The Sound of Broken Glass : Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James

Don't know--have read all the ones before this, and this is the first I've listened to. I'd be just as happy to read them or listen to them.

I would not say it was edge of the seat, but the plot was one that was very intriguing! Crombie wrote this on several entwined levels. She interspersed the history--and ultimate destruction--of the Crystal Palace in London in and out of the back story of characters whose lives had connected such, that over time, a form of destruction which had been building among them was almost inevitable.

In this unfolding--one witnesses the connections and ultimate destruction of a set of people whose lives came together seemingly by chance--but who would remain emotionally connected for many years into the future (that is, the present day). Which, of course, is when the mystery is taking place.

What I especially liked was the way the three layers of story moved in and out leading the reader to the conclusion--along with Gemma, Melody (and Kincaid--though he was more involved in their personal story than as a detective in this book) to the ultimate end. And it was more than just solving a mystery--it was an ending that brought all the pieces of the earlier story together and brought their connections to a different place as well.

At first I couldn't decide--he has a nice warm, mellow sort of voice--one that almost lulled me rather than evoking that kind of inner excitement that goes with a good mystery. By the end of the book, however, I felt that his voice and his reading had been a very good choice. Because it was perfect for the revelation (as the back story) of the lives of very flawed people who had found each other (for good, for bad, for disaster) and become inextricably connected to each other--something told with the sound of great compassion (even for those who proved to be less than likable).

I felt that there were several less prominent issues in the story of the lives of Gemma and Kincaid that were left unfinished--or that of some of the people around them. But I assume we can look forward to learning more about all that in the next book--which I await with pleasure!

This writer has done a very good job of creating good mysteries and weaving in credible and engaging stories of the main characters--that stand on their own merits. Some mysteries seem to have background asides of the main characters' lives as sort of "filler" material. But a few do a wonderful job of making the reader feel really connected to them as people who live lives apart from their detecting--and one wants to read the next book just to find out what is happening there.