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Book Review: To Dwell in Darkness by Deborah Crombie

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To Dwell in Darkness

Today I am reviewing To Dwell in Darkness by Deborah Crombie for TLC Book Tours. As always I am provided with a copy of the book in return for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): In the tradition of Elizabeth George, Louise Penny, and P.D. James, New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie delivers a powerful tale of intrigue, betrayal, and lies that will plunge married detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James into the unspeakable darkness that lies at the heart of murder.

Recently transferred to the London borough of Camden from Scotland Yard headquarters, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his new murder investigation team are called to a deadly bombing at historic St. Pancras Station. By fortunate coincidence, Melody Talbot, Gemma’s trusted colleague, witnesses the explosion. The victim was taking part in an organized protest, yet the other group members swear the young man only meant to set off a smoke bomb. As Kincaid begins to gather the facts, he finds every piece of the puzzle yields an unexpected pattern, including the disappearance of a mysterious bystander.

The bombing isn’t the only mystery troubling Kincaid. He’s still questioning the reasons behind his transfer, and when his former boss – who’s been avoiding him – is attacked, those suspicions deepen. With the help of his former sergeant, Doug Cullen, Melody Talbot, and Gemma, Kincaid begins to untangle the truth. But what he discovers will leave him questioning his belief in the job that has shaped his life and values – and remind him just how vulnerable his precious family is.

My review: Once again, Deborah Crombie has written a thoroughly engaging mystery that I dare you to put down. I mentioned in an earlier post that I wanted to pace myself with this one, to savor it, to linger over the words, knowing that it would be another year until a new book came out.

I couldn’t do it. I simply had to keep reading. That’s because Crombie is a gifted writer, skilled in plotting the twist and turns of a mystery, in juggling a large cast of characters, and in weaving the various plot strands together along the way to a bang-up ending. This particular plot, revolving around a protest gone terribly wrong, takes Kincaid and Crombie’s recurring cast of characters down many paths in their quest for the truth, each one more mystifying.

What I love about this novel and all of Crombie’s novels in the series, is the way she has made various characters from earlier mysteries a part of the overall life of the novels. A veterinarian, a caregiver, a musician and more, all of them part of earlier plots and mysteries, are now a part of the daily life of Kincaid and James. They’ve been enfolded and welcomed and, to the reader who has followed these mysteries from the beginning, they are like old friends. And now we have new characters, those on Kincaid’s new murder investigation team, each of them interesting and compelling – as are all Crombie’s characters. She has a gift for character development, each one wholly individual, richly detailed, with a past that informs who he/she is in the present.

Not only is there the immediate mystery, that of the bombing in St. Pancras Station, to solve, there is the overarching mystery that spans this book, Crombie’s last book, The Sound of Broken Glass, and will clearly be a part of the next book: What is behind the transfer of Kincaid from Scotland Yard to his new posting in Camden? Are there malevolent forces behind it? Just how threatening are they? Just as Kincaid is left with many questions, so are we.

That’s just fine. It only makes me that more anxious to read the next mystery in this series.

To Dwell in Darkness doesn’t disappoint. The plot and its resolution will keep you reading into the night.

Deborah Crombie

About the author: Deborah Crombie is a New York Times bestselling author and a native Texan who has lived in both England and Scotland. She lives in McKinney, Texas, sharing a house that is more than a hundred years old with her husband, two cats, and two German Shepherds.

For more about Deborah Crombie, read my interview with her on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

And, finally, one of you will win a copy of To Dwell in Darkness. Just leave a comment on this post and you will be entered. You have until Wednesday evening, when I will pick a winner.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page. Stop by!

Happy Monday.

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Book Review: A Matter of Mercy by Lynne Hugo

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Today I am reviewing A Matter of Mercy by Lynne Hugo for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): Caroline Marcum thought she’d escaped the great mistake of her life by leaving Wellfleet harbor, but is forced to face it when she returns, reluctantly, to care for her dying mother. Ridley Neal put his past – and his prison term – behind him to return home to take over his father’s oyster and clam beds. Casual acquaintances long ago, when a nor’easter hits the coast, Rid and Caroline’s lives intersect once again. When Rid and two other sea farmers are sued by the wealthy owner of a vacation home who wants to shut them down, and Caroline accidentally meets the person she most wronged, they each must learn to trust and love. Inspired by a 1996 lawsuit, A Matter of Mercy is a riveting novel about treasuring the traditional way of life in the shallows of a beautiful Cape Cod bay by discovering where forgiveness ends. And where it begins.

