Review of The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie

I have always heard good things about Deborah Crombie and her books. I was super excited after receiving news that I'd nabbed her latest. The only problem with nabbing it was the fact that it's the latest book in a well-established series. The series is known as her Kincaid/Gemma series and it is book number fifteen. I usually hate starting books any where except the beginning but I seriously wanted to start the book and not empty my bank account by buying fourteen books that came before The Sound of Broken Glass. This is the first book I've read by Crombie and I admit that I was expecting a lot more. A barrister is found in a compromising position in a seedy motel in Crystal Palace. Gemma is tasked with finding out whodunnit and why or if it was just a sex act gone wrong. Meanwhile, another story is playing out with Andy, an almost famous guitar player who may be connected to Gemma's case. Crombie jumps between the past and the present in order to help the reader understand Andy's connection to the case and the victims. What I enjoyed most about this book is that it chronicles the actual Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace was what I consider a modern marvel. It was constructed entirely of plate glass and iron. The Crystal Palace is used to make a connection to Andy and his life but the connection for me never came into crystal clear (no pun intended) fruition. Although I liked the information Crombie researched and provided for the Crystal Palace, it wasn't used in a way to move the story forward in connection with the present. It only made sense when details of Andy's past emerged. I must be fair in reminding my self that this is book fifteen in a long series so many of the characters have been established long before I finally came across them. It is not Crombie's fault I didn't do my due diligence and actually read some of her other titles. I recommend doing this because I felt that the characters were pretty weak and could have possibly been more dimensional. I imagine that fans of the Gemma/Kincaid series will not feel let down by this addition. There was mystery, there was an extremely interesting setting, and plausible actions. I devoured this book in a few hours and genuinely could not put it down once I began it. There isn't much action or gore or blood but it was still a worthwhile read. I look forward to reading book one from this series.