Wednesday, April 12, 2023

A Killing of Innocents by Deborah Crombie

 
First Line: She stood looking down at her daughter, sleeping, damp hair tangled, her duvet kicked half off.
 
When a young doctor is found knifed to death in London's Russell Square, the first person Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid thinks of is his wife, Detective Inspector Gemma James, who's been assigned to a task force on knife crime. 

But Gemma and Detective Sergeant Melody Talbot quickly learn that, although Dr. Sasha Johnson doesn't fit the profile of the typical knife crime victim, she does have secrets. While Kincaid and his team (with the help of Gemma and Melody) untangle those secrets, another similar murder occurs. There's a killer stalking the dark streets of Bloomsbury, and even friendships will be put on the line in order to bring this murderer to justice.

~

It seems like a millennium since the last Kincaid & James mystery, but it was only four very long years. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed sinking back into Deborah Crombie's excellent series. A Killing of Innocents is what I've come to expect from Crombie: a compelling mystery guaranteed to test readers' deductive capabilities combined with one of the best ensemble casts in all of crime fiction.

Untangling all the secrets being kept by the dead woman and her circle of acquaintances is no guarantee that readers will be able to solve the mystery and identify the killer. I know that I'd had a couple of warning lights pop up with one of the characters, but-- I'm sorry to say-- I ignored them. This author does an excellent job of distracting me while making the solution to the mystery so logical. If only I'd paid attention!

Why wasn't I paying attention? Because of that world-class ensemble cast, that's why. Most writers-- no matter how talented they are-- have a limited cast of characters; a bit like my own small family which consisted of two grandparents, my mother, and me. A total of four. And that's fine. But there are some authors with wicked skills who can somehow populate an entire village with nuanced characters, characters who have their own lives, their own personalities, their own agendas. The most important skill is not just in creating this village of characters but in eliminating reader confusion. It's great to have so many wonderful characters just as long as readers don't get headaches trying to keep them all straight. Crombie is a magician when it comes to her characters.

If you're in the mood for a first-class mystery populated by characters who come to feel like family, pick up A Killing of Innocents. If you're a character-driven reader and new to the series, start at the beginning with A Share in Death. You're in for a treat, and I envy you for being able to experience it all for the first time.
 
Here's hoping that it's not another four years before I get to spend time with these characters again.


A Killing of Innocents by Deborah Crombie
eISBN: 9780062993502
William Morrow © 2023
eBook, 368 pages
 
Police Procedural, #19 Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased from Amazon.

10 comments:

  1. Oh, I do like this series, Cathy. And the one thing I like is the way the characters have grown and developed over time. It's also got such a sense of place. I'm so glad to hear this one is a good 'un - I've got something to look forward to now.

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    1. Deborah Crombie is always a sure thing for me.

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  2. Yeah, that's another series on my list, a list that grows daily never seeming to get any shorter no matter how hard I read!

    And as for small families, mine consisted of one living grandparent, my parents and me. As a child living in a household with three adults, do you think I was spoiled? Nah!

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    1. I would like to think that my grandmother and mother kept a fairly tight rein on my grandfather because he's the one who always wanted to spoil me rotten.

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  3. I'm definitely a character-driven reader! This is a series I think I would really like. :D

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  4. Another series that is on my TBR yet to be started. I have heard such good things about it and your review makes me want to get started!

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  5. And she's able to create those characters within a normal length for a book, instead of needing more than 400 pages, which is another sign of her skill. I enjoyed this one too.

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    1. Excellent point, Kate. You're right on the money.

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