My review: We’ve all made mistakes, have wounded others, and have secrets within our hearts – some of which bring feelings of regret and shame. The two characters whose lives intersect in this novel are scarred and laden down by their own particular burdens of guilt. Trust is hard to come by. Redemption is even harder.

I find redemption to be one of the most powerful themes in literature. Finding redemption, along with the journey it takes to get there, is the framework for this plot. How does someone open the door to love and forgiveness and trust after having shut that door for many years?

Aquaculture (sea farming) is the backdrop for this novel and is the industry that helps to sustain the old town of Wellfleet. I admit I knew next-to-nothing about aquaculture before reading this book, but the author manages to educate us about sea farming in a way that flows easily within the context of the novel. I found it fascinating. The legal case that inspired this novel is fascinating, as well. What happens when a wealthy home owner’s ‘view’ collides with a way of life that has existed for many, many years?

Hugo has painted a detailed picture of life in Wellfleet, on the land and in the bay. You can almost smell the salt water. She clearly knows and loves her setting.

Though the pace of the story is slow, it befits life in a small town on the Cape. My one quibble is that it seemed a bit over-written at times, especially towards the end, where I thought some judicious editing would have helped the flow of the story.

This is ultimately a heart-warming book about love and all it encompasses: love for a dying mother, a way of life, an unborn child, a grieving mother. We all deserve a second chance.

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About the author: Lynne Hugo is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship recipient who has also received grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the Kentucky Foundation for Women. She has published five previous novels, one of which became a Lifetime Original Movie of the Month, two books of poetry, and a children’s book. Her memoir, Where the Trail Goes Faint, won the Riverteeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize. Born and educated in New England, she and her husband currently live in Ohio with a yellow lab feared by squirrels in a three state area.

I’m sorry to say there is no giveaway for this particular review. I wish there was because you know I love to giveaway books!

Happy Thursday.

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Book Review: After I’m Gone by Laura Lippman

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Hello, everyone. Today I am reviewing After I’m Gone by Laura Lippman for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in return for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): When Felix Brewer vanishes on July 4, 1976, to avoid serving a fifteen-year prison sentence for mail fraud, he leaves behind five devastated women: his sophisticated wife, Bambi, their three lovely daughters, and his devoted young mistress, Julie. Though Bambi has no idea where her husband or his money might be, she suspects his mistress does. When Julie disappears ten years to the day after Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she’s left to join her old lover – until her remains are discovered in a secluded park.

Now, twenty-six years later, Roberto “Sandy” Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web of bitterness, jealousy, resentment, greed, and longing, stretching over five decades. And at its center is the enigmatic man who, though long gone, has never been forgotten by the women who loved him.

Felix Brewer left five women behind. Now there are four. Does one of them know the truth?

My review: Laura Lippman is an author who has been on my radar for a long time. Her Tess Monaghan mysteries receive rave reviews. So, I jumped at the chance to read and review her newest book. This one, as does the Tess Monaghan series, takes place in and around Baltimore. The premise is a fascinating one and Lippman does a bang-up job of moving between the present and the past. While Sanchez investigates the murder in the present, we are taken back to the day Felix vanishes. From there, we move in and out of the subsequent years after his disappearance, each time from a different character’s point of view. This is a powerful way to tell the story. We get to know the five women in the story as little peeks into their lives at a given point in time are revealed to us – very much like a jigsaw puzzle where each piece reveals a bit more of the big picture.

Lippman is an incredibly skilled writer, the plot is complex and detailed. She dangles a hint here, a hint there, as the story moves forward, all of it making sense, but not making quite enough sense to figure out who the murderer is. I was kept guessing right up until the end. Oh boy, do I love that!

Baltimore is clearly a city Lippman knows and loves. It figures prominently in her books and she paints a vivid picture of that city and its environs. It’s a character in and of itself. As for the rest of the characters in the novel, they are fully realized and fascinating, to boot. How are those women impacted by Felix’s disappearance? What are the ramifications for them as they move forward in their lives? How does it mark them?

You’ll have to read the book to find out.

I have become a fan. (I look forward to starting the Tess Monaghan series!) Laura Lippman has written a fascinating and un-put-downable mystery.

Laura Lippman

About the author: Since her debut in 1997, Laura Lippman has been heralded for her thoughtful, timely crime novels set in her beloved hometown of Baltimore. She is the author of twenty works of fiction, including eleven Tess Monaghan mysteries. She lives in Baltimore, New Orleans, and New York City with her family.

Good news! One of you will win a copy of After I’m Gone. Just leave a comment on this post and I will pick a winner on Sunday evening.

Happy Thursday.

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