This book was ok. There are others in the series that are better. Parts of this book won't be understood unless you've read the others ( )

I have long loved Gemma and Duncan and their milieu, but this installment was lackluster. Plus, I was dismayed by a horrifying typo — "you're" instead of "your"! ( )

Garden of Lamentations by Deborah Crombie is a 2017 William Morrow publication.

Another strong, gripping installment in the Kincaid and James series!

This seventeenth installment is very involved and busy. Gemma is asked to help solve the murder of a young nanny found in the exclusive London Park. In the course of their investigation, they uncover even more deaths in the area, one of them, a child.

Meanwhile, Duncan is drawn ever deeper into the cases he thinks are related, which involve members of the force. When a Metropolitan police officer is attacked, Duncan is now positive there is a rat in their midst, and he doesn’t know who he can trust.

The situation has Duncan spiraling down a dark path as his alcohol intake increases and his secrets from Gemma begin driving a wedge between them.

If you haven’t been faithfully reading this series in order, you might want to make sure you have read the two previous chapters in this series before tackling this one. There are many references to events in the last book and because there is so much going on it could be quite confusing if you aren’t familiar with what has transpired up to this point.

For the first time we see Gemma and Duncan hit a serious and worrisome rough patch in their relationship and each of the recurring characters are individually haunted – both professionally and personally.

Both cases are suspenseful and compelling, although the overall tone of this installment was different from any before it, in my opinion. While we love Gemma and Duncan’s teamwork, the relatively mild moments of doubt and the insecurities they encounter, has never truly put their relationship to the test. It was realistic to expect them to face relationship bumps, and to show their humanity and flaws.

Overall, this was another excellent episode in the series, and it wraps up a few threads and opens the series up for deeper connections with the characters and for stronger bonds between Gemma and Duncan and their friends and colleagues.

While I’m looking forward to the next chapter in the series, I’m going to wait a little while before reading it. It’s the only one I have left to read before I’m all caught up, and then I’ll have to start waiting for the next release like everyone else. It’s been rewarding to read the series from start to finish. It has grown stronger and stronger over time and has become one of my favorite British mystery series!

4 stars ( )

Notting Hill im Mai: Im Garten einer exklusiven Wohnanlage wird die Leiche der 24-jährigen Reagan Keating entdeckt, der Nanny des 10-jährigen Jess Cusick. Inspector Gemma James, deren Sohn Toby mit Jess befreundet ist, erfährt bei ihren Ermittlungen von einem weiteren Todesfall in der Luxuswohnanlage: Vor einigen Monaten starb der kleine Henry Su unter mysteriösen Umständen. Als ein weiterer Bewohner ermordet wird, wächst die Angst von Gemmas Mann Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, dass seine Frau und seine Kinder selbst in großer Gefahr sind. Eine Angst, die sich nur zu bald bewahrheiten wird ...

Gemma at the request of the investigating officer works outside her own beat on a case in which a nanny is found murdered in a garden. She became involved because her good friend was a friend of the woman employing the nanny. This leaves Melody in charge at their precinct. When Chief Supt. Dennis Childs is critically injured following a meeting with Duncan in which he told Duncan the reason he transferred him before going to Singapore for medical treatment was to keep him safe, Duncan begins to piece together events of the last few investigations. He isn't certain who he can trust so he keeps much to himself until he needs Doug's assistance. He fears he could be a target. Gemma feels Duncan is shutting her out as he tries to protect her and their children by keeping the investigation quiet. Duncan, with the help of Doug and Melody, slowly pieces together the corruption case, but they must figure out how to blow it open without ending up as victims. Both threads would make excellent separate installments. The two together is almost too much of a good thing. I listened to the audio version read by Gerard Doyle. ( )