- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Pan; New Ed edition (5 Aug 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0330412027
- ISBN-13: 978-0330412025
- Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 88,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Praise for Jill McGown's Lloyd and Hill mysteries
MURDER AT THE OLD VICARAGE
"A first-rate mystery . . . A spiderweb of a tale . . . fiendishly clever."
"-The Washington Post
"
THE MURDERS OF MRS. AUSTIN AND MRS. BEALE
"Sophisticated and satisfying."
"-The Philadelphia Inquirer
"
VERDICT UNSAFE
"A cleverly constructed, realistic courtroom drama that keeps you totally involved."
-ANNE PERRY
PICTURE OF INNOCENCE
"A masterpiece of controlled complexity."
-"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)"
"
PLOTS AND ERRORS
"A dazzlingly devious tangle of clues and coincidences."
-"Chicago Tribune"
SCENE OF CRIME
"As sound an example of pure classical detection, including Agatha Christie-style whodunit misdirection, as you'll find."
-"Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine"
DEATH IN THE FAMILY
"An intricate, convincing web of family intrigue that endures to the final pages."
-"Mystery Scene"
MURDER AT THE OLD VICARAGE
"A first-rate mystery . . . A spiderweb of a tale . . . fiendishly clever."
"-The Washington Post
"
THE MURDERS OF MRS. AUSTIN AND MRS. BEALE
"Sophisticated and satisfying."
"-The Philadelphia Inquirer
"
VERDICT UNSAFE
"A cleverly constructed, realistic courtroom drama that keeps you totally involved."
-ANNE PERRY
PICTURE OF INNOCENCE
"A masterpiece of controlled complexity."
-"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)"
"
PLOTS AND ERRORS
"A dazzlingly devious tangle of clues and coincidences."
-"Chicago Tribune"
SCENE OF CRIME
"As sound an example of pure classical detection, including Agatha Christie-style whodunit misdirection, as you'll find."
-"Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine"
DEATH IN THE FAMILY
"An intricate, convincing web of family intrigue that endures to the final pages."
-"Mystery Scene"
"From the Hardcover edition."
Product Description
The gripping new Lloyd and Hill mystery, following BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
I believe this was Jill's last work before she died. I envy those coming to her oeuvre for the first time for as someone once said about M.R James's horror stories, they will enjoy a gifted, underated, entertaining and talented writer of detective fiction.
In this area of writing, some authors excel at plot and others at dialogue. Jill is special in both contexts. She is amusing in dialogue and intriguing in plotting.
Her stories usually involve two detectives known as Lloyd and Hill who are romantically linked and whose relationship is neatly woven in to the plots.
I would normally award five stars to all her works but I feel that this particular effort is not to her usual supremely high standard. It still deserves purchase however as it is a superior tale.
You will be missed Jill. RIP.
In this area of writing, some authors excel at plot and others at dialogue. Jill is special in both contexts. She is amusing in dialogue and intriguing in plotting.
Her stories usually involve two detectives known as Lloyd and Hill who are romantically linked and whose relationship is neatly woven in to the plots.
I would normally award five stars to all her works but I feel that this particular effort is not to her usual supremely high standard. It still deserves purchase however as it is a superior tale.
You will be missed Jill. RIP.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
One of the best British mystery writer pens a great thriller
8 Dec 2004
Format:Hardcover
Married couple Detective Chief Inspectors Judy Hill and Lloyd cope with a terrible two's daughter, having Judy's mother live with them and wondering if they can handle the responsibility of a cat. While they cope with their personal life, they work doubly hard trying to bring down a serial killer. His first victim Wilma Fenton won a tidy sum at the bingo parlor. Employee Stephen Holiday delivers her winnings and walks her home before meeting someone he doesn't want to reveal to the police when they question him.
When a second person is murdered in much the same way as Wilma, Stephen is in the area again and doesn't have an airtight alibi that could clear him. The murderer contacts journalist Tony Baker, who brought down a serial killer years ago. It is obvious the perpetrator wants to play a Cat and Mouse game with the reporter and the cops. As the killings continue, Stephen is either the killer or somebody with inside information has set him up. Judy and Lloyd believe Stephen is innocent despite the evidence and don't want to see him go to jail, but the miasma of lies hide the truth.
