Reviews for Dangerous to know

The average rating for Dangerous to know based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-01-17 00:00:00 Travis Allard I had never read a book by this author when I came upon a copy of Dangerous to Know by Margaret Yorke. The story focuses on Hermione Brown, the abused wife of Walter. To look at them you would think they were your quiet neighbors next door. Walter Brown didn't begin to hit his wife Hermione until after their two daughters had grown up and left home, but throughout their marriage he has enjoyed controlling her life, relishing opportunities to taunt her and see her broken. We soon discover that Walter is secretly visiting prostitutes in London, where if he gets rough, it's only what they deserve. He doesn't notice that Hermione is developing her own secrets. She finds a job cleaning houses two afternoons a week and meets a friend she can talk to. Hermione begins to rebel against Walter's scrutiny and humiliating comments which leads to a dangerous showdown. This story builds slowly but I thought it was very reminiscent of Hitchcock in the way it unfolded. I would certainly give another of her books a try.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-10-19 00:00:00 Bruce Guarino A serviceable suspense novel that takes you into the mind of a cowed woman and her murdering bully of a husband. It was published in 1993. I certainly hope times have changed in the British legal system, but at least at the time, the novel suggests that abused women who killed their husbands in self-defense were still subject to harsh treatment and judgment in the eyes of the law. I liked the prose tone of the novel; Yorke's writing reminds me of the stories of Ruth Rendell, but the structure of the novel is nowhere near as good. The plot is a little bit off, and the book doesn't fully deliver on its promise. The climax of the story comes well before the end, and it's unclear why the novel continues. There's a bit of a twist at the end, but the payoff is pretty low. This is the only one of Yorke's books I've read. It was intriguing enough that I'd check out one or two others.