Dreaming of the Bones (Kincaid/James #5)

Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the first of this series that I have read and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I thought the characters well developed and the plot complex, but easy to follow. I also liked the setting and the way the plot moved between the past and present.

The only thing that is a problem is the relationship between Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. As colleagues, their relationship would have presented a problem and also the way they operated on vacation and in another jurisdiction. However, this is fiction and it doesn't really matter.

Duncan Kincaid has been called by his ex-wife to help with the suspicious death of the poet she was researching. It was declared a suicide, but Vic is not convinced. Kincaid looks into it for her and agrees it is suspicious, but it is not his jurisdiction and he has done all he can by presenting it to the Chief Investigator who has declined to pursue it further on such unsubstantial evidence. Further events convince Kincaid that there probably was foul play and he takes a vacation to pursue it.

Untangling the motives and relationships among the victim's friends and colleagues is a complex process and the more Duncan and Gemma learn, the less clear it becomes. I think the ending is very good and is well integrated into the story. In other words, it is not just pasted on the end as too many mysteries are now. All of the actions of the characters proceed logically from the murder and are well explained. I'll be reading more of her work.

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