In this 3rd book in the 'Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James' series, the Scotland Yard detectives investigate the murder of a philandering playboy who married into an important family. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
When man-about-town Connor Swann's body is found in the Thames River outside London, his father-in-law and mother-in-law - the influential aristocrats Sir Gerald Asherton (a famous conductor) and Dame Caroline Stowe (a gifted opera singer) - insist on calling in Scotland Yard.
Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James are sent to investigate, and interview Connor's friends, relatives, and acquaintances.
The detectives learn that the Ashertons experienced tragedy before, when their young son Matthew drowned a couple of decades ago. Matthew's sister Julia witnessed the calamity, and the entire family was deeply traumatized by the terrible incident.
Julia is now Connor Swann's estranged wife, and she tells Kincaid and James that he was a notorious drinker, gambler, and philanderer.
In fact Julia, who's a successful artist, is oddly apathetic about Connor's demise - and she leaves all the funeral arrangements to her parents. Meanwhile, Julia remains in her studio and paints.
Despite the fact that Julia is a cold fish and 'not beautiful', Superintendent Kincaid is mesmerized by her. After speaking to Julia a few times, Kincaid feels 'he knows her as well as he knows himself', decides she didn't kill her husband, and lets his little head rule his big head.
This irritates Sergeant James, a single mother who has a crush on her boss....which he fuels by hobnobbing with Gemma and her little boy.
Though this is a police procedural, most of the book revolves around Kincaid and James questioning (and re-questioning) people who knew Connor. There's very little forensic evidence or chatter about police protocols, and this gives the novel a cozyish vibe.....though it's not a cozy. There ARE plenty of suspects to interview since Connor was a ladies' man and a bad gambler who ran up huge debts. Moreover, EVERYBODY lies to the cops, so it takes some time to expose the truth.
As is often seen in books that feature the British 'upper classes', the rich characters feel very entitled, saying 'The Chief Superintendent of Scotland Yard will hear about this' (or some such thing) when detectives question them. Pshaw!! 😏
The mystery is interesting, but I was put off by the behavior of the detectives - which is unprofessional to say the least. Still, fans of the series would probably enjoy this book.
Rating: 3 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment