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    A Finer End
    A Finer End
    A Finer End
    Audiobook12 hours

    A Finer End

    Written by Deborah Crombie

    Narrated by Jenny Sterlin

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Two spellbinding mysteries, one contemporary, and one ancient-that will challenge Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James as no case ever has. Glastonbury is a town revered as the mythical burial place of King Arthur, and, according to New Age followers, a source of strong Druid power. Something terrible and bloody shattered Glastonbury Abbey's peace long ago-and now it is about to spark a violence that will reach forward into the present.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateDec 11, 2009
    ISBN9781440779794
    A Finer End
    Author

    Deborah Crombie

    Deborah Crombie is a native Texan who has lived in both England and Scotland. She now lives in McKinney, Texas, sharing a house that is more than one hundred years old with her husband, two cats, and two German shepherds.

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    Reviews for A Finer End

    4/5

    259 ratings13 reviews

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    • 5/5
      When I stay up reading three hours after going to bed, it pretty much means it's going to be a five-star review. :) Although I did figure out what was going on in this one, it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story. The setting and plot were very intriguing, and I loved the character dynamics. On to the next in the series!
    • 4/5
      A Finer End by Deborah Crombie is the seventh mystery featuring Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma Jones. Although I wasn’t totally enamoured of the plot in this book, the author’s wonderful writing and multilayered characters totally drew me along until I literally couldn’t put the book down. Steering away from the traditional police procedural that usually forms the framework for these mysteries, this story was filled with touches of the supernatural.The author has set the story in the ancient town of Glastonbury, Duncan’s cousin Jack is receiving messages from a 10th century monk in the form of automated writings. A small group gather to help Jack explore what these messages mean, but among this small group there are troubled souls and dark secrets. When violence erupts, Jack contacts Duncan and he and Gemma arrive to find one murder has already occurred.As well as solving crime together, Duncan and Gemma have a personal relationship that has been slowly evolving over the course of the books. Gemma is now taking steps to separate their personal lives and their working lives, and she has a secret to divulge that could possibly change everything. I love this series, and this couple and although I am too much of a skeptic to totally accept the paranormal elements in this particular story, I still found myself enjoying the book a lot. I am looking forward to continuing on with the series.
    • 5/5
      A FINER END by Deborah Crombie is the 7th title in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James mystery series.I quite liked this book and thought Ms. Crombie weaved the mythology, local lore, Arthurian legends, monastic life, and history into a very readable, tense, contemporary mystery.I especially loved the map and the quotes which introduced each chapter.The characters were interesting and the plot very intricate. The plot worked well with the location. The sense of place was very strong.I especially liked the passage that describes the word enchantment. “The word enchantment is derived from ‘chant’. The ancients believed that music was the strongest magic, that it kept man in tune with the cosmos and in harmony with one another.”And this note. “ Out of all the Grail mythology entwined with Glastonbury over the centuries, there is one legend that says the Grail is not an object - not a cup or a chalice - but a transcendent state of being, brought about by ritual and prayer.”There is a certain feel or vibration in the Glastonbury air. I can understand why authors would try to weave local beliefs, local lore and history into a contemporary plot.Duncan and Gemma have somewhat minor roles in this particular title. Duncan’s cousin (who lives in Glastonbury) asks for his help in sorting out a hit and run incident. A weekend ‘getaway’ turns into a full-blown murder inquiry for Duncan and Gemma.Great title in a great series.
    • 4/5
      there is a map of Glastonbury in the front of this book and, as you might guess, the action takes place in Glastonbury. If you don't know where Glastonbury is, as I didn't, it is in the west of England near Wales. It is one of those ancient places of which the British Isles have an abundance. It is reputed that King Arthur and Queen Guinevere were buried there and that Joseph of Arimathea journeyed there after the crucifixion of Jesus and established the first Christian church in England there. In ancient days Glastonbury was surrounded by water and the island was called the Isle of Avalon. If you would like to find out more about Glastonbury check out this site. Jack Montfort is an architect living in Glastonbury in his family's ancestral home at the base of the Glastonbury Tor. Glastonbury attracts New Agers but Jack Montfort isn't of that ilk. Therefor, he is more than a little surprised when he starts writing messages in Latin seemingly from a former monk at the Glastonbury Abbey. He confides in a young man at the bookstore (Nick) and soon he has to tell his lady love, Winifred Catesby, who is an Anglican minister. He soon is at the centre of a small group of people who believe the monk is trying to communicate an important message. Winifred has a sort of vision but before she can tell Jack she is struck by a car and left for dead. Jack is less than impressed by the local police force's handling of the hit-and-run accident so he calls his cousin, Duncan