Customer Reviews

Unlucky for Some

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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

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).

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.

Several years ago Tony Baker proved that the police convicted the wrong man. Now he is considered England's premier expert on serial crime. He is working a big expose story on gambling by visiting casinos and bingo parlors. He is currently in Malworth working the bingo parlor angle. One night a bingo player was struck down with her bingo winnings fanned out across her body. Tony happened to be the co-winner that evening. Since Tony is connected to the case he decides to help law enforcement with their investigation. He starts receiving letters right before more murders take place. The now married Detective Chief Inspectors, Lloyd and Judy Hill are in charge of investigating in their own jurisdictions.

This is Jill McGown's 13th entry in the Llyod and Hill series. The series has an atmospheric, quaint small village vibe. McGown has a gift of characterization, writing deft credible characters instead of stereotypes. The plot does draw you in and is not overly complicated. The ending was not very climatic for me since the culprit seemed obvious, but the enjoyment of the story was not diminished.

As I read this book, I discovered that the author had recently died, so it made me more aware that I was probably reading the last of Lloyd and Hill. That didn't change the fact that this entry is just as engrossing as all the others in the series. Maybe the wrong-doer was obvious, but the fun of reading McGown's books is that you become involved in the lives of the main characters and in the life of an English town. I've sometimes had a hard time keeping up with all of the characters, but this time I was able to follow along. McGown pays attention to the details which makes her books so entertaining.

I'll miss her books, and I'll miss finding out how Lloyd and Hill's lives continue. Rest in peace Ms. McGown.

This is the last volume in the Lloyd/ Judy Hill series - the author passed away in 2007 - two romantically involved British police detectives. In Unlucky For Some our two heroes are tasked to catch a serial killer who taunts them by announcing his murders in advance. Tangentially involved in the case - and to keep the heat on - are a very successful casino owner who happens to be the brother-in-law of a big wig Police Chief and a "famous" crime reporter who is looking over the shoulders of Hill and Lloyd and at times, offering unsolicited advice.

This is a good book, although the "solution" is both predictable and somewhat unsatisfying compared to its predecessors in this excellent British Police procedural series. There is more thinking than shooting, always a good cast of characters and a decent balance with the personal lives of Lloyd and Hill without things turning into a soap opera.

A quick heads-up on an idiosyncrasy of this author's writing. She tends to introduce characters seemingly willy-nilly at the beginning of her books. Just bear with her - 40 or 50 pages in, things will clear up. Also it's not necessary to read these books in chronological order except for tracking the developing relationship between the two protagonists.

Full of twists and turns as well as continuing the relationships between the two detectives.

No one can do British procedurals like Jill McGown. Her Lloyd/Hill team just keep getting better. In this book Lloyd and Hill are married, and they get to work a baffling case together. A woman is killed just outside her flat in Judy's precinct, and the murder seems just a little bit confusing. For example, it couldn't have been a mugging since the four hundred pounds that this woman had just won in Bingo were laying fanned out on top of her. Then things seem to begin happening and it looks like Lloyd and Hill have a serial killer to find. Why does it seem that the killer is just a few steps in front of them? This book is quite different from an American crime story. The main difference being the strangeness of guns to the public at large. It's refreshing to see a civilization where guns are not so common-place that no one hardly even notices them anymore. This is a top-notch series that I would recommend heartily.

Jill McGown passed away in 2007 after a long battle with cancer. She was a great representative of the old-fashioned British police procedural. There is a murder, or few, the list of logical suspects, and the realistic police investigation.

This is not a flashy thriller, full of impossibly good looking people doing impossibly brave and fantastic adventures. In Ms. McGown's world, decent, hard working policemen plod slowly without glamour,and in the end, after weeks of hard labor it sometimes works out.

This is a novel of past times, when reader had patience to slowly unrevel the threads of a story. Today, people carry contraptions like Kindle, wanting everything wrapped up neatly and speedily. Farewell Jill, we'll miss your much more natural ways.

The main characters are interesting and engaging, but their investigative skills leave a lot to be desired. So much of this mystery should have been figured out much earlier. It is very slow moving and barely kept my interest.