Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James Novels
8 primary works
Book 1
A week's holiday in a luxurious Yorkshire time-share is just what Scotland Yard's Superintendent Duncan Kincaid needs. But the discovery of a body floating in the whirlpool bath ends Kincaid's vacation before it's begun. One of his new acquaintances at Followdale House is dead; another is a killer.
Despite a distinct lack of cooperation from the local constabulary, Kincaid's keen sense of duty won't allow him to ignore the heinous crime, impelling him to send for his enthusiastic young assistant, Sergeant Gemma James. But the stakes are raised dramatically when a second murder occurs, and Kincaid and James find themselves in a determined hunt for a fiendish felon who enjoys homicide a bit too much.
Book 2
Perhaps it is a blessing when Jasmine Dent dies in her sleep. At long last an end has come to the suffering of a body horribly ravaged by disease.
It may well have been suicide; she had certainly expressed her willingness to speed the inevitable. But small inconsistencies lead her neighbor, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid of Scotland Yard, to a startling conclusion: Jasmine Dent was murdered.
But if not for mercy, why would someone destroy a life already so fragile and doomed?
As Kincaid and his capable and appealing assistant Sergeant Gemma James sift through the dead woman's strange history, a troubling puzzle begins to take shape -- a bizarre amalgam of good and evil, of charity and crime . . . and of the blinding passions that can drive the human animal to perform cruel and inhuman acts.
Book 3
When a body is found floating in the Thames river lock one damp and dreary morning, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James are summoned from Scotland Yard to the Chiltern Hills outside London. The dead man is Connor Swann, son-in-law of London's most renowned opera personalities. And prints on his neck suggest that Swann was strangled.
As Duncan and Gemma explore the quiet woods above the Thames and the flamboyant world of London opera in search of answers, they discover a tangled web of family secrets and hidden emotions. And when Duncan finds himself dangerously drawn to a suspect, he and Gemma must sort out their complicated feelings for one another...
Book 8
Book 10
A corpse, burned beyond recognition, has been uncovered in a vacant warehouse in Southwark . . . A young, beautiful hospital administrator has vanished without a trace, her past a mystery to even her closest friend . . .
And across the City, within an old, dark, rambling house, a rigidly controlling, anonymous woman is holding ten-year-old Harriet hostage.
While innocent lives hang in the balance, sinister truths unfurl and DS Duncan Kincaid and DI Gemma James must call upon all resources to work together on their most menacing case yet . . .
‘Deborah Crombie just keeps getting better and better. In a Dark House is utterly compelling’ PETER ROBINSON
Book 11
When Superintendant Duncan Kincaid takes Gemma, Kit and Toby to visit his family in Cheshire, Gemma is soon entranced with Nantwich town's pretty buildings and the historic winding canal, and young Kit is instantly smitten with his cousin Lally.
But their visit is marred when, on Christmas Eve, Duncan's sister discovers a mummified infant's body interred in the wall of an old dairy barn; a tragedy hauntingly echoed by the recent drowning of Peter Llewellyn, a schoolmate of Lally's.
Meanwhile, on her narrowboat, former social worker Annie Lebow is living a life of self-imposed isolation, preparing for a lonely Christmas, made more disturbing by an unexpected meeting earlier in the day.
As the police make enquiries into the infant's death, Kincaid discovers that life in the lovely town of his childhood is far from idyllic, and that the dreaming reaches of the Shropshire Union Canal hold dark and deadly secrets . . .
Book 16
Book 18
Crombie's characters are rich, emotionally textured, fully human. They are the remarkable creations of a remarkable writer.--Louise Penny
"Nobody writes the modern English mystery the way Deborah Crombie does--and A Bitter Feast is the latest in a series that is gripping, enthralling, and just plain the best." -- Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of The Black Ascot and A Cruel Deception
New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie returns with a mesmerizing entry in her "excellent" (Miami Herald) series, in which Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are pulled into a dangerous web of secrets, lies, and murder that simmers beneath the surface of a tranquil Cotswolds village.
Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his wife, Detective Inspector Gemma James, have been invited for a relaxing weekend in the Cotswolds, one of Britain's most enchanting regions, famous for its rolling hills, golden cottages, and picturesque villages.
Duncan, Gemma, and their children are guests at Beck House, the family estate of Melody Talbot, Gemma's detective sergeant. The Talbot family is wealthy, prominent, and powerful--Melody's father is the publisher of one of London's largest and most influential newspapers. The centerpiece of this glorious fall getaway is a posh charity harvest luncheon catered by up-and-coming chef Viv Holland. After fifteen years in London's cut-throat food scene, Viv has returned to the Gloucestershire valleys of her childhood and quickly made a name for herself with her innovative meals based on traditional cuisine but using fresh local ingredients. Attended by the local well-to-do as well as national press food bloggers and restaurant critics, the event could make Viv a star.
But a tragic car accident and a series of mysterious deaths rock the estate and pull Duncan and Gemma into the investigation. It soon becomes clear that the killer has a connection with Viv's pub--or, perhaps, with Beck House itself.
Does the truth lie in the past? Or is it closer to home, tied up in the tangled relationships and bitter resentments between the staff at Beck House and Viv's new pub? Or is it more personal, entwined with secrets hidden by Viv and those closest to her?
--Library Journal