Jill McGown writes some of the best British police procedurals on the market today. The marriage between the two protagonists gives insight into the personal lives of these fascinating characters and the way they work together is remarkable because neither one is jealous of who is in command of the situation. Though the flaunting serial killer is over killed in novels, UNLUCKY FOR SOME is an enthralling mystery that should be on everyone fan's keeper shelf.
Harriet Klausner
When a second person is murdered in much the same way as Wilma, Stephen is in the area again and doesn't have an airtight alibi that could clear him. The murderer contacts journalist Tony Baker, who brought down a serial killer years ago. It is obvious the perpetrator wants to play a Cat and Mouse game with the reporter and the cops. As the killings continue, Stephen is either the killer or somebody with inside information has set him up. Judy and Lloyd believe Stephen is innocent despite the evidence and don't want to see him go to jail, but the miasma of lies hide the truth.
Jill McGown writes some of the best British police procedurals on the market today. The marriage between the two protagonists gives insight into the personal lives of these fascinating characters and the way they work together is remarkable because neither one is jealous of who is in command of the situation. Though the flaunting serial killer is over killed in novels, UNLUCKY FOR SOME is an enthralling mystery that should be on everyone fan's keeper shelf.
Harriet Klausner
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
I really enjoyed this except for one thing
2 May 2006
Format:Hardcover
That one thing is fairly important: the ending. Although I had a sense early on (correctly, as it turned out) of the who-dun-it of this mystery, I found the solution just lacking in believability. Murderers in mysteries need an adequate motive, and I thought that the motive was too little to explain murder. I can't say more without giving away too much.
But -- this is a complex and interesting puzzle mystery -- one of those mysteries where you solve it along with the police, as they go interview people, discover facts, interrogate suspects, etc. The plot involves a series of murders that take place in a small English city at a time when a well-known television journalist specializing in crime is in town working on a story. The killer appears to be engaged in a battle of wits with the journalist, suggesting that the motive is a grudge against the journalist, but who and why? The husband-and-wife police detectives have a small hand-picked group of staff working on solving the mystery before someone else gets killed. It appears that there's some connection to a string of gambling palaces (bingo, mostly) owned by a shady man who is living in a country house near the city.
This is perhaps the third mystery I've read by McGown, and I intend to go on and read more by her. She is not quite of the caliber of the great writers of English mysteries, such as Elizabeth George, P.D. James, or Deborah Crombie, but she writes quality mysteries that engage the mind as puzzles even as the reader enjoys the characters and following the background story line of the personal relationships of the detectives and their various problems (such as a live-in mother-in-law to care for their child).
But -- this is a complex and interesting puzzle mystery -- one of those mysteries where you solve it along with the police, as they go interview people, discover facts, interrogate suspects, etc. The plot involves a series of murders that take place in a small English city at a time when a well-known television journalist specializing in crime is in town working on a story. The killer appears to be engaged in a battle of wits with the journalist, suggesting that the motive is a grudge against the journalist, but who and why? The husband-and-wife police detectives have a small hand-picked group of staff working on solving the mystery before someone else gets killed. It appears that there's some connection to a string of gambling palaces (bingo, mostly) owned by a shady man who is living in a country house near the city.
This is perhaps the third mystery I've read by McGown, and I intend to go on and read more by her. She is not quite of the caliber of the great writers of English mysteries, such as Elizabeth George, P.D. James, or Deborah Crombie, but she writes quality mysteries that engage the mind as puzzles even as the reader enjoys the characters and following the background story line of the personal relationships of the detectives and their various problems (such as a live-in mother-in-law to care for their child).
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Unlucky Strike
3 Feb 2006
Format:Hardcover
Having read and enjoyed some of the previous novels by Jill McGown about Lloyd and Hill, I was looking forward to this one. While I enjoyed it and will continue to read more in the series, I found myself disappointed in the ending. The motive for the killings was convoluted and just didn't hold water. I also had to keep reminding myself of who the characters were because they all had such normal names: Jack, Michael, Stephen, Tony, Tom, Ben. Good, stolid names. Good stolid writing. As I think about it, I realize that this is my criticism of the book; it is good, stolid writing, but there is no flair to it. Her characters are like paper dolls, with nothing substantial to keep them standing.
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