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bookcraft's review
4.0
Another great book in the series. I particularly enjoyed the flashbacks to WWII-era England through the eyes of a young evacuee from London.
Note: I could not find an audio version of this at any library, so I read the ebook version in order to continue on with the series. This is not a series where you can skip a book; each one advances the interpersonal plot between Duncan and Gemma, as well as adding to their individual character development.
Note: I could not find an audio version of this at any library, so I read the ebook version in order to continue on with the series. This is not a series where you can skip a book; each one advances the interpersonal plot between Duncan and Gemma, as well as adding to their individual character development.
asteroidbuckle's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great book. Crombie does an excellent job of weaving the various threads of her story into a comprehensive whole, all the while making her characters intriguing and sympathetic. All except Detective Sergeant Gemma James, in my opinion.
Granted, this is the sixth book in Crombie's Kincaid/James series and only the second one I've read, so perhaps I'm missing Gemma's background. But I love Kincaid and the subplot involving his young son (who he didn't know he fathered) is sweet and slightly heartbreaking. But Gemma, like Diane Fry in Stephen Booth's series, I find to be utterly boring and unlikeable. I also dislike the romance between the two detectives. To me, it seems forced and totally lacking in chemistry. (There's one scene where Kincaid gets the urge to jump Gemma's bones in the victim's apartment! Ick!)
However, it's not the detectives that drive this story, but the other characters. The victim is a beautiful woman who has been hiding secrets from everyone. And the way Crombie interweaves reflections from the past (WWII) is great, but the significance of the scenes isn't realized until the end.
Crombie's writing is very descriptive and doesn't lag at all. I could do without the angst between the two leads, but hey, you can't have everything, right?
All in all, a great book. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series.
Granted, this is the sixth book in Crombie's Kincaid/James series and only the second one I've read, so perhaps I'm missing Gemma's background. But I love Kincaid and the subplot involving his young son (who he didn't know he fathered) is sweet and slightly heartbreaking. But Gemma, like Diane Fry in Stephen Booth's series, I find to be utterly boring and unlikeable. I also dislike the romance between the two detectives. To me, it seems forced and totally lacking in chemistry. (There's one scene where Kincaid gets the urge to jump Gemma's bones in the victim's apartment! Ick!)
However, it's not the detectives that drive this story, but the other characters. The victim is a beautiful woman who has been hiding secrets from everyone. And the way Crombie interweaves reflections from the past (WWII) is great, but the significance of the scenes isn't realized until the end.
Crombie's writing is very descriptive and doesn't lag at all. I could do without the angst between the two leads, but hey, you can't have everything, right?
All in all, a great book. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series.
magistratrium's review against another edition
4.0
Another great mystery with Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. This one is set in a part of the East End of London called the Isle of Dogs. I liked the way Crombie used the characters' pasts as well as the geography of the area as key components to the mystery.
nmthonet's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
theorysloth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
rebeccajanereads's review
mysterious
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tksimmons02's review against another edition
3.0
hard slog
This was a really tough book to get through. The victim was thoroughly unlikeable, the characters were far too enmeshed (and ridiculous), and the back/and forth to WWII was just too much. The ending was just not worth all the time spent wading to get to it.
This was a really tough book to get through. The victim was thoroughly unlikeable, the characters were far too enmeshed (and ridiculous), and the back/and forth to WWII was just too much. The ending was just not worth all the time spent wading to get to it.
tayparks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
nonna7's review against another edition
4.0
When Annabelle Hammond, the beautiful head of an well known tea company is found dead, her body lovingly laid out on the grass, family secrets come tumbling out. The book goes back and forth between WW2 in Surrey and the present day (1999) in London, specifically the Isle of Dogs not far from Greenwich. The area had been a busy shipping area, but changing economics have left the old warehouses empty and lots of people unemployed. Now things have been rebounding. Lewis Finch a developer who wants to preserve old buildings and develop the area. William Hammond is the retired head of Hammond Tea and Annabelle's father. Lewis and William knew each other as young men, but they have been estranged for years. We learn that Annabelle was a complex person who was very much self absorbed except when it came to her niece and nephew. There are plenty of suspects, but they all have an alibi. It isn't until nearly the end when Duncan starts looking at the past that he realizes why and how Annabelle died.
The developing personal relationship between Duncan and his partner, Gemma, is also explored as well as Duncan's relationship with the son he has only recently discovered. (Duncan's ex wife was murdered. It was his mother who found an old picture of him as a boy and pointed out that the boy his mother raised with her new husband was probably his son.) I came late to this series. The last one I read had Duncan and Gemma married, no longer partners because she has been promoted to Detective Inspector and heads her own unit.
This is really an excellent series. Going back in time was an interesting concept. It's obvious that the author has done her homework. The book comes to a stunning conclusion. Definitely a good one!
The developing personal relationship between Duncan and his partner, Gemma, is also explored as well as Duncan's relationship with the son he has only recently discovered. (Duncan's ex wife was murdered. It was his mother who found an old picture of him as a boy and pointed out that the boy his mother raised with her new husband was probably his son.) I came late to this series. The last one I read had Duncan and Gemma married, no longer partners because she has been promoted to Detective Inspector and heads her own unit.
This is really an excellent series. Going back in time was an interesting concept. It's obvious that the author has done her homework. The book comes to a stunning conclusion. Definitely a good one!
libbyfhenderson's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0