What do you think?
Rate this book
Lloyd & Hill #9
Picture of Innocence
East Midlands farmer Bernard Bailey, a violent man with a brutal temper, stands to pocket a hefty inheritance if he fathers a male child. After destroying one wife to achieve this end, Bailey turns his next marriage into a twisted business arrangement. If his new spouse produces a son, she will be paid handsomely for her trouble. But the real trouble is just beginning.
After six months of receiving highly publicized death threats, Bailey becomes just another statistic--a bloodied corpse discarded on his secluded farm. But the unusual question for Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd and Detective Inspector Judy Hill is, Why wasn't the monster killed sooner? For Bailey aroused murderous passions in just about everyone, from the abused daughter of his first marriage to his second wife's clandestine lover. Beneath the obvious lies a labyrinth of deceit--and the shocking truth lies deeper still. . . .
After six months of receiving highly publicized death threats, Bailey becomes just another statistic--a bloodied corpse discarded on his secluded farm. But the unusual question for Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd and Detective Inspector Judy Hill is, Why wasn't the monster killed sooner? For Bailey aroused murderous passions in just about everyone, from the abused daughter of his first marriage to his second wife's clandestine lover. Beneath the obvious lies a labyrinth of deceit--and the shocking truth lies deeper still. . . .
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 30, 1998
5 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Jill McGown
34 books39 followersJill McGown (9 August 1947, Campbeltown, Scotland – 6 April 2007 in Kettering, Northamptonshire) was a British writer of mystery novels. She was best known for her mystery series featuring Inspector Lloyd and Judy Hill, one of which (A Shred of Evidence) was made into a television series. McGown wrote her first mystery novel after being laid off from the British Steel Corporation in 1980. She is sometimes credited as Elizabeth Chaplin.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 6, 2015
Bernard Bailey is probably the most unpopular man in the area and when he starts receiving death threats after a spate of vandalism on his farm no on is too surprised when he is found dead one morning. His refusal to sell part of his land to a property developer for an access road to a new estate of houses has polarised the community.
Many people want him to sell, which he is stubbornly refusing to do. The alternative to putting the access road across his land is to cut down an area of woodland and this would not be a popular move. But surely no one would kill him because he won't sell a piece of land? Once DCI Lloyd and DI Judy Hill start investigating they find that half the county had reasons to hate Bailey and even they think the murderer probably did everyone a favour.
This is a well written and well plotted murder mystery with plenty of clues and plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. I thought I'd worked out early on who the murderer was but I turned out to be completely wrong. I like the series characters - Lloyd and Hill themselves and the irrepressible Freddie the pathologist with his macabre jokes.
If you're looking for well written and carefully plotted crime stories then you could find this series to your liking. The books can be read as standalone novels or as part of a series.
Many people want him to sell, which he is stubbornly refusing to do. The alternative to putting the access road across his land is to cut down an area of woodland and this would not be a popular move. But surely no one would kill him because he won't sell a piece of land? Once DCI Lloyd and DI Judy Hill start investigating they find that half the county had reasons to hate Bailey and even they think the murderer probably did everyone a favour.
This is a well written and well plotted murder mystery with plenty of clues and plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. I thought I'd worked out early on who the murderer was but I turned out to be completely wrong. I like the series characters - Lloyd and Hill themselves and the irrepressible Freddie the pathologist with his macabre jokes.
If you're looking for well written and carefully plotted crime stories then you could find this series to your liking. The books can be read as standalone novels or as part of a series.
January 18, 2018
Another great book in this terrific series. The murder victim is an abusive father and husband who has many many potential murderers. There are lots of red herrings and little puzzles, plus the relationship between Lloyd and Hill takes a dramatic turn.
I highly recommened the Lloyd and Hill series to anyone who loves British police procedurals.
I highly recommened the Lloyd and Hill series to anyone who loves British police procedurals.
September 1, 2018
"East Midlands farmer Bernard Bailey, a violent man with a brutal temper, stands to packet a hefty inheritance if he fathers a male child. After destroying one wife to achieve this end, Bailey turn his next marriage into a twisted business arrangement. If his new spouse produces a son, she will be paid handsomely for her trouble. But the real trouble is just beginning.
"After six month of receiving highly publicized death threats, Bailey becomes just another statistic -- a bloodied corpse discarded on his secluded farm. But the unusual question for Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd and Detective Inspector Judy Hill is, Why wasn't the monster killed sooner? For Bailey aroused murderous passions in just about everyone, from the abused daughter of his first marriage to his second wife's clandestine lover. Beneath the obvious lies a labyrinth of deceit -- and the shocking truth lies deeper still ..."
~~back cover
"After six month of receiving highly publicized death threats, Bailey becomes just another statistic -- a bloodied corpse discarded on his secluded farm. But the unusual question for Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd and Detective Inspector Judy Hill is, Why wasn't the monster killed sooner? For Bailey aroused murderous passions in just about everyone, from the abused daughter of his first marriage to his second wife's clandestine lover. Beneath the obvious lies a labyrinth of deceit -- and the shocking truth lies deeper still ..."
