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Necessary as Blood

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Necessary as Blood

By: Deborah Crombie
Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
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Artist and young mother Sandra Gilles disappears without trace after leaving her three-year-old daughter, Charlotte, with a friend. Her lawyer husband, Naz Malik, is devastated – but he’s also the prime suspect in a murder investigation. When Naz vanishes shortly afterwards, Gemma James and her partner Superintendent Duncan Kincaid agree to work together to solve the case before the murderer can get his hands on the real prize; Charlotte…©2009 Deborah Crombie (P)2010 Recorded Books LLC Crime Fiction Modern Detectives Mystery Crime Murder Fiction Suspense
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These detective novels are written by an American but set in the uk. Occasionally a few Americanisms creep in - drapes instead of curtains, hard cooked for hard boiled etc. And in in this narration I did find the reader’s pronunciation of the name ‘Sandra’ a little annoying. Perhaps the narrator is also American. Having said this I do like the main characters and the plots are reasonably believable. Though the denouement comes fairly quickly at the end with not a great deal of explanation it seems.

Reasonable story line

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Excellent storyline, gripping and intriguing. I love the details of the back story where the reader can explore the characters and their lives and relationships. I also love the way I was drawn into the vivid descriptions of the settings, feeling I was there in the vibrant streets, houses and gardens which feature so highly.
The experience of this book was spoiled by the dreadful narration. I have read several books in the Kincaid/James series and have formed my own, very favourable impressions of the characters. In this awful narration, Gemma is whiny, Duncan( who originates from Cheshire) has a dreadful, upper class prig accent and all the male characters sound unpleasantly the same.

necessary as blood

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Would you try another book written by Deborah Crombie or narrated by Jenny Sterlin?

Absolutely no to both questions.

What was most disappointing about Deborah Crombie’s story?

Hard to say. I only kept on for an hour.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Jenny Sterlin?

Tony Britton or Michael Jayston or Harriet Walter or John Keeble ...

What character would you cut from Necessary as Blood?

Hard to tell. They were all unreal.

Any additional comments?

She should not have written it,

A disappointment all the way.

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