A Killing of Innocents is the nineteenth novel in Deborah Crombie's remarkable Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series. As this one begins, Gemma (Duncan's wife) has been assigned to a special task force studying knife crimes, and she is no longer carrying a specific caseload of her own. But when a young London doctor is expertly stabbed to death while rushing across Russell Square, Duncan immediately gets Gemma involved in his investigation of the murder.
Dr. Sasha Johnson has recently faced some personal stress in her life, but her knifing seems to be almost as random as a lightning strike to the detectives trying to find a motive for her murder. Without a motive, they don't know where to begin, and it is only after a nurse from the same hospital suffers a fate similar to Sasha's that detectives begin to realize just how complicated a case they have on their hands. When Duncan and his team begin yanking on all the loose threads, they learn that they almost have more potential suspects than investigators can keep straight.
All of Crombie's novels spend as much time exploring the family dynamics of the Kincaid-James marriage, and the personal lives of their support staff, as they spend on solving the actual crime in question. A Killing of Innocents is no exception. Gemma and Melody both find themselves in department positions they are not very happy with, and both yearn to get back into the action. The family's hodgepodge three children are very much in the picture: the oldest son's calling is cooking and he loves preparing the family meals, the other son has discovered dance and how good he is at it, and the little girl the family took in is still traumatized by nightmares.
I rate this one a solid three stars.
This is one of the few series that I make a point of keeping current on. When I first began reading it, I was a bit surprised at how well she wrote about life in England, but then I learned that she lived in the UK for several years, so no wonder. I've met her more than once at The Poisoned Pen. I love that bookstore!
ReplyDeleteI really like the series a lot, Cathy, and I'm happy to see that the two main female characters seem to be headed back to having a more direct role in future investigations. I know Crombie got them involved in this one despite their "desk jobs," but it just didn't ever seem that they were full partners, especially Melody.
DeleteI commented earlier about how lucky you are to have that bookstore within reach the way that you do. We have a similar one here in Houston called Murder by the Book, but it is located in a not-so-easy spot to get to well inside the city, especially when events begin or end near rush hour/s. And they aren't as active on weekends, so that doesn't help. I did meet a very young Michael Connelly there one time, though.
As you know, I just started this series this summer, and I'm looking forward to reading more books in it. I don't know if I'll ever manage to catch up on all nineteen, but I do really like these characters. :D
ReplyDeleteI guess the good news (other than that you're in for a fun ride) is that she seems to have slowed her pace a little recently between books. Once you get into the series, you may want to finish it just to see how this unusual family turns out in the end.
DeleteI have read 12 or 13 books in this series, but I have to confess I liked the first seven or eight the best. I have not kept up with it recently, although I have the next two books on my book shelves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Tracy. I enjoyed the first books more than I've enjoyed the more recent ones, too. They just seemed fresher and there was a lot of emphasis on the development of the characters and how they relate to each other. The more recent books focus much more on the actual crime being investigated, and it's really hard to keep that fresh for readers who have read hundreds of mysteries by now in their lives.
DeleteAs much as I love mysteries, I've never read anything by Crombie. I definitely need to give her books a go.
ReplyDeleteShe's really very good, Susan, although I am beginning to sense a little bit of a fizzle in this one. Hope I'm wrong.
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