MURDER AT THE OLD VICARAGE

by Jill McGown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 10, 1988

Acting Chief Inspector Lloyd (A Perfect Match), now divorced, and unhappily married Detective Sergeant Judy Hill are the team investigating a murder at Stansfield's vicarage--even as their long affair approaches crisis time. Graham Elstow, estranged husband of the vicar's daughter Joanna, has been found murdered in a Vicarage bedroom after his attempt at a reconciliation--an effort that ended in braises and a black eye for Joanna; rage and frustration for vicar George Wheeler and wife Marion. Everything indicates an inside job--and alibis and timetables painstakingly constructed all point to Marion, who confesses and is jailed but not for long, as new evidence is uncovered. Lloyd and Judy struggle with things that don't fit--George Wheeler's involvement with young widow Eleanor Langton; Eleanor's connection to Elstow; Joanna's unannounced pregnancy, etc. Eventually, it all ends in a melodramatic, complex but convincing denouement that presages major changes in many lives. The carefully constructed puzzle plays second fiddle here to the tortured psyches of the characters, explored with sensitivity and minimum psychobabble. Literate, adult, and engrossing.

Pub Date: Jan. 10, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1988

Categories: FICTION