Serious Intent
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Following retirement, Marigold Darwin returns to her home village determined to purchase a house. She meets two young boys, Mark and Steve, who hang around The Willows, where old Tom Morton lives. His housekeeper Ivy sometimes babysits Mark, although this may be a mistake. Neither boy is in the least concerned about others, regarding casual deception and theft as just part of everyday life. The same is true of their two friends, who have a seriously disturbed mother. Marigold is gradually drawn into the lives of all and becomes aware of serious shortcomings in the parenting of the boys, and some very real fears in a situation where the misdeeds of one generation are easily passed to the next. Tensions mount and in an intricate plot danger looms, with Marigold’s own life being placed on the line. The characters in this novel hold secrets and intents which Margaret Yorke reveals with her usual skill and capacity to thrill.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fatherless boys-some of whom yield to bad company, others to good influence-give British writer Yorke's latest a strong emotional dimension. Self-reliant Mark lives with his unmarried mother; angry, thieving Steve with his widowed stepmother. Together they while away afternoons with aged invalid Tom Morton at his home, The Willows. Up the road at Merrifields lives Richard Gardner, a generous man of great patience, with his abusive, manic-depressive wife, Verity, and her sons, vulnerable Terry and tough, rude Justin. As village incidents of vandalism, arson and burglary escalate, each of the boys falls under suspicion. When Tom dies, homely retired spinster Marigold Darwin buys his house. Here Yorke's trademark suspense kicks in: Alan, the man Tom raised as a son, has completed a prison sentence for his wife's murder and finds he is disinherited. Determined to dig up his murder weapon under the shed at The Willows so he can start a new life in crime, Alan nurses his rage, and it's only a matter of time before he claims a new victim. Yorke works a subtle psychological study of bad behavior, yet leaves the reader free to root for the triumphs of those who choose to act decently. Mystery Guild featured alternate.
