Death of a dancer - Jill McGown

The murder of a deputy headmaster's wife on the night of the Sesquicentennial Ball at a minor-league boys' public school brings together the team of Inspector Lloyd and Judy Hill. Diana Hamlyn's body has been found on the school's playing field. Death had been caused by the traditional blunt instrument, her clothing was disarrayed, her underclothes missing. It was a particularly disturbing killing.

As Lloyd and Hill begin the harrowing routine of a murder investigation they rapidly learn that the woman had been a nymphomaniac - her conquests many, her fidelities few, the list of suspects for her killing appallingly long. That list includes her husband, her lovers and her colleagues, none with perfect alibis, some ostentatiously lying.

It is an old-fashioned puzzle peopled with very contemporary characters. Once again Jill McGown presents a true novel of detection.

Jill McGown, who died in 2007, lived in Northamptonshire and was best known for her mystery series featuring Chief Inspector Lloyd and Sergeant Judy Hill. The first novel, A Perfect Match, was published in 1983 and A Shred of Evidence was made into a television drama starring Philip Glenister and Michelle Collins.

Jill McGown is a crisp writer and a spellbinding story-teller.
Financial Times