Kincaid, who is with Scotland Yard. Duncan and his lady love, Gemma James, also a police detective, come to Glastonbury. Just after their arrival the police come knocking on Jack's door to tell him that Garnet Todd has been found dead in her van. Garnet was one of the people helping Jack communicate with the monk. She was the embodiment of New Age thinking to the extent of living in an ancient farmhouse with no electricity or running water. She had lately taken in a pregnant teenager (Faith) and has been coaching her in Goddess lore. Nick is smitten with Faith but Garnet did not appreciate his attention to Faith and Nick seems like the likely candidate to have murdered her. Of course, the likely candidate is never the actual murderer but the identity of the murderer is not revealed until the last few pages. I didn't think that the "mystery" part of this book was all that great nor was I really taken with Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James. I did figure out the murderer before the end. The setting however was unique and the information about the early church was interesting. I'm certainly interested in seeing Glastonbury for myself now so that made the read worthwhile.
    • 3/5
      I have been reading this series backward but might need to start at the beginning. I enjoyed the characters, as usual, but the story line had me a little skeptical. The part where she pulled in information on the Old Religion was interesting but I didn't buy into the way it figured into the denouement of the story. So only 3 stars this time. I am enjoying the series, though.
    • 5/5
      Wow I really enjoyed this book and Crombie's change of pace! She really did a great job expanding on Glastonbury and its myths. She branched out a little in fantasy and there was a lot more action and it just worked! I really hope her future books will be more like this one! This was definitely my favorite book of the series!!
    • 4/5
      Kincaid and James end up in a small village outside of London helping Kincaid's relative solve a cause of hit and run. This is not my favorite Crombie. Others have mentioned as such and it's for the same reason. This story includes some fantasy and mythology and the other world which I don't find appealing. Since Crombie hasn't included it in her first SIX books, it comes out of left field. I really like the series and characters but I hope this isn't a trend.
    • 4/5
      Somewhat bizzare, with various paranormal elements, and rather light on Duncan and Gemma. But a fascinating and evocative story nonetheless.
    • 4/5
      The seventh book in the Kincaid/James series and one that took me a while to warm up to. Once I was in, however, I was really in...a credit to Crombie's intelligent writing. Once again she provides a fascinating setting and a number of excellent characterizations. Kincaid and James come into the final third or so quite heavily, but their involvement early on is limited to occasional scenes -- and I did (at least once or twice) forget it was a Kincaid/James mystery. Yet the rest of the book holds up. Another excellent mystery, and one that propels me forward to the next in the series.
    • 2/5
      Dan Brown also ran.This is yet another Grail Story and Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are almost incidental to the story. If Deborah Crombie had wanted to write a book about a search for the Holy Grail it would have been better if she had done that pure and simple without trying to turn it into a murder mystery. A 'stand alone' book would not have detracted from the series but this book does.I hope that the next book is back on track and that she has worked all the supernatural hocus pocus out of her system.
    • 3/5
      There's a first time for everything, and this is one of those cases. This is the first time I haven't really enjoyed one of the installments of Crombie's series featuring Supt. Duncan Kincaid and Sgt. Gemma James. The setting this time is Glastonbury. The book got off to a slow start. A friend of Duncan's cousin Jack is struck by a car. Jack doesn't believe it is an accident and invites Duncan up for the weekend. The murder (a different female) was not discovered until page 162. The book was filled with new age content that is just not really my thing. Once the body was discovered, the tempo of the book picked up. Even though it was not Duncan and Gemma's place to investigate, we find them getting involved. There are developments in this book which will be central to future books in the series. Crombie is a fine writer, even if I didn't care for this particular installment of the series.
    • 5/5
      This is the only Deborah Crombie book I've ever read but BOY does it stick in my mind. My girlfried recommended it as she knows I love historical mysteries and she knew I'd like this.Not only did I love it but passed it along to friends. Gotta go to Glastonbury!
    • 4/5
      Jack Montfort is an architect living in Glastonbury, England. He has struck up a friendship with Winnie Catesby, the vicar of an outlying church. Jack has become a conduit for "automated writing" - someone, a dead priest called Edmund, is using Jack to convey to the present a story from the past to do with the Abbey at Glastonbury. It is not the first example of automated writing linked to the old Abbey. It happened to a 19th century historian too and he was totally discredited. But now those associated with Jack are in danger. Winnie is struck by a car and lies in hospital in a coma. Jack doesn't believe it was an accident and contacts his cousin Scotland Yard's Duncan Kincaid. Duncan and his partner Gemma James decide to spend a few days in Glastonbury and the action accelerates. I wasn't prepared for the woo-woo nature of the first part of this book but really enjoyed it after Kincaid and James made their appearance. The presentation of Glastonbury as a gateway to the next world and a portal to old religions is also interesting. This is #7 in the series.