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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
A Great Addition to the Series
A Bitter Feast takes Kincaid, Gemma, Melody and Doug out of London for what should have been a relaxing weekend. Instead they end up in the middle of another case. I love that the author is able to pull us into the characters lives in an authentic way. The characters grow and develop in each book in the series, and the cases and the stories remain fresh and interesting as well.
A Bitter Feast takes Kincaid, Gemma, Melody and Doug out of London for what should have been a relaxing weekend. Instead they end up in the middle of another case. I love that the author is able to pull us into the characters lives in an authentic way. The characters grow and develop in each book in the series, and the cases and the stories remain fresh and interesting as well.
I enjoyed this more than I remember enjoying the last one. Interesting setting, interesting characters, and enough plausible red herrings to ensure that the ending still comes as a bit of a surprise.
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Another enjoyable Duncan & Gemma book. Reading these books is like taking a mini-vacation to the Uk, and was just what I needed during this pandemic.
Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James have been invited to spend the weekend at Cotswold home, Beck House. Beck House is the family estate of Melody Talbot, a colleague of Gemma’s. On his way to Beck House, Duncan is hit by another car. He’s injured, but not seriously, but the two people in the other car are dead, but not before the driver whispers a mysterious message to the concussed Duncan. A passenger, as it turns out, was already dead when the accident occurs. As the investigation into the death of the passenger deepens, the case takes unexpected twists and turns, and Gemma, Duncan, and Melody find themselves involved in the investigation.
This is the 18th book in the Kincaid / James series. I started reading Crombie with her first book, “A Share of Death” (1993), but stopped reading them when the books became pale shadows of the first few books in the series. On a whim, I decided to read this book, and I am glad I did.
This is a well-written, well-plotted mystery with familiar and likable characters and enough twists and turns to keep any reader engrossed. The ending is satisfying as well. Crombie’s descriptions of the Cotswolds will have you yearning for a vacation there.
The reader need not be familiar with the series and/or the characters to enjoy this outing because Crombie gives the new reader enough information about the characters and their relationships so she is not left to wonder about those things. In addition, the new characters are well drawn and interesting.
If you like your mysteries well written with storylines that are not stale and overused, this is the book for you. It deserves to be at the top, or near the top, of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Morrow and Edelweiss for an eARC.
This is the 18th book in the Kincaid / James series. I started reading Crombie with her first book, “A Share of Death” (1993), but stopped reading them when the books became pale shadows of the first few books in the series. On a whim, I decided to read this book, and I am glad I did.
This is a well-written, well-plotted mystery with familiar and likable characters and enough twists and turns to keep any reader engrossed. The ending is satisfying as well. Crombie’s descriptions of the Cotswolds will have you yearning for a vacation there.
The reader need not be familiar with the series and/or the characters to enjoy this outing because Crombie gives the new reader enough information about the characters and their relationships so she is not left to wonder about those things. In addition, the new characters are well drawn and interesting.
If you like your mysteries well written with storylines that are not stale and overused, this is the book for you. It deserves to be at the top, or near the top, of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Morrow and Edelweiss for an eARC.
Popsugar 2021: A book with an oxymoron in the title
I knew that I was coming into this series 18 books in, but I had hopes. Cotswolds setting (the Cotswalds are my happy place and I long for them) and foodie stuff!
I started the book as an audiobook, and I think this did the book no favors. The male narrator made all the female characters sound breathless and diffident, and that irritated me. I might have been happier if I could have placed my own emphasis on sentences instead of him deciding for me. I got about halfway through the book this way.
With regard to the murder: I had a pretty good feeling as soon as the murderer was introduced as to who it was. Just because they seemed just a little too needy. I skimmed to the end of the book once I got a hard copy and I was right. And the reason was pretty skimpy. And the red herring was a pale shade of blush pink. And the two main characters really had no reason to be involved in the investigation, but the local detective just sort of allowed them to listen in on interviews for no good reason, which seemed pretty unprofessional and unrealistic, especially because in theory Kincaid could have been charged with a crime because of his involvement with a fatal accident.
There was also some Brit stiff-upper-lip stuff that bothered me. Kincaid is in a very bad car accident. He refuses to go to the hospital even though odds are good that he has a concussion and just heads off to bed after telling his story to his hosts and wife- a bad idea if you really do have a concussion. He also has what could be a broken hand but won't get that looked at either. WHY? If you have a broken hand, wouldn't you want to know instead of just hoping it goes away?
There are two fatalities in the car accident. There's also a big charity garden party. There's a bit of tonal weirdness. On the one hand, the chef is told right before the party that she'll be asked to identify the body right after the party because she knew one of the victims ten years ago. On the other hand, the local detective also met the same victim ten years ago and he ends up being the one to identify the body. Wouldn't you want to find someone who'd seen the victim in the last decade? There's a horrible little girl, a "secret" that is never a secret if you know anything about mysteries, and detectives at the garden party deciding that their weekend away won't be spoiled after all because the drinks are good- even though they are directly involved with two dead people. The tone seemed really off.
This did not make me want to read any more of the series.
I knew that I was coming into this series 18 books in, but I had hopes. Cotswolds setting (the Cotswalds are my happy place and I long for them) and foodie stuff!
I started the book as an audiobook, and I think this did the book no favors. The male narrator made all the female characters sound breathless and diffident, and that irritated me. I might have been happier if I could have placed my own emphasis on sentences instead of him deciding for me. I got about halfway through the book this way.
With regard to the murder: I had a pretty good feeling as soon as the murderer was introduced as to who it was. Just because they seemed just a little too needy. I skimmed to the end of the book once I got a hard copy and I was right. And the reason was pretty skimpy. And the red herring was a pale shade of blush pink. And the two main characters really had no reason to be involved in the investigation, but the local detective just sort of allowed them to listen in on interviews for no good reason, which seemed pretty unprofessional and unrealistic, especially because in theory Kincaid could have been charged with a crime because of his involvement with a fatal accident.
There was also some Brit stiff-upper-lip stuff that bothered me. Kincaid is in a very bad car accident. He refuses to go to the hospital even though odds are good that he has a concussion and just heads off to bed after telling his story to his hosts and wife- a bad idea if you really do have a concussion. He also has what could be a broken hand but won't get that looked at either. WHY? If you have a broken hand, wouldn't you want to know instead of just hoping it goes away?
There are two fatalities in the car accident. There's also a big charity garden party. There's a bit of tonal weirdness. On the one hand, the chef is told right before the party that she'll be asked to identify the body right after the party because she knew one of the victims ten years ago. On the other hand, the local detective also met the same victim ten years ago and he ends up being the one to identify the body. Wouldn't you want to find someone who'd seen the victim in the last decade? There's a horrible little girl, a "secret" that is never a secret if you know anything about mysteries, and detectives at the garden party deciding that their weekend away won't be spoiled after all because the drinks are good- even though they are directly involved with two dead people. The tone seemed really off.
This did not make me want to read any more of the series.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Deborah Crombie is able to weave together a wide variety of characters and situations in her mysteries. Familiar characters are here as well as new ones as four of the detectives who form the base for the series travel down to Melody’s family home in the Cotswolds. From my experience Crombie is true to the area and also to the kitchens of well-run restaurants and pubs. Children and animals also play a part in this book. Crombie pulls it all together into a satisfying mystery and there are enough dead bodies but not much gore. Strong series, good entry.