Maryanne C. (9outof10) reviewed Necessary as Blood (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 13) on + 41 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of my favorite series and the book was a good read. It's like visiting an old friend or friends. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series,NO MARK UPON HER.
Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
First Line: The streets were greasy with moisture.
I don't know of another mystery series that I read in which the characters' personal lives are every bit as important to me as the investigation. By this, the thirteenth book, I feel like an old family friend as I read about Scotland Yard's Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his Detective Inspector Gemma James who works out of the Notting Hill station in London. Everyone in their families wants Duncan and Gemma married as quickly as possible, but Gemma doesn't seem to be as keen. Then something happens that puts all thoughts of marriage out of her mind.
Two months previously, a talented textile artist named Sandra Gilles left her three-year-old daughter with a friend at a flower stall in an open market. She said she'd be back in a few minutes. She never returned. Now her husband, Naz Malik, is missing. When his body is found, Gemma is concerned not only with finding out what happened to Sandra and Naz, but in ensuring that their daughter is taken care of properly. Seeing her name on reports of the crime, Duncan Kincaid and his partner, Doug Cullen, decide to join in the investigation.
For those who care more for the story than the characters and the characters' lives, I would imagine that this book would be a disappointment. For me, it was a feast. The actual investigation was convoluted enough that I didn't guess what had happened, and I enjoyed the background history of London's East End that was skillfully woven into the story. Marriage plans, sick parents, and two of the most realistically drawn children in fiction all added to an extremely pleasurable read.
I read a lot of mystery series. I don't think there's any way in the world that I can ever finish them all. Normally it's a sign of how much I enjoy a series by how "caught up" I am. Crombie has written thirteen books in this series, and this is a review of number thirteen. The only negative thing about this Cathy-esque mark of respect is that now I have to wait for the next book to be published.
Guess I'm going to have to make a dent in some of those other series, eh? Duncan, Gemma-- HURRY UP!
I don't know of another mystery series that I read in which the characters' personal lives are every bit as important to me as the investigation. By this, the thirteenth book, I feel like an old family friend as I read about Scotland Yard's Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his Detective Inspector Gemma James who works out of the Notting Hill station in London. Everyone in their families wants Duncan and Gemma married as quickly as possible, but Gemma doesn't seem to be as keen. Then something happens that puts all thoughts of marriage out of her mind.
Two months previously, a talented textile artist named Sandra Gilles left her three-year-old daughter with a friend at a flower stall in an open market. She said she'd be back in a few minutes. She never returned. Now her husband, Naz Malik, is missing. When his body is found, Gemma is concerned not only with finding out what happened to Sandra and Naz, but in ensuring that their daughter is taken care of properly. Seeing her name on reports of the crime, Duncan Kincaid and his partner, Doug Cullen, decide to join in the investigation.
For those who care more for the story than the characters and the characters' lives, I would imagine that this book would be a disappointment. For me, it was a feast. The actual investigation was convoluted enough that I didn't guess what had happened, and I enjoyed the background history of London's East End that was skillfully woven into the story. Marriage plans, sick parents, and two of the most realistically drawn children in fiction all added to an extremely pleasurable read.
I read a lot of mystery series. I don't think there's any way in the world that I can ever finish them all. Normally it's a sign of how much I enjoy a series by how "caught up" I am. Crombie has written thirteen books in this series, and this is a review of number thirteen. The only negative thing about this Cathy-esque mark of respect is that now I have to wait for the next book to be published.
Guess I'm going to have to make a dent in some of those other series, eh? Duncan, Gemma-- HURRY UP!
Barbara L. reviewed Necessary as Blood (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 13) on + 988 more book reviews
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In this dazzling addition to Deborah Crombie's acclaimed mystery series, a disappearance, a murder, and a child in danger lead Scotland Yard detectives Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid into London's legendary East End - a neighborhood where the rich and the poor, the ambitious and the dangerous, collide - to solve one of the most challenging and disturbing cases they've ever faced. . . .
