Mourn Not Your Dead [Paperback]

Deborah Crombie (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: Pan; First Edition edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330474855
• ISBN-13: 978-0330474856
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,448,982 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

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Series So far, January 10, 2002

By 

Mark "markrobcol" (FLOMATON, AL, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mourn Not Your Dead (Mass Market Paperback)

After an inauspicious beginning, Crombie's Kincaid/James series improves with every book. 'Mourn Not Your Dead', 4th in the series, is as good a police procedural you're likely to find.

Crombie uses her characters and plot in some unexpected and interesting ways. This installment's victim is a senior police officer. Crombie uses this instance to shed light on the inner workings of the Metropolitan Police. The case is set in an English country village and Crombie uses the setting to give us a new look into English country life. The intersecting lives and loss of life in this village are presented in fresh, never predictable and, one senses, quite accurate ways.

Sometimes, mystery/crime series can be a bit like watching 'Touched by an Angel'. The formula never varies, the pace never varies, characters are predictable and two-dimensional at best. You will feel mad, glad, sad and afraid at all the usual points. This is NOT SO with Crombie's Kincaid/James series, especially installments 3 and 4.

I'm on to #5 in the series "Dreaming of the Bones" which was a NY Times Notable Book of the year when it was published -- a rare acheivement by a crime series novel. If Crombie stays on track -- and the Times's opinion indicates she has -- this should be a winner.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great one by Deborah Crombie, March 29, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Mourn Not Your Dead (Mass Market Paperback)

When Scotland Yard is called to investigate the murder of police commander Alastair Gilbert, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James are assigned the case. Complicating the investigation is the relationship between Kincaid and Gemma, who just recently shared a passion-filled evening together. At the onset of the investigation, Gemma tells Kincaid that it is over between them, leaving him badly hurt. ......As the duo starts to dig into the background of Alastair, they find a different picture then the public image of a model citizen and cop he presents. They learn that Alastair ignored the rules, his wife planned to leave him, and that his neighbors despised him for his rancorous and dominating personality. As more clues are uncovered and a suspect confesses, the case becomes even more unsettling to the couple. Adding to their disquieting feelings, is the pair's personal dilemma about which direction their relationship should take. ......Mourn Not Your Dead is a very interesting Scotland Yard mystery novel that will thrill fans of the genre because of the lead protagonists' struggle with a difficult investigation, personal ethics, and a shaky relationship. Like her first three novels, Deborah Crombie's fourth mystery deserves wide readership. .......Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent mystery in excellent series, June 18, 2003

By 

Mim Zee (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mourn Not Your Dead (Mass Market Paperback)

If you like well-plotted, well-written police procedurals served up with a healthy dollop of character-driven writing, pick up this and all the other books is this engaging series. You'll find yourself equally interested in the solving the crime and in the personal relationship between crime-fighting partners Gemma James and Duncan Kinkaid.