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87th out of 571 books
—
511 voters
Necessary As Blood (Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James #13)
The disappearance of a young mother, the murder of her Pakistani husband, and a child's life 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.
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
October 6th 2009
by William Morrow & Company
(first published January 1st 2009)
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Every book in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James offers a crash course on some part of London and its history of change. Occasionally, there is another part of England and even Scotland in the mix, but Deborah Crombie usually has the action and mystery occurring in and around the different areas of London. In this novel Duncan and Jemma find themselves involved in London's East End, particularly the Brick Lane section where Indian/Pakistani/Bengali culture is a strong presence. A young Pakistani man...more
Necessary as Blood, by Deborah Crombie, a-minus, Narrated by Jenny Sterling, Produced by Recorded Books, downloaded from audible.com.
This book pays particular attention to East End London, especially along Brick Lane, where several cultures live side by side with some tension. Sandra Gilles is an artist who uses textiles to make three-dimensional art projects. She has become fairly successful selling these art pieces. Sandra is married to a Pakistani solicitor, and they have a mixed race child,...more
This book pays particular attention to East End London, especially along Brick Lane, where several cultures live side by side with some tension. Sandra Gilles is an artist who uses textiles to make three-dimensional art projects. She has become fairly successful selling these art pieces. Sandra is married to a Pakistani solicitor, and they have a mixed race child,...more
Another one of the series with Gemma and Duncan Kincaid, both of Scotland Yard, in which author Crombie takes a specific neighborhood in London, in this case the East End, and spends the entire book, having Gemma and Kincaid finding bodies, and visiting people in the vicinity. The neighborhood becomes a character in and of itself. I think the author Crombie isn’t so good at place and setting, it is confusing for the reader to try to track all the movements, but she is good at character developme...more
Have you read Deborah Crombie? She’s a native Texan, author of a dozen or so novels, and creator of the mystery series featuring Scotland Yard detective duo Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid. [See more at www.deborahcrombie.com:]
Crombie lives in McKinney, a small town north of Dallas, but has resided in both England and Scotland. Like Elizabeth George, she’s an American who has mastered the art of the modern British mystery. She spends much time in the U.K. researching her novels, and her work is s...more
Crombie lives in McKinney, a small town north of Dallas, but has resided in both England and Scotland. Like Elizabeth George, she’s an American who has mastered the art of the modern British mystery. She spends much time in the U.K. researching her novels, and her work is s...more
I have read all the Kincaid/James novels from Crombie and found most of them compelling. Scotland Yard inspectors (i.e. detectives) Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James became a couple several novels back in the series. After that, some of the tension and "kick" of the novels has been lacking. Crombie has spent much of the recent novels, including this one, exploring some of the personal aspects of Kincaid and James's relationship and life together. Their relationships impact their cases and vice vers...more
Duncan and Gemma get married- FINALLY- and I loved the wedding. In this book, poor Gemma told Duncan she just wanted to be married, not get married. The pressure being put on her by her mother, who is very sick with leukemia, her jackass father, and her bitchy sister Cindy- none who appreciate and respect her as they should- to have some Princess Diana fantasy wedding was adding severe pressure to her. As it is, she is a police detective inspector, lives with her police superintendent lover,and...more
#13 Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James British police procedural. This book's theme is London's East End, specifically the Brick Lane area, notable for its rich Indian/Pakistani/Bengali culture. Gemma is visiting her friend Hazel, newly back in London, when Hazel's soon-to-be-ex-husband Tim calls Gemma and asks her to look into the disappearance of a friend. Nasir, a Bengali lawyer, was supposed to pick up his three-year-old daughter from the sitter several hours previously but hasn't turned up. Since N...more
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I suspect that had this book been written by another author I would have given it five stars, but it's not quite as good as Crombie's Dreaming of the Bones. On the other hand, not many books are. Gemma and Duncan, she in a local precinct and he at Scotland Yard, both become involved in investigating the murder of a young father whose wife disappeared a few months earlier. There are numerous red herrings on the way to the shocking conclusion. The book is set in the East End of London, where yuppi...more
I always enjoy the Gemma Jones/Duncan Kincaid series, and I liked this one too. Tim Cavendish's friend, a Pakistani lawyer is murdered just a few months after his wife disappears. Gemma becomes involved when Tim asks for her help, and she is immediately drawn to Charlotte, the 4 year old daughter left behind. Kincaid is officially asked to investigate the murder in London's East End, but his hands are tied when the prime suspects are targets of big narcotics investigation. The trail eventually l...more
Deborah Crombie is one of my favorite mystery writers mainly because of the interplay of characters and of the settings that she uses. Sometimes the plot is almost secondary to the characters because I've grown to know and love Kincaid and Gemma, their kids, their personal problems. I root for good things to happen to them and in this book, they finally get married and overcome the miscarriage that took place a couple of books away.
