Jill McGown (1947–2007)
Author of Murder at the Old Vicarage
About the Author
Author Jill McGown was born in Cambeltown, Scotland on August 9, 1947. Her first novel, A Perfect Match, was published in 1983. Since then she has written over fifteen novels. Jill McGown died April 6, 2007. (Bowker Author Biography)
Disambiguation Notice:
Wrote [Hostage to Fortune] (1992) under the pseudonym Elizabeth Chaplin
Series
Works by Jill McGown
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- McGown, Jill
- Other names
- Chaplin, Elizabeth
- Birthdate
- 1947-08-09
- Date of death
- 2007-04-06
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Kettering Technical College
- Occupations
- novelist
crime novelist - Short biography
- Jill McGown was born in Campbeltown, on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland, the daughter of a fisherman and a secretary. When she was 10 years old, she moved with her family to England. She attended Kettering Technical College and worked as a secretary and administrative assistant for several British companies, including British Steel. In 1980, she decided to try writing fiction and became a mystery novelist. She was best known for her series of 13 novels featuring Chief Inspector Lloyd and Sergeant Judy Hill, one of which, A Shred of Evidence (1995), was adapted into a television film by Carlton TV in 2001.
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK
- Place of death
- Kettering, Northamptonshire, England, UK
- Disambiguation notice
- Wrote [Hostage to Fortune] (1992) under the pseudonym Elizabeth Chaplin
- Associated Place (for map)
- UK
Members
Reviews
Lloyd and Hill are two members of the police force who also have a private relationship, so the series not only focuses on their work, but also (although to less extent) on their private lives. I had enjoyed the first two books of this series a lot and was really looking forward to the third one, but was quite disappointed overall.
The case sounded very solid to me: The wife of the deputy headmaster of a public boy's school is raped and murdered in the night of the sesquicentennial ball. show more Naturally, there are many suspects, and the fact that most of them wore very similar clothes does not make things easier. Lloyd and Hill arrive on the scene, they recently visited the school anyway because of a series of thefts that might or might not be connected to the murder.
What really disturbed me about this novel was that there was too much sex in it. It went so far as to depict verbal abuse, catcalling, victim blaming, discussions about the "thin lines" between rape or no rape... Not only by the culprits or suspects, but by the policemen as well. I don't know if this novel is just showing its age, but I was appalled.
My husband was reading his own novel next to me and it's safe to say that he had a hard time reading because of my angry outbursts while I read chapter after chapter.
While it is made clear that Judy Hill, the female part of "Lloyd and Hill", does not agree with what is happening, she is the only one to stand up, is affected by sexism herself, and time and again finds herself in awkward positions when defending the victim.
In the end the message comes through that too many women are affected by sexual violence and that more should be done about it, but to me this message is depicted in a way that is not appropriate. The novel contains too many harmful positions and statements that are not contradicted or even discussed, and it lacks a strong character supporting Judy Hill in her battle. Maybe the idea was not so bad, but the execution is misleading.
Apart from all of that, the case was interesting and the story became more gripping in the second half when it did not exclusively focus on the sex lives of the characters but on the solving of the case. I enjoyed the sleuthing part of the plot as well as the school setting and was surprised by the actual solution.
I did enjoy the first two books and will continue with this series because I hope that the other books are better and deal with other subjects. show less
The case sounded very solid to me: The wife of the deputy headmaster of a public boy's school is raped and murdered in the night of the sesquicentennial ball. show more Naturally, there are many suspects, and the fact that most of them wore very similar clothes does not make things easier. Lloyd and Hill arrive on the scene, they recently visited the school anyway because of a series of thefts that might or might not be connected to the murder.
What really disturbed me about this novel was that there was too much sex in it. It went so far as to depict verbal abuse, catcalling, victim blaming, discussions about the "thin lines" between rape or no rape... Not only by the culprits or suspects, but by the policemen as well. I don't know if this novel is just showing its age, but I was appalled.
My husband was reading his own novel next to me and it's safe to say that he had a hard time reading because of my angry outbursts while I read chapter after chapter.
While it is made clear that Judy Hill, the female part of "Lloyd and Hill", does not agree with what is happening, she is the only one to stand up, is affected by sexism herself, and time and again finds herself in awkward positions when defending the victim.
