The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie

Morning, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Deborah Crombie's 15th Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James title, The Sound of Broken Glass.

It begins with a dead lawyer in a hotel room. He'd been tied up and strangled, left behind for the housekeeping staff to find. Gemma and her partner, Melody Talbot, are assigned the case and soon discover that the dead man had been involved in an altercation at a local pub the previous evening. Whether it has any bearing on their case is yet to be determined but it does lead them to a local musician, one Gemma and her husband know through mutual friends. 

Meanwhile, Duncan has yet to return to work as the couple's young foster daughter struggles to acclimate to her new environment. And while staying at home with the kids has its rewards, Kincaid questions just how long his position will be waiting for him. 

I was only introduced to Crombie's series last year with the paperback release of No Mark Upon Her. I'd noted then that there was some reference to previous series installments and while it was something of a stumbling block it was nothing I couldn't overcome. The same is true here. Having read the previous book I did have a bit of an easier time but there are a lot of continuing - minor - plot lines involving characters.

And yet I'm discovering that's one of the things I enjoy most about these books. Clearly I need to do some catch up reading, but with just two books under my belt I really feel like I'm beginning to know these characters quite well. It's a little like being invited into someone's home. It's warm and welcoming, and I love that Crombie pays such attention not only to Duncan and Gemma, but to their friends and colleagues as well. All of the little details that make up their lives add to the richness of the series.

Another aspect I enjoy is the nature of the series as a whole. Crombie's plots are well thought out and the series seems to straddle the gap between cozy and something harder. The murder scenes aren't too detailed to really ick out a cozy reader but they're enough to satisfy fans of the darker stuff as well, which makes this a series that I think appeals to a broad spectrum of mystery fans.

Rating: 4/5

To see more thoughts on the book, be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Deborah and her work, visit her official site here. You can also like her on Facebookand follow her on Twitter.