I liked the setting especially in this book - Brick Lane and the...more
I liked the setting especially in this book - Brick Lane and the...more
Jul 31, 2011
Catherine Woodman
added it
I love the Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid books--for one thing, there is a nice balance between their home life and their work life, and they are a functional family that is non-traditional, so alot to be loved there. THis one is a good addition to the series. Duncan is involved in a case for professional reasons, whereas Gemma gets interested because she had a personal attachment to one of the victims, so they investigate from two different sides, one from the people he knew and worked with and...more
(Lucky)#13 in the series is another winner! Oh Duncan and Gemma, how I love to drive, walk and travel around London with you - even if we meet at least one murderer per visit. In this edition, Betty foster parents a little girl from the current case, who may be an orphan. At least her mother has been missing for several months and now her father has also disappeared and Tim called Gemma for help.
I so enjoy how you weave the history of the locales and characters from earlier books in the series...more
I so enjoy how you weave the history of the locales and characters from earlier books in the series...more
I probably wouldn't have bought this book if it hadn't been for a Barnes and Noble gift certificate I had laying around . . . while her books will always hold a place in my heart, especially the first few, the last two or three have been not as good, and I was starting to wonder if she was going to wind this series down. I'm happy, though, that this one turned out to be much better than I had expected - despite some of the cliches that turned up, I still really enjoy how natural the whole book f...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I'm not sure when this series went from being the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James mysteries to just the Gemma James mysteries. As the installments in this series keep coming, she seems more and more to be the central character and frankly, I miss Duncan.
Gemma seems to be constantly fretting about something and it's getting a bit tiresome. I would much prefer the happy, blended Kincaid/James families with Duncan and Gemma solving mysteries and not having these constant personal issues. Some personal...more
Gemma seems to be constantly fretting about something and it's getting a bit tiresome. I would much prefer the happy, blended Kincaid/James families with Duncan and Gemma solving mysteries and not having these constant personal issues. Some personal...more
On a beautiful afternoon in May, Sandra Gilles and her three-year-old daughter visit the Columbia Road Flower Market and Sandra asks her former boss and friend to watch her child while she runs a short errand. Sandra never returns and her distraught husband, a Pakistani lawyer, is killed. There are cultural clashes between the Pakistani and white community and a violent and seedy underside lurks beneath the once-time haunt of Jack the Ripper. Duncan and Gemma work along side Doug Cullen and Melo...more
I am a fan of mystery series - having thoroughly enjoyed the books of Sue Grafton and both Kellermans. My sister bought this book for me as a birthday present; she wanted to introduce me to Deborah Crombie, an mystery author whose books take place in London. While not the most gripping mystery novel I've ever read it was an enjoyable enough read; the characters were likable and the author successfully created a sense of place with her streetscape descriptions, colloquial speech and patterns, and...more
Who doesn't enjoy Gemma and Duncan novels? Good sense of values, family, humanity, rightness are all there with the lighter feeling of romance and humor. This is the second book in which Gemma is resolving her conflicts with family and her mother's serious illness. Interestingly she is learning more about how they might really be than how she always thought they were. The story of Naz, Charlotte and Sandra is a heart-breaker and a solution almost impossible to guess early or middle of the novel....more
I've read quite a few of the books in this series by Deborah Crombie. Her mystery plots are great and really hold my attention. In this book, the murder involves an artist who has married outside her own race. Crombie handles that subject very well & I was able to easily empathize with those characters.
However, I just don't like her Gemma Duncan character very much. In this book, she comes off as rather selfish & petty, having a real attitude about working with men.
Oh well, the main sub...more
However, I just don't like her Gemma Duncan character very much. In this book, she comes off as rather selfish & petty, having a real attitude about working with men.
