Book Review/Tour:The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie

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Title: The Sound of Broken Glass: Duncan Kinkaid and Gemma James #15 by Deborah Crombie
Published February 25, 2014; William Morrow
Genre: mystery, police procedural

page 56: "...You drink some more of that tea." She waited until Mrs. Arnott had complied and her color seemed a bit better. Then she added," I'll bet you remember which pub Vincent goes to on his Friday evenings."

 Book beginning: It had been years since she had been in an English church. Would the place be locked earl on this miserable Januaray evening? she wondered. Moved by a sudden impulse, she waited for a break in the traffic and dodged across Charing Cross Road into Denmark Street.

 Synopsis: Detective Inspector Gemma James is investigating the murder of Vincent Arnott in a hotel in the Crystal Palace area of London. Those questioned include Andy a guitarist in a band performing in a nearby pub the night of the murder. To unravel the events leading up to the crime, the novel flashes back in time to the young Andy at age 13 who is befriended by a neighbor and school teacher, Nadine. The story of Andy and his friends and how their stories intersect with that of the murder victim Arnott is key to the mystery.

My comments: The domestic life of detective inspector Gemma James is very much in the forefront and occupies almost half of the novel. Gemma takes turns with her husband, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kinkaid, to stay at home with their two children and a three-year-old foster child, Charlotte. In this novel, it's Gemma's turn to work, to investigate this case - Arnott's death and that of another man - and Duncan's turn to take care of home and family.

The streets and places in the Crystal Palace area and other parts of London are included in some detail, as we follow the characters and the police from area to area during their investigations. The names and locations went over my head, unfamiliar territory. I can imagine that this aspect of the novel would appeal especially to those who know London and its surroundings well.

Recommendations: The plot has unexpected outcomes and a few surprising twists. There are many scenes of domestic life that personalize the police who are involved in solving the case. I enjoyed the novel, though I especially enjoyed her previous book, No Mark Upon Her.

Visit Partners in Crime Tours for more reviews of the book and for the tour schedule

About the author: Deborah Crombie is a native Texan who has lived in both England and Scotland. She lives in McKinney, Texas, sharing a house that is more than one hundred years old with her husband, three cats, and two German shepherds. Connect with her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Thanks to PIC Tours and the publisher for a review copy of this book.

Book Review: The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie

Title: The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie
Published February 25, 2014; William Morrow
Genre: mystery, police procedural
Objective rating: 3.5/5

From publisher's description: In the past . . . On a hot August afternoon in Crystal Palace area of London, Andy, a thirteen-year-old boy meets his next door neighbor Nadine, a recently widowed young teacher hoping to make a new start in the South London community. Drawn together by loneliness, the unlikely pair form a deep connection that ends in a shattering act of betrayal.

"A 1964 Stratocaster. Fiesta red. Marshall had it valued. Everything's original - headstock, body, the pickups. Three's an amp, too. You can get it tomorrow."
Finally, he looked up at her past feeling any shame for the tears in his eyes. "But I can't possibly -"
"Yes. You can. Just play, Andy." She touched one of the geranium blossoms. "No one has been kind to me except you. Think of it as red for red." (ch. 13)

 In the present . . . Detective Inspector Gemma James is back on the job now that her husband, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, is at home to care for their three-year-old foster daughter. Assigned to lead a Murder Investigation Team in South London, she's assisted by Detective Sergeant Melody Talbot. Their case, a crime scene at a seedy hotel in Crystal Palace. The victim, Vincent Arnott, a well-respected barrister, found naked, trussed, and apparently strangled. Gemma's team must find his companion - a search that forces them to contemplate the weaknesses and passions that lead to murder.

My comments: It was hard to see at first what the events in young Andy's life fifteen years earlier had to the present, when a man is found strangled in a nearby hotel, close to the bar where Andy and his band were playing. The novel switches back and forth in time and only toward the end do we start putting the pieces of the past together with the present to get the full story. This does keep you invested and interested in the mystery.

Interwoven with the crime story are the personal events in the life of Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James, the couple who are members of the police solving murders in the mystery novels. This is the fifteenth in the mystery series. Their personal lives do add a touch of lightness and normalcy to the baffling crime scenes in this novel. However, I think the personal events might have been a distraction from the crime story, which almost started to be overshadowed.

I enjoyed Crombie's previous novel as well.

Deborah Crombie is a native Texan who has lived in both England and Scotland. She lives in McKinney, Texas, sharing a house that is more than one hundred years old with her husband, three cats, and two German shepherds.

Visit Deborah at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Thanks to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for a review copy of this book. See the tour schedule for more reviews. 

Book Review: No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie

"You compromised my search." Tavie realized that passersby were giving them a wide berth and made an effort to lower her voice. "And my chain of evidence," she hissed at him....
(ch. 7)

Title: No Mark Upon Her: A Novel by Deborah Crombie
Published February 7, 2012 by William Morrow; hardcover
Genre: police procedural, mystery

Everyone on the police force on Henley-on-Thames, about thirty miles north of London, seems to be on the case, that of a woman rower found drowned and caught in a weir on the river Thames, her racing skiff washed up on shore. Scotland Yard is called in; it seems to be murder as the woman was an experienced rower training to enter the Olympics and would not have capsized the evening she took her boat out on a calm river.

Search and rescue teams had been called out, including a man with his black Labrador retriever who is devastated when they find the abandoned skiff and the body of the woman rower.

The police procedural continues with Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his wife, Detective Inspector Gemma James, both investigating the case, either directly or indirectly. For Gemma, the name of a possible suspect hits too close to home as she has had a frightening run-in with the suspect before. A close call, she realized.

Comments: About a third of the way into the novel, I thought I knew who the murderer was and the reason behind the murder and was about to skip ahead to the end to see if I was right. I'm glad I didn't, as I was totally wrong, and I soon realized this as I read on. The possibilities were many, the situations complex, and I was then kept guessing till the end.

A very satisfying mystery and police procedural, I give this one 5 stars. I'm eager to look at others in this series, and though No Mark Upon Her is a stand-alone mystery, wished I had read them before this book, for continuity.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book.