Review: The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie

 

 

 

Here's the description from the back of the book:
In the past. . .home to the tragically destroyed Great Exhibition, a solitary thirteen-year-old boy meets his next-door neighbor, a recently widowed young teacher hoping to make a new start in the tight-knit South London community. Drawn together by loneliness, the unlikely pair forms a deep connection that ends in a shattering act of betrayal.

In the present. . .On a cold January morning in London, Detective Inspector Gemma James is back on the job while her husband, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, is at home caring for their three-year-old foster daughter. Assigned to lead a Murder Investigation Team in South London, she's assisted by her trusted colleague, newly promoted Detective Sergeant Melody Talbot. Their first case: a crime scene at a seedy hotel in Crystal Palace. The victim: a well-respected barrister, found naked, trussed, and apparently strangled. Is it an unsavory accident or murder? In either case, he was not alone, and Gemma's team must find his companion—a search that takes them into unexpected corners and forces them to contemplate unsettling truths about the weaknesses and passions that lead to murder. Ultimately, they will question everything they think they know about their world and those they trust most.

I love a good murder mystery, and this one is no exception.  I have to say, the first few chapters were hard for me to get through for some reason.  They just didn't capture my attention.  But once things got going, I could hardly put the book down.  This is my first time reading a Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James novel.  I know there are more, and I'll be looking for them in the future.  Gemma and Duncan are great characters.  I loved seeing Duncan playing the part of stay at home dad. 

The murder mystery aspect of the book was well done.  I was guessing and guessing through the whole book.  I had a hunch who it might be, but I was really hoping it wouldn't be who I thought it was.

What was really nice about this book was how well Crombie described Crystal Palace.  At the start of each chapter, there was a blurb from the internet with facts about the location.  And then the story would recommence and I felt like I was actually there.  I've never been to England, so it was fun reading a book that takes place there.

All in all I thought this was a great book to spend a cold Winter evening reading.  It's a murder mystery, but I thought it was more than just your typical police novel.  It had more depth to it.  You really get invested in the characters.  Not just Gemma and Duncan, but Andy and Melody and others as well.

Have you read The Sound of Broken Glass?  Let me know what you thought in the comments or on Twitter!

Title: The Sound of Broken Glass
Author: Deborah Crombie
Date of Publication: 2013
Number of Pages: 368
Genre: Fiction
Source: TLC Book Tours