Once the haunt of Jack the Ripper, London's East End is a vibrant mix of history and the avant-garde, a place where elegant Georgian town houses exist side by side with colorful street markets and the hippest clubs. But here races and cultures still clash, and the trendy galleries and glamorous nightlife of Whitechapel disguise a violent and seedy underside, where unthinkable crimes bring terror to the innocent.
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in mid May, a young mother, Sandra Gilles, leaves her daughter with a friend at the Columbia Road Flower Market and disappears. Shortly thereafter, her husband, a Pakistani lawyer, is killed. Scotland Yard detective Gemma James happens upon the scene in time to witness the investigator making a mistake.
When Duncan and his trusted sergeant, Doug Cullen, see Gemma's name in the report, they decide to take the case. Working together again, Gemma, Duncan, Doug, and Melody Talbot must solve it before the murderer can get his hands on the real prize, Naz and Sandra's daughter.
But just as the case grows more dangerous, a personal issue threatens to throw Gemma and Duncan off the trail. In the end, it is up to them to stop a vicious killer and protect the child whose fate hangs in the balance. « less
In this dazzling addition to Deborah Crombie's acclaimed mystery series, a disappearance, a murder, and a child in danger lead Scotland Yard detectives Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid into London's legendary East End - a neighborhood where the rich and the poor, the ambitious and the dangerous, collide - to solve one of the most challenging and disturbing cases they've ever faced. . . .
Once the haunt of Jack the Ripper, London's East End is a vibrant mix of history and the avant-garde, a place where elegant Georgian town houses exist side by side with colorful street markets and the hippest clubs. But here races and cultures still clash, and the trendy galleries and glamorous nightlife of Whitechapel disguise a violent and seedy underside, where unthinkable crimes bring terror to the innocent.
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in mid May, a young mother, Sandra Gilles, leaves her daughter with a friend at the Columbia Road Flower Market and disappears. Shortly thereafter, her husband, a Pakistani lawyer, is killed. Scotland Yard detective Gemma James happens upon the scene in time to witness the investigator making a mistake.
When Duncan and his trusted sergeant, Doug Cullen, see Gemma's name in the report, they decide to take the case. Working together again, Gemma, Duncan, Doug, and Melody Talbot must solve it before the murderer can get his hands on the real prize, Naz and Sandra's daughter.
But just as the case grows more dangerous, a personal issue threatens to throw Gemma and Duncan off the trail. In the end, it is up to them to stop a vicious killer and protect the child whose fate hangs in the balance. « less
Katherine I. (Katz47) reviewed Necessary as Blood (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 13) on + 51 more book reviews
I love Gemma and Kincaid. Good stories
Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed Necessary as Blood (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 13) on + 1032 more book reviews
13th in the series with Duncan Kincaid of Scotland Yard and Gemma James of the Metropolitan Police. James is having lunch with her best friend Hazel, when Hazel's ex-husband calls hoping for assistance in finding a friend who's disappeared, leaving his 3 year old daughter at home with the nanny. The mother had disappeared months earlier. James is smitten with the child, has a bad feeling about the whole situation and when the father's body is found, has Kincaid get it assigned to his team at Scotland Yard. Crombie sets this book in Spitalfields, once a section in London for silk merchants but in this book now a Bangladeshi neighborhood. Lots of threads weave into a dark web of human trafficking. This series is heavily into the personal lives of Kincaid and James, which I really like, and a couple sub-plots are finally resolved here. My biggest complaint has to do with the formatting - there are many pages of prologue set in italics which I find irritating to read. Otherwise, a nice entry and I'm looking forward to the next one
Peter R. - , reviewed Necessary as Blood (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 13) on + 5 more book reviews
It's been a couple of years since I last read this series, and it was easy to pick up and recognize all of the characters. I didn't like the ending though.
