Saturday, May 25, 2013

More May Murder and Mayhem: Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie


This is a series I've been reading over the past several years. I especially enjoy them in audio, and even bought this one for my personal collection. Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James are a team, both officially and in their private lives. He's widowed, she's unattached, both have children from the previous relationships. The difficulties of single parenthood, an emerging romance, blending families, and demanding careers provide an underlying story that carries the reader along with the primary plot - solving a murder.

In this story, a young woman is found murdered, there are suspects and opportunities galore. Motivations abound, but so do alibis. Woven into the present day investigation is a back story about children who were evacuated from London during World War II to a large country house in Surrey. The backstory gradually paints the characters of two of the main characters, whose families are each involved with the murdered woman. Only after they delve into the past can Duncan and Gemma finally uncover the motivation for the current crime and thus solve the puzzle of who actually committed the murder.

In addition to the mystery, I especially liked learning about the Isle of Dogs, a dock area of London during the war that has undergone a renovation over the years.

These are enjoyable reads, either in print or audio. Jenny Sterlin does an admirable job of sorting voices and accents to bring this one to the audio audience.

Title: Kissed a Sad Goodbye
Author: Deborah Crombie
Publisher: Recorded Books (1999) 14 hrs, 25 min
Narrator Jenny Sterlin
Genre: Mystery- police procedural
Subject: Murder, London children evacuated during WWII
Setting: London present day
Series: Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James
Source: Audible, Inc. My collection.
Why did I read this book now? Next one up in a series I like.

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