Murder at the Old Vicarage [Paperback]

Jill McGown (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (1988)
• ASIN: B000OTFQRE
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,907,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another masterpiece, October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder at the Old Vicarage (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nicely written little police procedural with twists..., March 3, 2003

By 

Laurie Fletcher "Laurie Fletcher" (Casper, Wyoming, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Murder at the Old Vicarage (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good British Procedural, June 7, 2002

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder at the Old Vicarage (Mass Market Paperback)

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.