Customer Reviews

Leave the Grave Green (Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Novels)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Deborah Crombie's work is not up to the level of Ruth Rendell's or Elizabeth George's, but she is a talented writer in the British tradition of police procedurals. In Crombie's novel, "Leave the Grave Green," Inspector Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James investigate the murder of a young man named Connor Swann, who drowned under mysterious circumstances. Both Kincaid and James are divorced and afraid of relationships, and Crombie explores the tentative nature of their mutual attraction very nicely. The murder investigation is engrossing; it plays out interestingly and realistically. Crombie depicts her characters with a sharp understanding of human nature and, in her own quiet way, she delivers a murder mystery that satisfies. I love Inspector Kincaid and Sergeant James. They are marvelous characters who are vulnerable working people struggling to make a place for themselves both professionally and personally. I am looking forward to more books featuring Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James.

"Leave the Grave Green" by Deborah Crombie is her third novel featuring the Scotland yard team of Duncan Kincaid and Gemma Janes. They are called in to investigate the suspicious drowning death of Connor Swann.

The book opens with a prologue describing another drowning that occurred long before Mr. Swann's. Part of the fun in reading this book is trying to figure out all the connections between the two drownings before they are revealed.

Ms Crombie is so good at developing her characters that we have empathy with all of them, even those that make choices that lead to tragic consequences. Jones and Kincaid are appealing police officers. They have both been wounded in love and watching them reach out to each other is touching. In fact, this whole story is about how people deal with the aftermath of poor choices made in the name of love.

My favorite mysteries tend to be a little darker than this one, but I'm going to read the next book in the series. I'm hooked!

I'm a great fan of both Deborah Crombie and Jill McGown. Both of these authors present complex, satisfying mysteries with a believable relationship going on at the same time.
This is a great read involving complex family interactions and excellent characterizations. The whole issue of the death of the young son, revealed in the first chapter, comes to an interesting conclusion.

Ms. Crombie is shaping into a writer of the kind of power shown in the early works of Martha Grimes and Elizabeth George. The later work of these two authors have suffered greatly. Due to I-don't-know-what their work has turned dark and grim, almost unforgivably so. Ms. Crombie's work is still light enough to enjoy without causing severe depression afterwards. I look forward to reading some more of her work.

Highly recommended to lovers of the English mystery genre.

I was pretty much hooked from the very first Kinkaid/James novel. I enjoyed Share a lot and I liked All Shall Be Well even more. Leave the Grave Green however, is the best one in the series yet!

The son in law of a famous conductor and his ex opera singing wife turns up dead in a river local to their home. Being of high status and having alot of pull with the authorities, the Ashertons call Scotland Yard and request that the matter be looked into. None other than Duncan Kinkaid and Gemma James pick up the case.

As it turns out, this isn't the first time that the family has encountered such a tragedy. In the wake of their investigations, James and Kinkaid will reveal an even deeper family secret that leads right up to a very nice twist towards the end of the book.

This is one satisfying read. As is the case with the previous two novels, Green is a character driven mystery. For a book that features very little in the way of traditional action, it's as engrossing a crime mystery as any I've read. The reason for that is not only is the plot tightly woven, but the characters are all fabulous to read. Of course Duncan and Gemma are a great duo and fun to read, but even the minor players leave their mark. Crombie just has a talent to craft interesting characters and blend them into an enjoyable whodunnit. The end result is a book that will leave you wanting more and luckily enough it seems there's plenty more to be had. Can't wait to get to the next installment!

Great characters, now all she needs is a more tangled and engaging murder to go with them. Her characters are clever, and I am hoping that soon he mysteries will be too. Worth reading but still not a 5 star...yet!

This is the third installment of Deborah Crombie's crime series featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James. Other books in this series have consistently been nominated or have won various mystery awards, which is something to look for when deciding whether or not to read a particular author.

You would never guess that Crombie is an American. Her rendering of the local color, characters and conversions could have been written by Ruth Rendell. There are no unnecessary subplots - everything is connected to unraveling the mystery. Some of her descriptions are so good that they have to be re-read to be appreciated. For example "She slipped out of her leather jacket and tossed it wrong-side-out over the sofa back before sitting beside her husband. The deep red silk of the jacket's lining rippled like blood in the glow from the fire."

The plot is in the `peeling an onion" genre. Kinkaid and Jones are asked to investigate the death of Connor Swann, who has drowned under suspicious circumstances. On the day of his death, Swann had arguments with Julia, his estranged wife, Tommy Godwin, an associate of his father-in-law, and Kenneth Hicks, his bookie. Other suspects include Sir Gerald Asherton, Swann's father-in-law and his wife, Dame Caroline Stowe. Everyone has an alibi and no one is telling the whole story. As Kincaid and Jones investigate they get personally involved as they try to unravel the "outright lies" and the "denial of the truth".

This novel felt like Crombie had created a schema, then moved the players around the board until they fitted her diagram.

She has two drownings,asking us to make connections between them, but they don't really have any resonance with each other. She also ends up having the suspects in one room while the detective explains what really happened, a set-up I thought went out in the 50s.

Ultimately, it's not a bad mystery, just pretty average, hence the 3 stars.

Supt. Duncan Kincaid and his Sergeant Glenna James travel to rural England at the request of Scotland Yard's assistant commissioner, who was an old school mate of Sir. Gerald Asherton. Sir Gerald's son-in-law's body was pull from a nearby lock. Was Connor Swann murdered or was his death an accident, stranger still, how did he die?
Growing emotional involvement bedevils their working relationship as Duncan finds himself draw the decease's estranged wife. This classic police procedural has as many twists and turns as the roads they travel. An excellent puzzle of deception with every character having something to hide and to loose.
Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Taxes, Stumbling Blocks & Pitfalls for Authors 2007."

Deborah Crombie should not have chosen to make her protagonists Scotland Yard detectives. I love a good cozy mystery, and I love a good police procedural, but her books thus far try to be both and succeed at neither. Clumsy, too, in the way the author tries to paint the growing sexual tension between Kincaid and James and the growing sexual tension between Kincaid and every other attractive female who crosses his path. I think she can work out the clumsiness, but she needs either to find out how police departments really work, or switch over to pure cozy.

On the other hand, after deciding that I couldn't stand to read any more in the series, I found the last chapter astonishingly poignant and compelling, so I will not give up on Crombie yet.