by Deborah Crombie
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Product Description
Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his partner, Sergeant Gemma James, take their sons to picturesque Cheshire for their first family Christmas with Duncan's parents—a holiday both dreaded and anticipated. But not even the charming town of Nantwich and the dreaming canals can mask the tensions in Duncan's family, which are tragically heightened by the discovery of an infant's body hidden in the wall of an old dairy. As Duncan and Gemma help the police investigate the infant's death, another murder strikes closer to home, revealing that far from being idyllic, Duncan's childhood paradise holds dark and deadly secrets . . . secrets that threaten everything and everyone Duncan and Gemma hold most dear.
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Average Customer Review:
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 Not my favorite, 2008-03-31
First of all, being a huge fan of English murder mysteries, I do love this series. Gemma and Duncan are extremely appealing, the writing is great, and the descriptions really take you there. However, as excited as I was to discover that I had not yet read this latest in the series, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. I was not personally that interested in narrow boats, so that whole plot line left me a little cold. Also, I agree with the reviewer who commented that there just wasn't enough Gemma and Duncan in this one...most of the book was about Duncan's family and the police force in Duncan's home town with our favorite (and still unmarried) couple taking a back seat. I also thought the whole story line with Lally and Kit was a bit far-fetched. Regarding Kit, I hope future novels will show him getting counseling considering the poor kid has now personally discovered two bodies including his mother's. The odds of something like that happening have to be pretty high. The climactic scene was contrived and unrealistic, and I thought the ending was rushed as well. Here's hoping that the new novel to be released soon goes back to Gemma and Duncan dealing with bodies in their normal line of work as inspectors and Kit back in school where he belongs. Oh, and come on, Duncan, ask her to marry you already!!!!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Crombie books rock!!!!, 2008-03-25
I love England and London! Deborah Crombie has written several books in this series of Insp. Duncan Kincaid and his Sgt. Gemma James. Crombie lived in England for some time and knows the country well. The mysteries are outstanding and well written. And the relationship between Kincaid and Gemma is very human and well presented. What a team! They are great. We rank these stories along with Morse, Midsommer Murders, and Insp. Lynley and Havers!! If you love mysteries and England, read these--outstanding!!!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Slightly above average for the genre, 2008-03-08
I can't say this book was captivating or that it provided great social commentary amidst the mystery/crime. There was no sense of can't put it down. And it certainly didn't have the character depth or social commentary of Elizabeth George's books.
On the other hand, it was enjoyable to read, had a ending that wasn't completely predictable, and provided a good environmental portrait.
Paul S
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A Wonder in the Winterland of Rural England, 2007-08-12
Crombie has taken her two erstwhile London coppers (Kincaid and James) and sent them out to the Cheshire (near the Welsh Border) where Duncan grew up. They have gone out to Duncan's parents farm for a real 'English Country' Christmas. It will also give Gemma and Kit (Duncan's newfound son) a chance to meet the 'family'. We are introduced to Duncan's parents (Hugh and Rosemary) his sister, husband and children (Juliet, Caspar, Lally and Sam) and assorted old friends (such as Chief Inspector Ronnie Babcock).
Of course there has to be a murder(s) or there wouldn't be any reason for the book. But blending into the standard Police Procedural is a fine discussion of the 'narrowboats' and the people who have made a living on them for more than the last hundred years. In the nineteenth century they plied the canal system, delivering goods like long haul truckers; except that they lived on the boats. They were only seven feet wide so that they could pass each other on the canals. Few of the boats are used this way anymore and a way of life is dying off. Crombie writes a great peaen to these people.
Though out of their jurisdiction, Kincaid and James are able to get involved peripherally with the conivence of DCI Babcock. More than seeing the investigation unfold, we see a newfound respect for each others professionalism between Kincaid and James. The strengthening of their bond as they both still deal with the loss of Gemma's baby (in the last book) is both thoughtful and realistic. Crombie also does a marvellous job of pursuing that age old antagonism that builds between and mother and daughter, as the child comes into womanhood. A fine novel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 Murder on the canal, 2007-07-06
Superintendent Duncan Kincaid takes his partnet, Gemma and their respective two children, Kit and Toby, on a Xmas visit to his parent's home in Cheshire where Gemma is entranced by the pretty buildings and the proximity to the canal and to the canal boats. Duncan's sister, Juliet, who lives nearby, is beginning renovations to an old, local barn when she breaks through some mortar to find the mummified body of an infant, lovingly wrapped and sealed in the wall. The local police, headed by an old friend of Duncan's, are called in and the usual proceedings begin, even though it's obviously an old crime and it happens to be a freezingly cold Xmas Eve. Duncan's newly restored son, Kit, is fascinated by his cousin Lally, the strange and tormented daughter of Juliet, suspected of drinking and drug taking and, altogether, a surly, uncooperative teenager with a huge chip on her shoulder. When the body of former social worker, Annie Lebow, who lives on one of the canal boats is found on the tow path with her head bashed in, suspicion falls on another canal boat owner with whom she had been publicly arguing on the previous day. It's a very good murder mystery with very interesting characters, set in a completely different location..that of the canal boats and their inhabitants.
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