GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS by Deborah Crombie

GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS

by

Deborah Crombie

            Who killed Reagan Keating, a young nanny whose body was found in a garden in Notting Hill? This is the central question arising in Deborah Crombie’s seventeenth Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James novel, Garden of Lamentations. Nonetheless, it does not quite feel like Crombie’s heart is in this murder – and perhaps it is my heart that is not in it – but, that is okay.

            Because Denis Childs is back.

            And, the most interesting thing about Garden of Lamentations is Childs’ return. We finally get some answers to questions left hanging in a few of the previous books in the series. Crombie had left pieces in these prior books, and, in Garden of Lamentations, she begins pulling those pieces together for us.

            Deborah Crombie is a wonderful author – one of my all time favorites. I have been through her Kincaid/James series numerous times, and each time, I marvel at how she continues to evolve and improve as a writer. Her ability to weave complex plotlines and to develop interesting, complex characters has grown. Crombie began as a good mystery writer, but has evolved into a first-rate novelist.

            And, in my opinion, Garden of Lamentations is her best one yet!