in
village life - including the taciturn gardener Dan and the struggling elderly couple
trying to upkeep The Manor House. Obviously in the early 1980s when the book was
written not a lot was known about dementia but suddenly the mysterious late night
calls start and Nina is facing an unknown terror!!
provide the opportunity for one of Yorke's favourite plot devices, the suspicion thrown
on a completely innocent character and the anticipation of - will they prove
themselves entirely innocent or will they start digging a hole for themselves.
The main plot line is to do with Nina, a woman whose husband has just informed her
that he is leaving her for a younger woman. Suddenly, everything gets on top of her
and she finds she is pouring her heart out to a complete stranger in a cafe who comes
up with an interesting solution - would Nina be interested in house sitting for them?
Nina starts to thrive and get her much buried confidence back with involvement in
village life - including the taciturn gardener Dan and the struggling elderly couple
trying to upkeep The Manor House. Obviously in the early 1980s when the book was
written not a lot was known about dementia but suddenly the mysterious late night
calls start and Nina is facing an unknown terror!!
August 12, 2012
A new author to me, but apparently quite a prolific one. Nina has a chance encounter with Priscilla Blunt in Fortnum and Mason's tearoom just after her husband had announced he is going to move in with his pregnant lover. Mrs Blunt offers Nina a 2 month job as a house-sitter whilst she and her husband take a trip to South Africa. Nina moves into the large isolated house and starts receiving silent phone calls late at night. Young runaway girls are being murdered and buried in wooded ground, some close to where Nina is living. She strikes up a friendship with the gardner but he has secrets and apparently has been identified as hanging round the London stations talking to young girls. Is everything connected? A short, taut thriller that I read in 2 sittings. The volume contains three complete novels so I have another 2 to look forward to. Not bad for a £1.99 Aldi bargain!
December 13, 2008
I have yet to find a Matgaret Yorke book that was not a good one in my opinion. I felt sure I would know who the serial killer was in this one! What a surprise!
July 21, 2012
Nina's selfish bastard of a husband up and leaves her after 20-some years and two kids and she is confused and distraught. She finds a position as a house-minder in the countryside and meets some curious villagers and a few disturbing twists and turns. Everything you'd want in a Yorke.
January 29, 2025
My first book by this author. Though it's marketed as a mystery it's really not. It's mostly about a woman of middle age whose husband of 25 years has gone off with another woman & finds herself at a loose end. After a chance meeting with a wealthy lady who's off on holiday she gets a live-in job of house-sitting in a remote countryside mansion. Though there is a thread of mystery running through the book (who's responsible for the serial killing of young women) it barely figures into the main storyline, which is more a character portrait of the lead character & her encounters with the local village people.
I found the book very easy to read, fast-flowing & enjoyable, & would definitely read another of this author's books, but it's certainly not a mystery.
I found the book very easy to read, fast-flowing & enjoyable, & would definitely read another of this author's books, but it's certainly not a mystery.
July 9, 2020
A light read in the suspense genre. I found it a little predictable, but still enjoyed it. I'd give the author another go.
December 1, 2020
Pretty average book, not a great story.
June 8, 2024
I really liked the character portrayals in this book and came to feel for Nina.
It was the whole murder mystery that was a let down. It’s intertwined with Nina’s story all the way through and in the end the big reveal is…it had f*ck-all to do with Nina or any of her compatriots. That’s very true to life, I suppose . There are murders going on in the same geography and timeline as divorcees having mid-life crises while not involving said divorcees in anyway. So, points awarded for verisimilitude. but that is not what I want from my murder mysteries. I want that formula… the motives and suspects abounding and the surprise twist denouement. That -oh how did I miss all the red flags about that peripheral character? Except a lot of the times I don’t miss the red flags because I’ve had a lot of training with the genre. But it’s still a good time.
The ending here just felt like a let down. I can’t rank it terribly low because I did come to care about our protagonist, and the writing kept me engaged & turning the pages. In fact, I do intend to check out more Yorke novels if I come across ’em.
It was the whole murder mystery that was a let down. It’s intertwined with Nina’s story all the way through and in the end the big reveal is…it had f*ck-all to do with Nina or any of her compatriots. That’s very true to life, I suppose . There are murders going on in the same geography and timeline as divorcees having mid-life crises while not involving said divorcees in anyway. So, points awarded for verisimilitude. but that is not what I want from my murder mysteries. I want that formula… the motives and suspects abounding and the surprise twist denouement. That -oh how did I miss all the red flags about that peripheral character? Except a lot of the times I don’t miss the red flags because I’ve had a lot of training with the genre. But it’s still a good time.
The ending here just felt like a let down. I can’t rank it terribly low because I did come to care about our protagonist, and the writing kept me engaged & turning the pages. In fact, I do intend to check out more Yorke novels if I come across ’em.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews