Now May You Weep: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Wrapped in her warmest cloak and shawl, Livvy Urquhart paced the worn kitchen flags..." (more)
Key Phrases: cookery weekend, distillery buildings, scullery door, Donald Brodie, John Innes, Chief Inspector Ross (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Crombie (And Justice There Is None) offers her most captivating outing yet for Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James, recently promoted to detective inspector from sergeant. Still getting over the depression caused by her miscarriage, Gemma accepts the invitation of a married friend, Hazel Cavendish, to attend a cooking weekend in Innesfree, Scotland. Gemma thinks the misty, atmospheric landscape of the Highlands, where fine whiskey is distilled and the brogues of the natives ring like music in the air, will be just what she needs to complete her recovery. However, Gemma's hopes are soon dashed by Hazel's revelation that she has come to Innesfree to meet her former lover, Donald Brodie, a handsome distillery owner. When someone shoots Donald dead, Hazel becomes a prime suspect. Gemma investigates, but must be careful to avoid stepping on the toes of DCI Alun Ross, the local authority in charge. Duncan leaves his own problems with his son, Kit, behind in London and joins Gemma in Scotland, but it's Gemma who mainly ferrets out the secrets of the large list of suspects, any one of whom could be the murderer. A master storyteller, Crombie weaves together all the pieces, including a parallel story from a century earlier, to create a fabric as rich and history-laden as a tartan plaid. With vivid settings, well-developed characters and a finely tuned mystery, this is a pure gem guaranteed to satisfy both police procedural and cozy fans.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Here is a country house murder mystery very like the single malt whisky at the heart of it--many-layered, deceptively mellow, packing quite a kick. Crombie separates her popular series characters, Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Notting Hill Station Detective Inspector Gemma James, by having Gemma accompany her best friend to the Scottish Highlands for a cookery weekend. Gemma soon learns she was invited as a front for her married friend's assignation with her lover, the owner of a famous Highlands distillery. In the best Agatha Christie tradition, long-standing feuds seethe beneath the placid, well-heeled surface, all bubbling to the top with the friend's visit. Then Gemma stumbles over the distillery owner, killed with a shotgun blast. With that, Gemma and Kincaid join forces again in a sometimes-comic procedural dance, their steps watched jealously by the local constabulary. While sometimes too self-consciously cozy, this is, overall, delightful. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (October 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060525231
• ISBN-13: 978-0060525231
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #364,049 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 9 in The Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scottish Highland Intrique, November 10, 2003

By	A. Christie "bibliofiend508" (Plano, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Deborah Crombie's excellent Gemma James/Duncan Kincaid series continues with NOW MAY YOU WEEP. This novel transports Gemma (and us) to the Scottish Highlands with her friend Hazel Cavendish. Hazel comes from a line of a whiskey-making dynasty. Hazel's story plays a little like Romeo and Juliet. Young lovers torn apart by family feud. Hazel leaves Highlands rather than have her lover lose his place in his family dynasty. She marries and moves on with her life only to meet up with her former lover years later. She has never forgotten him and decides to see where it all might lead, so after a bit of subterfuge, she brings Gemma with her to the Highlands in the guise of doing a cookery class there.
Things get a bit tricky when her former lover is found dead and suspicion rests on Hazel.

Crombie's strengths lie not only in tightly woven suspenseful plots, but the rich characterizations she brings to all her novels. Here we have not only the mystery that is intriguing in itself, but also the ongoing story of Gemma and Duncan. They have moved in together with their respective sons, but it is not smooth sailing for the family. Gemma and Duncan are extremely likable characters and I enjoy reading about them immensely.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highland whisky, ancient feuds, November 17, 2003

By	Karen Sampson Hudson "Karen Sampson Hudson" (Reno, NV United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Now May You Weep" takes us with detective Gemma James and her best friend, Hazel Cavendish, to the Scottish Highlands for a culinary weekend. Hazel has deep family roots in the beautiful area, famous for flavorful, aged whisky made in picturesque distilleries. Her homecoming reveals some of the details of her earlier life and a previous romance with the handsome Donald Brodie, whom Gemma is surprised to find, has never completely left Hazel's life.

Crombie uses a flashback technique, quoting the diaries of two women in the late 1880s, to weave a tale of passion, fortune, and long-kept secrets. The reader will be swept along as Gemma pieces together disparate evidence to solve a tragic murder, and as she comes to know her close friend Hazel on an even deeper level. Kudoes to Crombie for another great read!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Jealousy and passion lead to murder., November 9, 2003

By	E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Now May You Weep" is Deborah Crombie's latest mystery featuring Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid. Since Gemma left Scotland Yard, she no longer has a working relationship with her lover and housemate, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid. Gemma decides to take a few days off from her job as a detective inspector with the Metropolitan Police to enjoy a cookery weekend in the Scottish Highlands. She is traveling with Hazel Cavendish, her landlord and good friend.

Much to Gemma's surprise, she finds that Hazel had an ulterior motive when she suggested this trip to Scotland, which was her childhood home. It seems that Hazel has been keeping secrets about her past not only from her friend, but also from her husband, Tim. These secrets lead to an unanticipated series of events that end in murder.

"Now May You Weep" features a nice change of scenery. Crombie makes the most of the beautiful Scottish countryside where the story is set. She describes the heather-clad moors, the rolling hills, and granite cliffs of the Highlands in vivid detail. A number of the characters speak in a colorful Scottish dialect, which adds to the book's atmosphere. Since some of the characters are whiskey distillers, Crombie takes the time to explore the history and manufacture of Scotch whiskey, which may be interesting for those who care about how fine whiskey is made.

The problem arises with Crombie's plot, which turns out to be a bit of a potboiler. Love triangles abound, and the melodrama is piled on fairly heavily by the time Crombie comes to her climactic conclusion. She uses the same device that worked well in her previous book, namely a series of flashbacks that supposedly explain the events of the present day. Unfortunately, this time around, the flashbacks are distracting rather than illuminating. It is also too bad that Gemma and Duncan spend less time than usual together, and the story suffers for it. The mystery is a little too forced, and the characters lack the psychological depth that we have come to expect from Crombie. "Now May You Weep" is a disappointing installment is an otherwise above-average mystery series.