Kissed a Sad Goodbye Audiobook By Deborah Crombie cover art

Kissed a Sad Goodbye

A Duncan Kincaid / Jemma James Novel

Preview

Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends January 21, 2025 at 11:59PM ET.
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Kissed a Sad Goodbye

By: Deborah Crombie
Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends January 21, 2025 11:59PM ET. Cancel anytime.

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Reminiscent of Ruth Rendell, multiple award-winning author Deborah Crombie creates graceful mysteries, resonating with lyrical prose, elegant suspense, and finely-drawn characters. This is her darkly irresistible tale of friendship shattered by shocking betrayal, and repercussions that echo down through the years.

A stunningly beautiful young woman is found strangled in London's Mudchute Park, her clothing carefully arranged to preserve her modesty. With that unusual detail in mind, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his partner Sergeant Gemma James suspect the crime was more than a simple assault gone awry. As they collect the strange facts surrounding her death, they discover the victim's life was a mystery even to those who knew her best.

Internationally-acclaimed author Deborah Crombie brilliantly weaves together events of World War II England with complex problems of present-day London. As British actor Jenny Sterlin's superb dramatization unfolds, you'll understand why this crime novel is as at home on the bookshelf with literary novels as it is with the most baffling whodunit.

Solve more mysteries with Duncan Kincaid and Jemma James.©1999 Deborah Crombie (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC
Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Suspense Traditional Detectives England

Critic reviews

"This complex, thoughtful novel is another satisfying entry in an exceptional series." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Kissed a Sad Goodbye

Highly rated for:

Intriguing Complex Mystery Compelling Intertwined Storylines Engaging Narration Seamless Past-present Connection
Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    508
  • 4 Stars
    273
  • 3 Stars
    60
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    468
  • 4 Stars
    182
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    26
  • 1 Stars
    13
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    460
  • 4 Stars
    208
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Totally Engrossing

Loved the story, the impact of the past on the present. Loving the development of Jemma and Duncan's characters as the series goes on. Cant wait to start the next one!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A world better than book 6

I’m still not used to Jenny Sterlin but, this book was narrated a bit better than the last. The story definitely was better than the last one. I gave it 4 star’s overall but 3 for performance as I just don’t view the characters as I did with the voice when Michael Deehy narrates. I’d hoped Michael Deehy was narrating the next one… womp… nope

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Family drama

This book depicted an interesting part of World War II, juxtaposed with a more current time. The old and new interwoven beautifully.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great twisty mystery

I have to say that I do not enjoy the female narrator as much as the previous male narrator. I feel that the male narrator did a better job with the female voices than the female narrator does with a male voices. Still a great story. Thanks.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly absorbing

I love how ms Crombie intertwines the history of the Isle of Dogs and WW2, with a modern day mystery. And the characters totally drew me in.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Love the characters. Can’t wait for the next episode in their lives. I like the way Duncan and Gemma work together

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good resolution

I appreciated that although this is one of a series, it tied up the story, which was pretty emotionally hard, but engaging and entertaining and thought-provoking. 

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Unlikeable characters

Even our heroes, Duncan and Jemma, do not put their better sides on display. Both show unbelievably poor judgement, but that is nothing compared to the lying, condescending attitude of virtually all of the other characters in the book. I wish they had all been murdered before the book ended.

There is a repeated flashback to a history that took place during the second world war when children from London were evacuated to the countryside to escape danger. That had to be horrific for both the parents and the children, but a totally unnecessary and unutterable vile character is introduced and sends the story spinning off in space. While this section does provide an explanation for what happens later, there is no reason it had to be presented in this confusing and off-putting way.

The narrator only contributes to the overall unpleasantness of the story and the characters. She sounds as though she read the entire book with a sneer.

I do not recommend this book. There is some very disturbing treatment of children, which was hard for me to read. There is no one to cheer on or wish a happy future for. They all earned their just desserts. And if Jemma and Duncan can't be honest with each other, I have little hope for their relationship.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Complex story is overshadowed by bad parenting

The main mystery in the novel is intriguing and pulls the reader into the story. I can't say the same for the personal problems of the two detectives, Duncan Kincaid and Jemma James, and their cluttered relationship. Duncan Kincaid's lack of attention to a small child staying with him made me dislike him early on. Can he really be so thick as to leave the child unattended for hours? And the fact that Jemma James was having a physical relationship with Kincaid, her superior officer, was so unprofessional that I disliked them both for it. Especially since Jemma had an unfathomable attraction to a street musician. I didn't buy the coincidence of this character being in both the murder plot and in Jemma's plot. I am not sure I will return to Duncan and Jemma. I don't mind flawed characters, I just don't like stupid ones. I did enjoy the narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite Duncan & Gemma so far!

This is #6 in the series. Though it could be read as a stand-alone book, I don’t think readers could appreciate the story as much without knowing the backgrounds of the two main characters. Each book has been better than the one before, and Duncan & Gemma are like old friends to me now.

It took me a little time to adapt to the change in narrator that came beginning with the 5th book but Jenny Sterlin is good. I think I just missed Michael Deehy as Duncan’s voice.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful