Unlucky For Some: A Novel Of Suspense [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Jill McGown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 2005

Selected by The Times (London) as one of the twentieth century's "100 Masters of Crime," Jill McGown writes mystery-suspense novels that defy second-guessing. In her thirteenth book featuring Detective Chief Inspectors Lloyd and Hill, the quiet life of an English town scarcely conceals the deadly menace lurking around dark corners and within the human mind.

Available only in Mystery 3, 4 & 5.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Thirteen proves to be a lucky number for British author McGown, as the 13th outing for her detective chief inspectors, Lloyd and Hill, amply justifies her selection by the London Times as one of last century's Masters of Crime. Her engaging husband-wife team find themselves matched with an extremely cunning serial killer. The bludgeoning of a bingo winner seems to be a simple mugging gone bad, until the police discover that the victim's winnings were left behind, displayed on the corpse in a perverse arrangement that hints at a cryptic deeper significance. Lloyd and Hill are put under additional pressure by the presence at the crime scene of a legendary reporter who had shown up the police two decades earlier by singlehandedly averting a miscarriage of justice through his identification of the real South Coast murderer, a serial slayer. With this entry, which may strike some as an homage to Agatha Christie's classic The ABC Murders, McGown's series can legitimately be compared to Peter Lovesey's outstanding Peter Diamond novels, blending police procedural and twisty whodunit tropes with sardonic humor and byplay between members of the police force. While she's not yet a household name in U.S. mystery circles, this excellent effort could—and should—change that.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-What at first appears to be an accidental murder by a mugger in a hurry turns out to be just one in a series of killings in which money is spread across the victims' bodies. Danny Lloyd and Judy Hill, both Detective Chief Inspectors and married to one another, take on the case. Stepping up to help with the investigation, journalist Tony Baker provides clues and details as the only eyewitness. Baker, who had made his journalistic name through investigating a previous serial-murderer case, adds another layer of complexity to the plot as he becomes the focus of a blackmailer. Except for brief scenes of action, the story is told from character interactions or scenes featuring the individuals mulling over the deaths. The numerous characters tend to make following the investigation challenging at first, but individuals become more clearly defined as the story moves along. Police procedurals give a feeling of reality to the situation. The 13th book in McGown's series featuring this couple, the story stands well on its own.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 511 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (June 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786275790
• ISBN-13: 978-0786275793
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,106,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best British mystery writer pens a great thriller, December 8, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unlucky for Some: A Novel of Suspense (Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd & Judy Hill Mysteries) (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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this except for one thing, May 2, 2006

By 

M. C. Crammer (Decatur, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Unlucky for Some: A Novel of Suspense (Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd & Judy Hill Mysteries) (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).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unlucky Strike, February 2, 2006

By 

Dindy Robinson (Arlington, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unlucky for Some: A Novel of Suspense (Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd & Judy Hill Mysteries) (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.