Water Like a Stone by Deborah Crombie ****
In the latest installment of her Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James mystery series, Deborah Crombie continues to maintain the high standards of writing, plotting and characterization that I have come to expect from her. I recently went back and read a couple of the earliest books in the series, and while they’re good, the later ones only get better. In this one, Duncan, Gemma and their children from other relationships, still feeling their way in their relatively new family relationship, travel to spend the Christmas holiday with Duncan’s parents. On Christmas Eve, however, Duncan’s sister Juliet discovers the mummified body of a baby in the mortarwork of an old barn she is renovating. Simmering family tensions and a present-day murder add to the mix.
The mystery is interesting and intriguing, if a big complicated, but what I liked best about this book was its portrayal of relationships of several kinds. Duncan’s parents seem like fascinating people and I don’t feel that I got to know them well enough; I hope that they will make appearances in future installments. His troubled son, Kit, who is still dealing with the death of his mother in an earlier book, is a believable teenager, as is his rather less likable cousin Lally and her creepy friend Leo. Characters outside the family, like Duncan’s old school friend Ronnie Babcock, now a local police inspector; former social worker Annie Lebow, who has taken refuge in a life on the canals after a painful case; and the Wains, a poor family who also live on a narrowboat and are portrayed with respect and dignity, come alive in Ms. Crombie’s skillful writing.
In the latest installment of her Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James mystery series, Deborah Crombie continues to maintain the high standards of writing, plotting and characterization that I have come to expect from her. I recently went back and read a couple of the earliest books in the series, and while they’re good, the later ones only get better. In this one, Duncan, Gemma and their children from other relationships, still feeling their way in their relatively new family relationship, travel to spend the Christmas holiday with Duncan’s parents. On Christmas Eve, however, Duncan’s sister Juliet discovers the mummified body of a baby in the mortarwork of an old barn she is renovating. Simmering family tensions and a present-day murder add to the mix.
The mystery is interesting and intriguing, if a big complicated, but what I liked best about this book was its portrayal of relationships of several kinds. Duncan’s parents seem like fascinating people and I don’t feel that I got to know them well enough; I hope that they will make appearances in future installments. His troubled son, Kit, who is still dealing with the death of his mother in an earlier book, is a believable teenager, as is his rather less likable cousin Lally and her creepy friend Leo. Characters outside the family, like Duncan’s old school friend Ronnie Babcock, now a local police inspector; former social worker Annie Lebow, who has taken refuge in a life on the canals after a painful case; and the Wains, a poor family who also live on a narrowboat and are portrayed with respect and dignity, come alive in Ms. Crombie’s skillful writing.
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