~~back cover
July 30, 2019
Πολύ καλό. Έξυπνο, ευρηματικό και πολύ καλογραμμένο με ωραία ανάλυση χαρακτήρων Βρετανικό whodunit. Σίγουρα θα αναζητήσω και τα υπόλοιπα της σειράς.
August 10, 2017
Farmer Bernard Bailey has inherited a farm but the big money will come when his wife bears him a son. Only problem, his first wife gave him a daughter and slowly died in unsuccessful pregnancies afterwards.
So Bailey, a cruel violent man, hires a young wife to bear him the son that will make him rich. And he is desperate for the act to happen. He has lost money on investments and can't cover his expenses, and now there is a land developer after his property. But to lose his property also means never getting the money he believes is his.
His actions, including the cruelty that he shows his wife and his daughter, have set him in hot water with just about everyone in his community, so its no surprise when he starts to receive death threats and then turns up dead. But how does an unfriendly man with an excessive security system, die at home? Police Chief Inspector Lloyd and Detective Inspector Judy Hill have to work through the false and misleading clues to find out and they do so in a very good read.
Jill McGown has created terrific characters, a suspenseful story and plenty of twists and turns that keep the reader glued to the action until the final clues drop into place. A very satisfying read.
So Bailey, a cruel violent man, hires a young wife to bear him the son that will make him rich. And he is desperate for the act to happen. He has lost money on investments and can't cover his expenses, and now there is a land developer after his property. But to lose his property also means never getting the money he believes is his.
His actions, including the cruelty that he shows his wife and his daughter, have set him in hot water with just about everyone in his community, so its no surprise when he starts to receive death threats and then turns up dead. But how does an unfriendly man with an excessive security system, die at home? Police Chief Inspector Lloyd and Detective Inspector Judy Hill have to work through the false and misleading clues to find out and they do so in a very good read.
Jill McGown has created terrific characters, a suspenseful story and plenty of twists and turns that keep the reader glued to the action until the final clues drop into place. A very satisfying read.
April 12, 2022
Another great murder mystery care of DCI Lloyd & DI Hill.
A wealth of suspects appear after a particularly nasty Farmer is murdered in his Farmhouse.
His wife, her boyfriend, his daughter, several villagers & sundry others all had reason to hate him but which on actually killed him?
A wealth of suspects appear after a particularly nasty Farmer is murdered in his Farmhouse.
His wife, her boyfriend, his daughter, several villagers & sundry others all had reason to hate him but which on actually killed him?
March 16, 2019
More twists than a Twizzler. Wonderfully wrought.
August 8, 2020
I love everything Jill McGown wrote.
March 5, 2021
Love this series
March 29, 2025
Well plotted and a clever twist, though I half guessed that might happen.
I thought the murder victim was too much of a monster to be real.
I thought the murder victim was too much of a monster to be real.
July 16, 2025
This is the ninth book in the author's police procedural series (13 books) featuring Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd and Detective Inspector Hill. I first came across this series in the early 1990s and have read them all at least once.
This is the third time I have read this but I did not remember much of the story at all as it is almost twenty four years since I last read it. A really unpleasant man is murdered and there are plenty of people who are glad that he is dead not least his wife and daughter. The killer hatched a complicated plot in the belief that they were smarter than the police but Lloyd and Hill proved them wrong.
The writing is better than the writing in most of the books I have read this year (2025) and I am really glad that I decided to re-read this series.
This is the third time I have read this but I did not remember much of the story at all as it is almost twenty four years since I last read it. A really unpleasant man is murdered and there are plenty of people who are glad that he is dead not least his wife and daughter. The killer hatched a complicated plot in the belief that they were smarter than the police but Lloyd and Hill proved them wrong.
The writing is better than the writing in most of the books I have read this year (2025) and I am really glad that I decided to re-read this series.
April 19, 2010
Every so often I need a British mystery fix. This is a 1997 addition to a series I have enjoyed in the past, featuring Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd and Detective Inspector Judy Hill. I like the relationship between the two of them, and I like the author's style. In this novel, a thoroughly unlikable man has been murdered, and there is a long list of people who had reason to want him dead. Some well-done characterizations here.
November 27, 2016
This was a new series that I tried for the first time. The detectives were not really that likeable, maybe because I wasn't invested in their personal drama since I was starting from the middle of the series. But, the mystery itself was pretty interesting with the ending realistic and the plot complex.
May 10, 2015
3.5 Stars. The writing about Lloyd and Judy Hill was well done in this book. However, I thought the events involving the murder were very confusing and that there were unnecessary characters that made the plot even more complicated.
July 18, 2011
This was the first book I had read by this author & I enjoyed it. Mcgown wove an intricate web of defective characters resulting in a violent death. a compulsive story of great intrigue!
August 25, 2014
really like this writer.just started another one. fun!
April 20, 2010
English murder mystery - hard to get into.
December 10, 2010
Really complicated plot that just about stayed in hand. Good episode in a good series.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews