-- CRIMINAL DAMAGE is a classy whodunit. Yorke inserts words associated with Britain like Ovaltine, sherry (mild or dry?), Hob Nob biscuits, Aga cooker, peregrinations, & flat-hunting. Spelling is British, too, like programme & cheque-book. When a young woman's boyfriend leaves her for a younger woman the scorned woman is naturally angry & hurt. Scorned woman's mother is the protagonist with a secret. Nobody is killed in CRIMINAL DAMAGE but there's plenty of action & interesting characters. -- ( )

I have enjoyed every book by Margaret Yorke that I have been able to get my hands on and Criminal Damage was no exception although it was a rather slow moving story. The plot revolves around a rather prim and reserved widow and her grown children. The suspense builds slowly and I was surprised a couple of times with the direction the story took. The author developed an atmosphere of psychological tension but when things finally start to happen, the tension serves to give each character a reason to examine and make changes to their lives.

A prolific writer, with her first book published in 1957 and her last in 2001, so far I have found her books to be varied and full of unusual twists and turns. In Criminal Damage she creates an interesting cast and uses robbery, obsessive love and violence to keep the action moving but ultimately this is a story about traumatic family relationships and the damage they can do. ( )

I should have known better, since I read one of Yorke’s books before and found it boring and tedious. This one wasn’t much better – no plot, no point and definitely no suspense. I will be avoiding this author scrupulously from now on. ( )

Every Margaret Yorke I pick up is another good escapist mystery, steeped in the English country village Agatha Christie genre with a little psychological edge of Ruth Rendell. A young woman, abandoned by her long term boyfriend, develops a dangerous obsession with his new girlfriend. As she is developing her skills as a stalker, and refusing to listen to her lawyer she is distracted by a visit to her mother back to the suburban community outside London which seems so safe. Looks can be deceiving. Enjoy this book on a cold night with a blanket. ( )