A Finer End [Mass Market Paperback]

Deborah Crombie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2002

Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his partner Sergeant Gemma James return in another spellbinding novel of mysteries--one contemporary, one ancient--an investigation that will challenge them personally and professionally as no case ever has. From the award-winning author of the acclaimed Kissed a Sad Goodbye...

A FINER END

When Duncan Kincaid’s cousin Jack calls from Glastonbury to ask for his help on a rather unusual matter, Duncan welcomes the chance to spend a relaxing weekend outside of London with Gemma--but relaxation isn’t on the agenda. Glastonbury is revered as the site of an ancient abbey, the mythical burial place of King Arthur and Guinevere, and a source of strong druid power. Jack has no more than a passing interest in its history--until he comes across an extraordinary chronicle almost a thousand years old. The record reveals something terrible and bloody shattered the abbey’s peace long ago--knowledge that will spark violence that reaches into the present. Soon it is up to Duncan and Gemma to find the truth the local police cannot see. But no one envisions the peril that lies ahead--or that there is more at stake than they ever dreamed possible.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Although P.D. James has made it to the top of American bestseller lists, she's not the only talented female writer of British mysteries who is popular here. Like James, Deborah Crombie is another exceptional stylist who uses every new book in a series as an opportunity to explore the emotional complexity of her central characters and further reveal the many dimensions of their personal and professional lives. Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his partner and lover, Sergeant Gemma James, are at a crossroads in their relationship. But far more compelling to both of them are their investigations in Glastonbury, the mythical burial place of King Arthur and Guinevere, where Kincaid's cousin Jack has discovered a thousand-year-old secret. Jack hasn't deciphered it yet--it's being transmitted to him by "automatic writing" in communiqués that seem to be coming (in church Latin, of course) from a monk who's been dead for centuries. Of course there's a murder involved--a couple of them, actually--but by the time Kincaid's involvement is officially sanctioned as an investigation rather than a favor for a relative, the reader has been drawn deeply into a much more ancient mystery.

As usual, Crombie creates secondary characters who are as interesting and carefully developed as Kincaid and James: a middle-aged vicar whose life is nearly snuffed out just as she's fallen in love for the first time; a pregnant teenager with apparently psychic abilities that are somehow linked to the ruins of Glastonbury's old abbey; a mendacious historian who understands the true value of the mysterious "letters" from Brother Edmund; and especially the Company of Watchers, the spirits who guard Britain's spiritual heart, who are said to watch over King Arthur until he rises again. There's more than a smidgen of New Age-iness about this somewhat atypical Crombie thriller, but perhaps that will help widen her appeal and bring her the attention her brilliant but largely unknown books deserve. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

This seventh mystery featuring Scotland Yard detectives and lovers Duncan Kincaid and Gemma Jones, a finely nuanced novel replete with multilayered characters and a rare narrative patience, shows Crombie at the top of her form after the relatively weak Kissed a Sad Goodbye (1999). The spirit of Edmund, a Glastonbury monk, possesses a cousin of Duncan's, architect Jack Montfort, prompting him to write in scholarly medieval Latin of a missing relic and a chant hidden in the nearby abbey. Among those who form an alliance to decipher the meaning of Jack's writings are Faith, a pregnant teenager, and Garnet, a reclusive artist. Nick, who works at the local bookstore, is besotted with Faith and suspicious of the free-spirited Garnet. When Jack's girlfriend, Winnie, is hit by a car and left for dead and Garnet murdered, Jack invites Duncan and Gemma to Glastonbury to help investigate. The author covers a lot of ground, from Arthurian legend (the abbey may be Arthur and Guinevere's final resting place) to Jack's lineage, which stretches back to Edmund the monk. Who fathered Faith's child is a protracted mystery, while the unearthly beauty of Glastonbury Tor draws believers and skeptics alike, giving solace to troubled souls and stirring others to perform dark deeds. Throughout, the author sustains the sharp sense of a magical history bleeding into the present, even if the denouement is too traditional for all the preceding trappings. Agent, Nancy Yost. (May 8)Forecast: Nominated for Edgar and Macavity awards, Crombie should sell to the same audience that has made Elizabeth George and P.D. James bestsellers.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (May 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553579274
• ISBN-13: 978-0553579277
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #395,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deborah Crombie grew up near Dallas, Texas, but from a child always had the inexplicable feeling that she belonged in England. After earning a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Austin College in Sherman, Texas, she made her first trip to Britain and felt she'd come home. She later lived in both Chester, England, and Edinburgh, Scotland, where she failed to make as good a use of being cold and poor as JK Rowling.

It was not until almost a decade later that, living once more in Texas and raising her small daughter, she had the idea for her first novel, a mystery set in Yorkshire. She had no credentials other than a desire to write and a severe case of homesickness for Britain. A Share in Death, published in 1993, was short-listed for both Agatha and Macavity awards for Best First Novel and was awarded the Macavity.

Crombie's fifth novel, Dreaming of the Bones, was a New York Times Notable Book in 1997, was named by the Independent Mystery Booksellers as one of the 100 Best Crime Novels of the Century, was an Edgar nominee for Best Novel, and won the Macavity award for Best Novel.

Subsequent novels have been published to critical acclaim and in a dozen languages. Crombie's fourteenth novel featuring Metropolitan Police detectives Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Inspector Gemma James, No Mark Upon Her, will be published by Harper Collins in February 2012.

The author still lives in Texas but spends several months out of the year in Britain, maintaining a precarious balance between the two, and occasionally confusing her cultural references.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read!, May 31, 2001

By 

P. Bigelow (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Finer End (Hardcover)

This is the seventh Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James outing in a series that is one of the best being written today.

When Kincaid, a Scotland Yard Detective Superintendant, is called by his cousin, Jack Montifort, to help discover who ran down Anglican priest Winifred Catesby and nearly killed her. Kincaid reluctantly agrees to talk to a few people and asks his former partner, the newly promoted Inspector James, to accompany him to Glastonbury. Once there, Montifort tells them that he has been in contact with an 800-year-old priest who wants him to do something, but he's not yet sure what. When another woman is killed, Kincaid moves into high gear.

Crombie has once again written a beautifully rendered mystery. The plot is intricate, but not so intricate as to be incomprehensible. She is able to move the story along at a sprightly pace despite several characters, including the long-dead priest. This is a fascinating read both from a historical perspective, Crombie is adept at giving you history without making it the focal point, and from a mystery perspective, why would anyone want to run down an Anglican priest and kill a ceramicist?

This book has it all - character development (once again Kincaid and James' relationship is changing), plot, mystery, procedural, and good old-fashioned great writing. Do not pass this series and this entry into the series by.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James mystery., May 27, 2001

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Finer End (Hardcover)

I have been reading Crombie's series for some time now, and "A Finer End" is one of her best efforts. In this new mystery, Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid is summoned by his cousin, Jack Montfort, to provide help with a sensitive matter. Winnie Catesby, an Anglican priest and Jack's lover, has been hit by a car and left for dead. Was this an accident or a deliberate attempt at murder? Jack wants Duncan to look into the case and give his professional opinion. Gemma James, Duncan's lover and former partner, has been promoted to Inspector, a move that has caused a rift between Gemma and Duncan. Gemma comes with Duncan to Glastonbury, where Jack lives, to get away from the pressures of her new job for a few days. Glastonbury is a town that features the ruins of an ancient abbey. It is also a tourist attraction for New Agers who come to get in touch with the powerful spiritual forces that are reputed to be centered there. Crombie's book features a fascinating cast of characters, including Simon Fitzstephen, a Church scholar with dark secrets and Garnet Todd, an eccentric woman who is terrified of the forces of darkness that she believes are present in Glastonbury. Soon after Winnie's "accident," another resident of the town is murdered. Kincaid and James get embroiled in the passions of a place where feelings of fear and anger have been festering for many years. "A Finer End" is a psychological mystery that is also rich in history, spirituality and romance. The mystery is intriguing and satisfying, with enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing until the end. I recommend "A Finer End" for fans of atmospheric British police procedurals.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Entry in a Great Series, June 9, 2001

By 

P. Bigelow (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Finer End (Hardcover)

While not strictly a historical mystery, this seventh outing for Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James has historical elements.

When Kincaid, a Scotland Yard Detective Superintendant, is called by his cousin, Jack Montifort, to help discover who ran down Anglican priest Winifred Catesby and nearly killed her. Kincaid reluctantly agrees to talk to a few people and asks his former partner, the newly promoted Inspector James, to accompany him to Glastonbury. Once there, Montifort tells them that he has been in contact with an 800-year-old priest who wants him to do something, but he's not yet sure what. When another woman is killed, Kincaid moves into high gear.

Crombie has once again written a beautifully rendered mystery. The plot is intricate, but not so intricate as to be incomprehensible. She is able to move the story along at a sprightly pace despite several characters, including the long-dead priest. This is a fascinating read both from a historical perspective, Crombie is adept at giving you history without making it the focal point, and from a mystery perspective, why would anyone want to run down an Anglican priest and kill a ceramicist?

This book has it all - character development (once again Kincaid and James' relationship is changing), plot, mystery, procedural, and good old-fashioned great writing. Do not pass this series and this entry into the series