In the end the message comes through that too many women are affected by sexual violence and that more should be done about it, but to me this message is depicted in a way that is not appropriate. The novel contains too many harmful positions and statements that are not contradicted or even discussed, and it lacks a strong character supporting Judy Hill in her battle. Maybe the idea was not so bad, but the execution is misleading.
Apart from all of that, the case was interesting and the story became more gripping in the second half when it did not exclusively focus on the sex lives of the characters but on the solving of the case. I enjoyed the sleuthing part of the plot as well as the school setting and was surprised by the actual solution.
I did enjoy the first two books and will continue with this series because I hope that the other books are better and deal with other subjects. show less
‘A Trio of Murders’ is actually the first three of Jill McGown’s crime novels featuring DI Lloyd and DS Judy Hill collected in a single volume. Sensible really, since the novels are strictly chronological and follow each other by only a few days or weeks in time. These are solid competent murder mysteries, with ‘Death of a Dancer’, the third part of the trilogy, as the standout in quality, tension and excitement.
Some of the storytelling is a little dated (these books were written show more in the 1980s); for example, a significant plot point in ‘Redemption’ revolves a round a character not having access to a telephone because a landline has not been installed yet. Unthinkable today and perhaps difficult for a younger audience to grasp. Several characters smoke, including Hill, and this appears incongruous today (although I accept that in crime novels/films/TV smoking is ten times more prevalent than in the real world).
The developing relationship between Lloyd and Hill is handled well and the reader certainly roots for their success in working out their issues and complex lives.
Not top drawer, but certainly worth the effort. show less
Some of the storytelling is a little dated (these books were written show more in the 1980s); for example, a significant plot point in ‘Redemption’ revolves a round a character not having access to a telephone because a landline has not been installed yet. Unthinkable today and perhaps difficult for a younger audience to grasp. Several characters smoke, including Hill, and this appears incongruous today (although I accept that in crime novels/films/TV smoking is ten times more prevalent than in the real world).
The developing relationship between Lloyd and Hill is handled well and the reader certainly roots for their success in working out their issues and complex lives.
Not top drawer, but certainly worth the effort. show less
I really enjoyed this novel! I expected a traditional cozy crime, but was surprised because while it kept many elements of that genre, and a few Agatha Christie references, it was much more like a police procedural and the characterization was much deeper than I anticipated. The story kept me on the edge of my seat most of the time. The back story concerning the two police persons was a bit irritating towards the end, otherwise this would have been five stars. I will definitely look out for show more the first book of this series, and continue with Lloyd & Hill, because this was a very good read. show less
Murder At the Old Vicarage by Jill McGowan grabbed me right away, I was expecting this to be more of a cozy mystery but in actuality it had more in common with a police procedural. It was an interesting murder mystery with three immediate suspects, all part of the same family. On Christmas Eve, the vicar, his wife and their daughter were the only ones around so it seemed a sure thing that one of them killed the abusive son-in-law. The police just had to match the alibis, timing and motive to show more come up with the actual murderer. But all three lied, to protect themselves, to protect their secrets and to protect each other. Of course there was always the slim possibility that an outsider had committed the crime, but so many lies and tampering with the evidence made it very difficult for the police to fully comprehend the crime scene.
Even though I read this in July, I enjoyed the Christmas setting and the vintage feel to the book that was actually set in modern times. The author obviously meant this to be a homage to Agatha Christie as more than once a reference was made to her books. In fact, even the closing line of the book was a Christie reference. I wasn’t quite as taken with the secondary story line about the relationship between the lead Inspector and his Sergeant, finding it quite weak. It just didn’t make sense that this couple couldn’t find some kind of resolution to a situation that had been dragging on for years. But overall this was a solid murder mystery. show less
Even though I read this in July, I enjoyed the Christmas setting and the vintage feel to the book that was actually set in modern times. The author obviously meant this to be a homage to Agatha Christie as more than once a reference was made to her books. In fact, even the closing line of the book was a Christie reference. I wasn’t quite as taken with the secondary story line about the relationship between the lead Inspector and his Sergeant, finding it quite weak. It just didn’t make sense that this couple couldn’t find some kind of resolution to a situation that had been dragging on for years. But overall this was a solid murder mystery. show less
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