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Act of Violence
Peaceful Mickleburgh is the perfect English market town - or so it seems. In fact, it is a perfectly constructed façade, having successfully hidden the secrets of its inhabitants for generations. But the casual murder of a man trying to prevent an act of vandalism shatters the genteel appearance. Parents are forced to consider whether their children could be involved, friends avoid each other's eyes, and partners word their conversations carefully. Somebody in the community is close to the murderer - someone with a past that threatens to resurface, bringing damage and devastation to a whole community.
290 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
2 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Yorke
95 books52 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 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 2, 2021
Margaret Yorke is one of my favourite authors. I haven't read any of her books that I didn't enjoy. She takes seemingly ordinary people and situations and weaves gripping stories that are impossible to put down. The characters in her novels are so real and their personalities so well developed that the reader can clearly see their motivations. This book was no different. A man is murdered trying to stop a group of teenage vandals. The police investigate. And in the background runs another story of a murder committed many years ago with the murderer now released and blending into society. It all made for fascinating reading. This is an excellent book.
July 4, 2020
I thought this book was pretty good. I have read a few books by Margaret Yorke and I have found that some I really enjoy and others not so much. This was one I enjoyed.
June 22, 2017
This book is about the people in the small town of Mickleburgh whose lives are thrown into turmoil after murder.
I felt that this book ended without a resolution to a lot of the issues that were raised, but it did have enough suspense to keep me reading.
I felt that this book ended without a resolution to a lot of the issues that were raised, but it did have enough suspense to keep me reading.
November 25, 2023
This was one of the most boring books I’ve ever read. There was no mystery at all. There were too many characters with no personality or plot line, making them difficult to keep track of. I’m completely mystified that this author is apparently a respected crime writer. What did I miss??
October 27, 2018
Easy, quick read.
June 17, 2019
Liked parts of the book but really did not like the ending. Just didn't hold together like some of her other books.
October 5, 2019
Nice easy read. Definitely intriguing at times.
March 18, 2017
La historia es bastante plana, pero me gusta como desarrolla cada personaje; aunque al final trata de conectarlos todos muy forzadamente...
November 13, 2016
1 star
DNF at 64%.
Ugh. This book really wasn't for me. The writing was painfully bland, and bombastic words were used rather liberally. The whole book was written like how I used to write compositions in primary school, more telling than showing.
I usually finish books within a week of starting them, and Act Of Violence became far too painful to struggle through after a few days. I really tried to finish, but after a month, I just couldn't do it.
Not recommended for people who have short attention spans like me.
DNF at 64%.
Ugh. This book really wasn't for me. The writing was painfully bland, and bombastic words were used rather liberally. The whole book was written like how I used to write compositions in primary school, more telling than showing.
I usually finish books within a week of starting them, and Act Of Violence became far too painful to struggle through after a few days. I really tried to finish, but after a month, I just couldn't do it.
Not recommended for people who have short attention spans like me.
June 26, 2008
Enjoying Margaret Yorke, a "cozy" mystery writer, and British so even better. Stories not exceptional but the atmosphere of a small village and descriptions of the people who live in them feel so "real".
April 19, 2011
Perfect English mystery. Fun to read.
February 17, 2015
Really enjoyed this book, was guessing to the end who the mother was of the woman who had just come out of prison. Will definitely recommend this book to any body.
April 9, 2010
this is and intricately woven story - interesting.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews