Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James Mystery Novels

Often compared to both Ruth Rendell and P.D. James, Deborah Crombie is internationally acclaimed for her deftly written mysteries that combine suspense, with lyrical prose. Sharply etched characters further enrich this story of tangled relationships and dark secrets. Twelve years after their divorce, Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid receives a phone call from his ex-wife Victoria asking for his help.

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.

A crime of passion strikes close to home when Gemma and her best friend, Hazel Cavendish, travel to Scotland, a land of mists and fine whiskey, of hidden pasts and dangerous secrets, or so Gemma discovers when an unexpected meeting with Hazel's old flame yields shocking—and mortal—consequences. Hazel is the logical suspect, but Gemma knows nothing is simple in this place of secrets and long-seething hatreds.

Superintendent Duncan Kincaid is called to investigate the shocking death of a woman found burned beyond recognition in a Victorian warehouse in south London. When his lover and partner, Gemma James, is asked to trace a friend's missing roommate, she and Duncan discover that their cases have several disturbing links. Set against a backdrop of Dickensian Southwark, repository of old secrets, the case plunges Duncan and Gemma into the dark recesses of human relationships. Two women are missing, a little girl is abducted, and no one is really what they seem.

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.

Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James find themselves drawn into a web of deceit and treachery that has its roots in the turmoil of 1939, as Britain and Germany hover on the brink of war. Gemma learns that her friend Erika Rosenthal lost a valuable brooch during her escape from Berlin. Now that heirloom has turned up at auction, and Erika asks Gemma's help in discovering its whereabouts for the last 50 years.

Can someone really disappear without a trace? 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.

Olympic rowing hopeful and senior Metropolitan Police officer DCI Rebecca Meredith trains alone on the river in Henley one dark afternoon—and doesn't return. Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his partner Detective Inspector Gemma James are called to investigate and find that the answers lie closer to home than they could have imagined. Now more than one innocent life depends on their ability to track down the killer.

Duncan, Gemma and their children are guests at Beck House, the country estate belonging to the family of Melody Talbot, Gemma’s trusted detective sergeant. A centerpiece of this glorious autumn getaway is a charity luncheon catered by up-and-coming chef Viv Holland. The event could make Viv a star. But a tragic car accident followed by a series of mysterious deaths could ruin her ascent. Each piece of information that surfaces makes it clear that the killer had a connection with Viv’s pub - and perhaps with Beck House itself.