No. 3 in the Kincaid/James detective series. Everybody "loved" Connor Swann; so why did his wife leave him and their lovely flat to return to her parents' home, and why did he end up wedged against a sluice gate in Hambleton Lock, quite unnaturally dead? Connor's father-in-law, a conductor of some considerable reputation, has asked that Scotland Yard send assistance to the locals to determine what happened to the man, so naturally it falls to Duncan Kincaid and his Sgt. Gemma James, to sort it all out. Personalities complicate it all, and there's plenty of unprofessional behavior going on from several quarters. A good advancement of the series, with an irresistible loose string dangling at the end of it all. ( )

Duncan Kincaid and his sergeant Gemma James are called in when the son-in-law of a prominent musical family is found drowned in the Thames. There's an antagonistic wife, a heartbroken mistress, a weaselly bookie, and various other suspects. Can Kincaid work out whodunit without getting too personally involved?

I was a little irritated at Kincaid in this one, for spoilery reasons, but will continue reading the series to see where things go. ( )

Connor Swann, yerno de Sir Gerald Asherton, director de orquesta, y de su mujer, Dame Caroline, cantante de ópera, es hallado muerto en una esclusa del Támesis en la encantadora campiña de los alrededores de Henley. Ante las dudas acerca de las circunstancias de su fallecimiento, el comisario Duncan Kincaid y la sargento Gemma James son designados para encargarse de dilucidar el caso, y pronto se percatan de que no se trata de un accidente. Otro suceso trágico ya había golpeado a los Asherton veinte años atrás con la muerte por ahogamiento de su hijo Matthew ante los ojos de Julia, hermana del niño. Aunque aparentemente los dos sucesos no tienen relación, no se descarta que exista un nexo.

Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his sergeant Gemma James are called to investigate a suspicious drowning in the countryside outside London. Connor Swann, son-in-law of conductor Sir Gerald Asherton and his wife, soprano, Dame Caroline Stowe, has been found floating in the Thames battered and bruised, under suspicious circumstances. Julia, the Ashertons' daughter, had recently left Connor, who was a drinker, a gambler and fond of other woman. Because of the Ashertons' high profile, the Chief Superintendent wants extra eyes on this. As they begin to question those close to Connor, they discover this isn't the first time the family has experienced a tragedy related to drowning. When Julia was a small girl, she and her brother, Matty, were walking along the lock when he also fell in and was swept to his death.

Was Connor pushed to his death? He and Julia were separated, though he was still close to her parents, and there are several other important suspects that need to be investigated. Kincaid finds himself strongly attracted to Julia and, to his embarrassment, acts in an improper fashion whenever he's around her. What makes it even worse is Julia is the prime suspect in her husband's murder. This leads to some problems between Duncan and Gemma, who are fighting their mutual attraction to one another.

This is a fairly slow moving story. It's a true police procedural where Duncan and Gemma interview suspects and try to tie their clues together. It's not action packed and thrilling. The characters are well developed and the interaction was appealing. This is the third book in this series and I think I'll continue to read a least one more of them. There are some changes to Duncan and Gemma's relationship in this book and I'm curious to see where they take us.
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Wow. These just keep getting better and better!! Real writing, and I didn't pick out the murderer till the end, right before they told us. ( )