London im September 1939: Als deutsche Bomber die Stadt verwüsten, wird ein Junge aus dem East End aufs Land evakuiert. Dort lernt er nicht nur die Freuden des Landlebens kennen, sondern auch die Leidenschaft der ersten Liebe.
London, 50 Jahre später: In den verlassenen Royal Albert Docks wird die Leiche einer jungen Frau gefunden. Diese wird als Annabelle Hammond identifiziert, die Millionen-Erbin eines großen Tee-Imperiums. Als Superintendent Duncan Kincaid und Sergeant Gemma James von Scotland Yard versuchen, die verwickelten Affären und Beziehungen der Toten zu ergründen, reihen sie immer mehr Namen auf die Liste der Verdächtigen: ihr High-Society-Verlobter, der Straßenmusikant, der sie wohl als letzter lebend gesehen hat, der Exmann ihrer Schwester - sie alle hatten ein Motiv. Aber Kincaid und James ahnen noch nicht, daß die Wurzeln des Falls bis weit in die Vergangenheit zurückreichen. es ist eine Geschichte von Vertrauen und Betrug, deren Folgen irgendwann nicht mehr zu kontrollieren sind ...

Excellent addition to series which further develops Kincaid's discovery of Kit; and learning how to navigate the waters of this precious new relationship. This along with a challenging case of murder of a beautiful young woman, {and many red herrings}, and Gemma's familiarity and attraction to one potential killer slows relationship between Gemma and Duncan.

I particularly enjoyed the historical background of WWII in Kissed a Sad Goodbye. Stunningly well done!

Outstanding characters, settings and dialogue make this novel an excellent read.

Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his sergeant, Gemma James, are assigned to investigate when the body of a beautiful young woman, meticulously laid out, is found in a park on the Isle of Dogs. It takes little time to identify her, but then begins the arduous task of sorting through all her complicated family relationships, her multiple love affairs and the many reasons various people might have to kill her. All of which is very inconvenient for Duncan, who had promised to take his just-discovered son Kit to Wimbledon for the tennis and had to bow out of that promise, and for Gemma, who is rather strongly attracted to a suspect in the case….This is the sixth Kincaid/James novel and, like the others, I find it a kind of comfort-food read - not terribly demanding of the reader, but entertaining enough and with a number of plot twists to keep the reader engaged. I do like this series, although Ms. Crombie seems to have a penchant for having her main characters fall, quite inappropriately, for people with whom they should not become entwined. The main characters are all growing and evolving, and their relationships to each other are also evolving, which is nice to see. A mild recommendation from me, then, although I definitely will continue reading this series. ( )

KISSED A SAD GOODBYE is a Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Mystery Book 6 by Deborah Crombie.
This title is an excellent addition to the series.
George Brent is walking his dog on the ‘Mudchute Plateau’ when he discovers the body of a beautiful young woman. The case for Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James is a very complicated one and is filled with the history of the area, revenge, old friendships, secrets and miscommunications.
The back stories or subplots were so interesting and came together in the end. I was fascinated by the history and culture of the area. There was a map; excerpts from historical documents and surveys of the Dockland area; “Memories of Children on the Isle of Dogs, 1870-1970”; historical anecdotes from the Blitz; quotes from Dickens.
A sense of place is so important to a good story. KISSED A SAD GOODBYE had an excellent historical aspect to it and made the ‘case’ all the more interesting and sad.
Five Stars. ***** ( )

A melancholic, yet deeply absorbing story.

For a complete review please click on the link below:

http://onerightword.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/kissed-sad-goodbye-deborah-crombie.ht... ( )