In her 11th book in the Lloyd/Hill series, Jill McGown satisfies a yearning for a smart police procedural with wonderful characters we love to meet again. As in her previous books, her clever plotting and persistent scrutiny of every clue and witness keeps the reader alert to the end. It is as if her left hand truly does not know what her right hand is writing. The right hand writes the crime, and the left hand writes the pursuit.

In Scene of Crime, British Detective Chief Inspectors Lloyd and Judy Hill have reached parity. Lovers for years, they are finally of the same rank. Judy’s promotion and pregnancy bring a career change for her. She works from home developing a huge crime computer bank. Lloyd has no chance to miss working with her when the murder of a doctor’s wife enters their lives professionally and personally. Not only does Judy know the victim, she knows many of the suspects.

The murdered woman is found in her home, a window smashed and Christmas presents stolen from under the tree. Two neighbors heard or saw various things happen; more than one person entered the house; cars were here and there, security lights went on and off. Alibis are weak, false, lucky. There is entirely too much evidence and at least three theories hold up - until either Judy, Sergeant Tom Finch or Lloyd himself think of the one little thing that doesn’t make sense. Back to the drawing board.

Just as the detectives sift through the evidence again, so does the reader. It is just like being in the situation room with them. Getting more ink than usual is Sergeant Tom Finch, and it is fun to watch him test his balance between Lloyd’s playful theories and Judy’s nearly subterranean logic. The conclusion is satisfying, clever, and, if you are a reader with a good memory, all the clues are there to solve it yourself. But isn’t it nice to work with the Lloyd/Hill team?

As I check my bookshelves I see that Judy Hill has been pregnant for three books now, and will probably still be pregnant in the next. McGown’s characters change as the glaciers changed. The less they change, the better we know them; the better we know them, the more we enjoy the way they work. When so little development occurs, any little thing is momentous - Tom Finch’s haircut is just as important as Judy’s promotion. The reader feels as startled by the haircut as if a family member had come home with a tattoo. With this calm, nurturing background, the very human “guest” characters of the book are as colorful as spring flowers.

--Diane Gotfryd