Murder at the Old Vicarage

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 the first book of this series, and continue with Lloyd & Hill, because this was a very good read.

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 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 show more 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

I had guessed the murderer from the first chapters, which suggests I have read far too many murder mysteries. But am delighted to say I was miss-directed, and the eventual murderer was a surprise to me. I was expecting a 'golden era' murder-mystery from the cover and it taking place in a vicarage during a snow-storm. So was surprised it used the format but was set in the present day with added adultery and wife-battery thrown in.

A nice change from the cozy genre. Well written however I didn't always follow everything. Seemed to be a bit convoluted at times and confusing. There were a couple of conversations between the two protagonists when I felt like an outsider, missing the joke/reference. I would reread the paragraph a couple of times and still missed the meaning. Overall though I would certainly recommend reading more by author and in this series.

Lloyd and Hill's relationship moves forward as they solve a puzzling domestic murder. Each McGown book makes me sad that there will be no more.

Lloyd and Hill 2