Garden of Lamentations

A Novel

By: Deborah Crombie

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are drawn into separate investigations that hold disturbing - and deadly - complications for their own lives in this powerful mystery in the best-selling series.

On a beautiful morning in mid-May, the body of a young woman is found in one of Notting Hill's private gardens. To passersby, the pretty girl in the white dress looks as if she's sleeping. But Reagan Keating has been murdered, and the lead detective, DI Kerry Boatman, turns to Gemma James for help. She and Gemma worked together on a previous investigation, and Gemma has a personal connection to the case: Reagan was the nanny of a child who attends the same dance studio as Toby, Gemma, and Kincaid's son.

Gemma soon discovers that Reagan's death is the second tragedy in this exclusive London park; a few months before, a young boy died in a tragic accident. But when still another of the garden residents meets a violent end, it becomes clear that there are more sinister forces at play. Boatman and Gemma must stop the killer before another innocent life is taken.

While his wife is consumed with her new case, Kincaid finds himself plagued by disturbing questions about several previous - and seemingly unrelated - cases involving members of the force. If his suspicions are correct and the crimes are linked, are his family and friends in mortal danger as well? Kincaid's hunch turns to certainty when a Metropolitan Police officer close to him is brutally attacked. There's a traitor in the ranks, and now Kincaid wonders if he can trust anyone.

As Gemma begins to see a solution to her case, she realizes she holds a child's fate in her hands. Can she do the right thing? And can Kincaid rely on his friends, both inside and outside the Scotland Yard force, to stand beside him as he faces the deadliest challenge of his career?

©2017 Deborah Crombie (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Less history here, but plot that really delivers

I’ve enjoyed the historical and cultural information Crombie tucks into her stories, but this one hardly had time for that with the twists and turns of the story in the present. A very well thought out plot, and the cast of characters remains vibrant. Crombie portrays the race, gender and class landscape of British society humanely and with nuance.

Very good two storylines going

Plots going on keep me coming back to the stories. This is a very good continuation

Another fabulous book by Crombie!

Another fabulous book by Crombie! Love Kincaid & James, feel like we are old friends. The multiple plots kept it intriguing & I enjoyed the in depth connection to previous book. I could not stop listening. Wish there had been a more thorough story line about Kincaid & James' family life & their kids, it would have made an awesome book that much better! Can't wait to read the next one. Be sure to read this one in sequential order. Highly recommend!!!!

A Series for Mystery Lovers

The Garden of Lamentations brings a truly satisfying conclusion to a complex mystery developed over several books in this series. While Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid have each had mysteries to solve over the course of the last few books, an underlying thread of unanswered questions and suspected corruption has been dangled. This story is one of my favorites in this excellent, beautifully written series.

Very good

Appreciate the variety of characters. Liked the following on from the previous book. Great reader too!

Sure to be one of 2017's best

Oh, reading a new Gemma and Duncan story is like coming home to a cheery fire and a cuppa. The characters are old friends and it's good to get caught up with what's been happening with them.

The mysteries in this book - Gemma and Duncan each have their own - are quite good. I did get a bit distracted by so many characters and found some of them confusing. I think that's something I run into with audiobooks. It's not as easy to "look back" if something needs to be clarified. Search function doesn't work.

I love Duncan and Gemma together and, for this adventure, they were working separately. A little unhappiness in their lives? Say it's not so, Deb.

As always, Gerard Doyle is a narrator par excellence! His ability with accents and dialects is striking. I love his work.

Deborah Crombie is a master of description. Each location comes alive through her words. I still want to go on a tour of London with her.

Another great from Deborah Crombie

Would you listen to Garden of Lamentations again? Why?

Perhaps. I'm sure there were things I missed.

What other book might you compare Garden of Lamentations to and why?

Anything by Elizabeth George from the Lynly/Havers series.

Which scene was your favorite?

In the hospital when I figured out that Denny was Dennis Chiles.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Kate Ling's admission that she had changed a postmortem in order to protect her mother.

Any additional comments?

Anticipating Crombie's next book...whenever published.

Another good book in the series

First—Gerard Doyle is a wonderful narrator. He gets the voices and the personalities and the accents perfectly, and enhances the experience. The storyline is compelling with lits of twists and turns. My only complaint is the jarring changes of scene and characters with no warning. One minute your in Kinkead’s house while he drinks tea and in the next sentence you are in someone’s office listening to a discussion of suspects. I wish those moments could be separate chapters.

Complex

There was quite a bit happening in this story and at times I had to go back and untangle it all. I still enjoyed it as I have others in the series, minus those with the female narrator, and look forward to the next release. Gerard Doyle and Michael Deehy are two of my favorite narrators and both have done an excellent job in this series.

Another excellent installment

Deborah Crombie has crafted another excellent installment in the Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James series. Gerard Doyle. As always gives a wonderful performance as he brings it all to life.