Murder at the Old Vicarage

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I have just discovered Jill McGown. Her books are similar to Deborah Crombie'e in that her lead is a Scotland Yard detective with his female Sergeant. I am trying to begin at the beginning and read them all in succession. Excellent procedural and vivid descriptions make this a wonderful series. Character development is very good and thorough. On to the next....

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I have just discovered Jill McGown. Her books are similar to Deborah Crombie'e in that her lead is a Scotland Yard detective with his female Sergeant. I am trying to begin at the beginning and read them all in succession. Excellent procedural and vivid descriptions make this a wonderful series. Character development is very good and thorough. On to the next....

Rating:
Summary: Another masterpiece
Review: I have read quite a lot of crime fiction written either by British writers or by other nationals who based their story in Britain and Jill McGown clearly is one of the best in her genre - if not the best at the moment. Her characters are people like you and me and the stories are brilliantly written. This book is another masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good British Procedural
Review: I read this book because it was an Amazon recommendation. I was pleasantly surprised. It's a pretty good little mystery. The plot keeps you guessing right through. It's also a twist when you have too many self-confessed killers in the classic "closed door" mystery story. Lloyd and Judy are an interesting detective pair. It's intersting to see their personal story unfold along with the plot. I think I may try to read more in this series to see if Ms. McGown continues to create classic little puzzles like this one.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good British Procedural
Review: I read this book because it was an Amazon recommendation. I was pleasantly surprised. It's a pretty good little mystery. The plot keeps you guessing right through. It's also a twist when you have too many self-confessed killers in the classic "closed door" mystery story. Lloyd and Judy are an interesting detective pair. It's intersting to see their personal story unfold along with the plot. I think I may try to read more in this series to see if Ms. McGown continues to create classic little puzzles like this one.

Rating:
Summary: Snowstorm murder
Review: I really enjoyed this British "cozy". Tight and plausible plotting, likable characters--I'm planning to read more of McGown's mysteries. Something not mentioned in the other reviews is that this story takes place during the Christmas season, during a snowstorm; there's a real wintry atmosphere. It would make a good Christmas gift for a mystery fan.

Rating:
Summary: Snowstorm murder
Review: I really enjoyed this British "cozy". Tight and plausible plotting, likable characters--I'm planning to read more of McGown's mysteries. Something not mentioned in the other reviews is that this story takes place during the Christmas season, during a snowstorm; there's a real wintry atmosphere. It would make a good Christmas gift for a mystery fan.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Series
Review: I really like the Lloyd and Judy Hill books - for the characters and the mysteries. They have all been very satisfying.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Series
Review: I really like the Lloyd and Judy Hill books - for the characters and the mysteries. They have all been very satisfying.

Rating:
Summary: Nicely written little police procedural with twists...
Review: I'm struggling with this review of what was a really fun book that had loads of my favorite police procedural elements and serves as the introduction to a writer I hadn't previously read, but have seen very well reviewed. So why am I struggling? Because it was a fun book and I enjoyed it, but it is not particularly dynamic. It is actually more like the "Cornwall" books by Janie Bolitho. But I don't want to damn it with faint praise because it was a wonderful character study and frankly, I couldn't read a "Minette Walters-style" book every time - too exhausting. So let me just say that this is a nice, quick fun read and I see nothing here that doesn't make me want to read more McGown books. Ouch! That sounds like faint praise. Let me try again: as much as this is a murder mystery (the murdered is completely unsympathetic so no pathos there), this is a fine character study of the true motivations and desires of people we assume have their lives all figured out and a small meditation on how time and place can drive decisions that should not be so easily influenced. There...that's better.