“Though part of a series, this mystery is a superb stand-alone novel…Suspense and careful sleuthing form the quintessential whodunit and provide nonstop entertainment.” RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
Description
Perhaps it is a blessing when Jasmine Dent dies in her sleep—at last an end has come to the suffering of a body horribly ravaged by disease. It may well have been suicide; she had certainly expressed her willingness to speed the inevitable. But small inconsistencies lead her neighbor, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, to a startling conclusion: Dent was murdered. But if not for mercy, why would someone destroy a life already doomed?
As Kincaid and his appealing assistant Sergeant Gemma James sift through the dead woman's strange history, a troubling puzzle emerges: a bizarre amalgam of charity and crime—and of the blinding passions that can drive the human animal to perform cruel and inhuman acts.
Praise
“Though part of a series, this mystery is a superb stand-alone novel…Suspense and careful sleuthing form the quintessential whodunit and provide nonstop entertainment.” RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
“Written with compassion, clarity, wit and precision, this graceful mystery amply fulfills the promise of Crombie’s debut novel…The clues finally click into place and reveal the culprit.” Publishers Weekly
“Respects all the conventions of the police procedural subgenre but still manages to seem fresh and lively…This is an extremely satisfying procedural with good plotting and excellent characterizations.” Booklist
“[It’s the] firm portraits of even minor characters that make this linger in the memory.” Kirkus Reviews
“Michael Deehy’s solemn voice provides a courtly eloquence to Deborah Crombie’s moody police procedural…His performance gives multiple dimensions to each of the possible suspects…[and] allows Crombie’s subtle clues to reveal themselves in ordinary, completely human ways. He is nicely understated as Duncan and Gemma’s connection deepens and the mystery slowly unfolds.” AudioFile
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Mar 31, 2005 |
| Release Date | April 1, 2005 |
| Number in Series | 2 |
| Series Display String | The Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James Novels |
| Release Date Machine | 1112313600 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Literature & Fiction, Police Procedurals, International Crime & Mystery, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult, Bestselling Mysteries, Bestselling Mystery |
Author Bio
Deborah Crombie is a Macavity Award winner and a finalist for the Edgar Award and the Agatha Award, as well as a New York Times bestselling author. She has written more than a dozen novels and is best known for her contemporary mystery series featuring Scotland Yard’s Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. Among this series is Dreaming of the Bones, which was selected as one of the 100 Best Crime Novels of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Narrator Bio
Michael Deehy is an Earphones Award-winning narrator and an actor whose career has taken him around the world performing in a multitude of plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Shaw, Synge, and a host of other playwrights. He divides his time between the United States and England, where he has performed in both regional theater and in London’s West End, as well as a number of national television shows.
Overview
Perhaps it is a blessing when Jasmine Dent dies in her sleep—at last an end has come to the suffering of a body horribly ravaged by disease. It may well have been suicide; she had certainly expressed her willingness to speed the inevitable. But small inconsistencies lead her neighbor, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, to a startling conclusion: Dent was murdered. But if not for mercy, why would someone destroy a life already doomed?
As Kincaid and his appealing assistant Sergeant Gemma James sift through the dead woman's strange history, a troubling puzzle emerges: a bizarre amalgam of charity and crime—and of the blinding passions that can drive the human animal to perform cruel and inhuman acts.
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