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carlam2190's review against another edition
3.0
I hope that by the next book there will be more Duncan and Gemma togetherness. It was like two separate mysteries. I'm also happy that Duncan's long arc appears to be over.
laurenjcarter28's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
vkaz's review against another edition
5.0
I eagerly awaited this book, and it did not disappoint. I love being back with Gemma and Kincaid, their family and friends. Gemma works at solving a murder in an enclosed communal garden in Notting Hill, while Kincaid investigates corruption in Scotland Yard's ranks. Kincaid's hesitance to reveal his sleuthing causes tension with Gemma, and the way Crombie portrays this is realistic and amps up the conflict. This book is a continuation of the events of the previous book, but still makes for a great mystery even if you don't remember all the details of #16.
therealkathryn's review against another edition
4.0
The four-star rating is for long-time readers of this series. If you are looking for a new British procedural series that's serious without being overly grim or gory, this is a good one to pick up.
This story is stronger than other recent ones in the series. Sure, there were moments when I rolled my eyes at how dramatic Duncan and Gemma were or the increasingly coincidental occurances of the Scotland Yard plotline, but on the whole the book kept me engaged.
This story is stronger than other recent ones in the series. Sure, there were moments when I rolled my eyes at how dramatic Duncan and Gemma were or the increasingly coincidental occurances of the Scotland Yard plotline, but on the whole the book kept me engaged.
susandelgado's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mojoshivers's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
By far this was the most serialized installment in the series. Concluding the Special Branch mystery that has been featured in the background of the last several books, this provided the much-needed answers as to who was corrupt at the Met, what the corruption entailed, and who the nefarious mastermind was. Also, I have to say the tying of all the loose threads concerning this storyline was handled deftly. I very much felt the conclusion made sense and all parties involved played relevant roles that befit the character.
As for the other mystery, which for once got relegated to the B plot, it was good as well. I’m only sorry that Gemma got saddled with it and was therefore exempted from the much more interesting corruption plot. It also felt out of character for Duncan to leave his wife in the dark for so long. For much of the book it felt out of character for Duncan not to go straight to her with every development. I understand why it was done, to keep up the two mysteries a book format but it didn’t feel as integrated seamlessly as it could have been.
Here’s hoping the next book sees the couple back on track in terms of presenting a united front and being the definition of an equal partnership.
As for the other mystery, which for once got relegated to the B plot, it was good as well. I’m only sorry that Gemma got saddled with it and was therefore exempted from the much more interesting corruption plot. It also felt out of character for Duncan to leave his wife in the dark for so long. For much of the book it felt out of character for Duncan not to go straight to her with every development. I understand why it was done, to keep up the two mysteries a book format but it didn’t feel as integrated seamlessly as it could have been.
Here’s hoping the next book sees the couple back on track in terms of presenting a united front and being the definition of an equal partnership.
jimmacsyr's review against another edition
3.0
This is my first book in the series. There is a meandering Quality to the prose that seems to drop important parts of the story at random intervals. I thought about giving up on it several times but there was always a thought that kept me coming back. It would probably make sense to start earlier in the series. I enjoyed it, but it seemed to drop into background quite often.
littletaiko's review against another edition
4.0
Gemma and Duncan are back! Always a happy day when there is a new book in this series. This picks up shortly after the events in the previous book and everyone is dealing with the repercussions. There is a new case for Gemma that balances the further drama with Duncan's investigations. Actually her case was a bit too easy as the murderer seemed to be fairly obvious, or at least the person came across as very suspicious. There are a few quibbles, mainly with how many times communication between characters was thwarted because cell phones were turned off. It happened a lot - more so than seem normal. Nice to catch up with their world again though.
hoserlauren's review against another edition
3.0
Notting Hill's private gardens are a sanctuary for those that live surrounding them, until one night the body of a local young woman is found dead in them. The girl is identified as Reagan Keating, nanny to a male young upcoming dancer. Detective Gemma Jones is included on the case as she is a friend of a friend of the victim's employer and knows some of the parties involved. Her and DI Kerry Boatman start to investigate.
Gemma is super busy at work but has problems at home too. Her husband Kincaid (also a cop) gets a call that his father is in the hospital so he races out of town to make sure he is ok. His father ends up being fine, but on his way home he stops to investigate the suicide of a friend and undercover cop whom he cannot believe actually killed himself.
This is book 17 in the well-established Kincaid/Jones series. Since I had never read any of the previous novels, I feel like I missed a lot of who the characters were and all the previous cases and issues they had been through. Very little was mentioned to help a new reader pick this series up at this book and make sense of it. For example, Kincaid is investigating the undercover cop's death, there has obviously been history between those two from previous books and a reason for Kincaid to believe he hadn't killed himself. Having no awareness of that history, I couldn't connect to this story line as I knew nothing about the undercover cop or why Kincaid would think this way.
The other confusing part for a new-to-series reader is the number of characters in this book. It took me 50 pages to realize that Kincaid and Duncan were the same people. The author mentions everyone by their first name with the exception of Kincaid who is mentioned by his last name. I'm not sure why there is this discrepancy but it was confusing for me.
For the mystery that was self-contained within this novel, I enjoyed it. The murderer wasn't too obvious and the story of snobby neighbours was believable.
Definitely start from the first book in this series. If you're already invested, you should enjoy this book!
Gemma is super busy at work but has problems at home too. Her husband Kincaid (also a cop) gets a call that his father is in the hospital so he races out of town to make sure he is ok. His father ends up being fine, but on his way home he stops to investigate the suicide of a friend and undercover cop whom he cannot believe actually killed himself.
This is book 17 in the well-established Kincaid/Jones series. Since I had never read any of the previous novels, I feel like I missed a lot of who the characters were and all the previous cases and issues they had been through. Very little was mentioned to help a new reader pick this series up at this book and make sense of it. For example, Kincaid is investigating the undercover cop's death, there has obviously been history between those two from previous books and a reason for Kincaid to believe he hadn't killed himself. Having no awareness of that history, I couldn't connect to this story line as I knew nothing about the undercover cop or why Kincaid would think this way.
The other confusing part for a new-to-series reader is the number of characters in this book. It took me 50 pages to realize that Kincaid and Duncan were the same people. The author mentions everyone by their first name with the exception of Kincaid who is mentioned by his last name. I'm not sure why there is this discrepancy but it was confusing for me.
For the mystery that was self-contained within this novel, I enjoyed it. The murderer wasn't too obvious and the story of snobby neighbours was believable.
Definitely start from the first book in this series. If you're already invested, you should enjoy this book!