An Evil Hour

by Jill McGown

From the bestselling author of The Inspector Lloyd and Sergeant Hill Series...

No one was more stunned than Annie Maddox when they found the body of Gerald Culver MP. Because Annie, the manager of the Wellington Hotel, Amblesea, was Culver’s mistress.

Enter Harry Lambert, ex-policeman-turned-reluctant-private-eye, who's hired by Culver's wife to find her husband's killer.

Annie's world is now filled with menace, because somewhere out there, along the edge of a wintry sea, a killer stalks…

Genres: Mystery

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Jill 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.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Annie Maddox was Gerald Culver's mistress. A few days after she broke it off, Gerald's body is discovered, stabbed to death in the hallway of his apartment building.

"Harry Lambert is brought in to investigate. Before he gets his feet wet, two more murders are discovered. Lambert relentlessly prying, finding all three were in Amblesea on the very same night.

"Another body surfaces in the chill water off the boardwalk. Lambert ties up all the loose ends and thwarts the murder's escape."
~~back cover

A nice little mystery. I enjoyed all the characters, as well as the gradual revealing of the plot, clue by clue.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un giallo inglese, scritto da una inglese e ambientato in una ventosa e fredda cittadina di mare in Inghilterra.
Eppure mi ha ricordato veramente tanto un altro giallo, americano, scritto da una americana e ambientato in una assolata California. Si, Harry Lambert mi ha proprio fatto venire in mente l’investigatore della Miller, Steve Pinata!
Ed è un complimento perché quel libro della Miller per me è un capolavoro.
Intendiamoci, è solo una sensazione perché le trame sono diversissime ma resta comunque il fatto che ho capito che McGown ha talento, nel caso non me ne fossi ancora accorta. E non solo la storia è scritta molto bene ma funziona, tutto ha un senso, senza lungaggini o noiose spiegazioni, anzi la spiegazione finale è adrenalinica. Solito appunto: quando la traduzione letterale del titolo originale è adatta anche in italiano, perché inventarsi un titolo che non vuol dire niente?

[John Bainbridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping 1980s murder mystery with strong, believable characters and a likeable anti-hero. A deceptively complex plot is set against a south coast resort, bleak with winter and redevelopment. The evocative setting is superbly realised, giving an almost British noir atmosphere. This would have made a great television drama. Much-missed Jill McGown was a first-rank crime author and one of the best plotters in the business.

[Peixuan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off slow and the short back and forth POVs were kind of frustrating but I really enjoyed how the little hints were scattered in tiny, seemingly insignificant details. And despite the slow start it actually continued at a pretty fast pace later, with a lot more packed in than expected.

It really felt like Harry and Annie were making connections and discoveries along with the reader, as opposed to Agatha Christie protagonists like Poirot and Ms. Marple, who smugly string along their companions, and thus the reader.

Sometimes I felt like the characters behaved in such irrational and illogical ways it felt like the carpet was being pulled from underneath my feet, but upon further inspection I think it's just because I don't understand romantic subplots that aren't slowburn.

[Nicky Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous standalone thriller.
Ex-DI Harry Lambert becomes enthralled by the seemingly unconnected deaths of 4 people.
All they have in common is that they were in a seaside town on NYE…

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give this 2 1/2 stars but I rounded up.