Evidence to Destroy

Yorke's new book equals the best of her nearly 30 well-crafted thrillers involving sudden disturbances in placid English towns. Flighty Thelma Hallows returns home to rural Milton St. Gabriel after her latest failed affair, bringing young Edward Fletcher, whom she picks up on the way. Thelma's widowed mother reluctantly accepts the two, despite her disapproval. With the passing days, Thelma attracts elderly Arthur Morrison who hires her as his housekeeper. When Arthur is killed, the police search for Edward, the obvious suspect as an ex-convict and presumably Thelma's rejected lover. But the situation, deftly built by the author to a tragic climax, reveals a stronger motive for murder. Although Arthur is a good man, he represents disaster to a villager with a shameful secret. (October 30)