Oh well, the main sub...more
Another excellent,story with well drawn characters that are people you care about. The tensions among the immigrant Asian culture, and the native Brits, creates the background for this sad tale of depravity among the moneyed taking advantage of these immigrants.The one shortcoming is that the introduction of the perpetrator was a bit obvious. So much so that I thought from the first that he would be involved somehow.So a small demerit for being easy to figure the ultimate bad guy, but the overal...more
I think this, the 13th book in the Gemma James-Duncan Kincaid police-procedural series, is one of the best. The story, involving a missing woman artist, the murder of her Pakistani lawyer husband, and the fate of their bright 2-year-old daughter, is compelling. The depiction of London's East End is so effective that I felt as though I were there, the characters are vividly portrayed, the prose is excellent, and there's just the right amount of romance. I really enjoyed the family scenes, and tow...more
My brother bought me this book for Christmas. He put a lot of thought into it, lingering in the isle at a big-box-book store, attempting to figure out what his bibliophile sister would love. And he picked out a murder mystery, which, typically, is not my thing. But because he’s a good brother and because I know it is hard to buy books for me – though they are my absolute favorite present to receive (hint hint) – I gave the book a shot. And I was happy I did.
While this book is hailed as a murder...more
While this book is hailed as a murder...more
Necessary as Blood is the last of the Duncan Kinkaid/Jemma Jones mysteries published so far. We must wait (at least in the US) until February 7 for the next book in the series.
Here's what Publisher's Weekly says about Necessary as Blood:
"Romance dominates Crombie's 13th contemporary procedural featuring Scotland Yarders Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid, who are on the verge of getting married. The how, where and when of their wedding proves a considerable source of stress to both, overshadowing th...more
Here's what Publisher's Weekly says about Necessary as Blood:
"Romance dominates Crombie's 13th contemporary procedural featuring Scotland Yarders Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid, who are on the verge of getting married. The how, where and when of their wedding proves a considerable source of stress to both, overshadowing th...more
Judy, don't read this, as it involves spoilers. When I was younger, the hallmark of a good mystery was that the perpetrator was introduced in the first third or half of the novel. Nowadays, they come in right at the end. Who can deliberate all the characters and figure out the plot, when even the main aspects of the plot and the introduction of the perp don't happen until the end? Trying to figure it out is what makes them fun. All that was missing in this book.
That said, I really liked the sett...more
That said, I really liked the sett...more
This is my favorite Gemma and Duncan book ever, right behind "Dreaming of the bones." The book opens with the disappearance of an artist, leaving behind her beloved husband and child. Next, the husband is murdered. Gemma is roped into the mystery because her friend Hazel's husband knows the murdered man and the daugher, Charlotte. Gemma grows attached to the daughter, seeing her as a substitute for the child she miscarried in a previous book. Scotland Yard is called in when the local police offi...more
This is one of my favorite series. In this book Scotland Yard detectives (and lovers) Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid investigate the murder of a man. They soon learn that it's a more complicated case than they thought: the man's wife disappeared without a trace shortly before. Fearing that the couple's only child is in danger they must solve the case before the murderer strikes again. This is set in London's East End where the legendary Jack the Ripper murders took place over a century ago.
Although it took me some time for me to get comfy with the many British terms/places, I really did get into this book. OK, I was up past 2am, reading! Very fast paced story, and you have to pay attention to details, which I like, even though sometimes I had to go back a few pages to check. (I'm ashamed to admit)
The characters are likeable and interesting, making you care about what happens to them. There are even heart-warming scenes popping up in various places in the story, even when the myste...more
The characters are likeable and interesting, making you care about what happens to them. There are even heart-warming scenes popping up in various places in the story, even when the myste...more
British mystery series that i enjoy. Read all in order so the characters grow. This author really weaves a great mystery. Woman leaves her child with a friend for a few minutes to run an errand, never comes back. Three months later the child is with her babysitter and the father never comes home. These mysteries are all linked to an illegal operation running in the city (can't give that away). The tale is spun and by the end of the book....all is well.....or is it?!?
It never ceases to amaze me that these perfect English procedurals are written by a Texan. Perhaps that's why I find them a bit more comfortable than similar English series. Anyway, Crombie has done it again--for the 13th time. It's an intriguing crime with lots of potential killers. It's still fun to watch Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid mix business with pleasure. This one ends up more pleasurable that usual. Do read it--after you've finished the first 12 in the series.
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Second child of Charlie and Mary Darden. A rather solitary childhood (brother Steve is ten years older) was blessed by her maternal grandmother, Lillian Dozier, a retired teacher who taught her to read very early. After a rather checkered educational career, which included dropping out of high school at sixteen, she graduated from Austin College in Sherman, Texas, with a degree in biology.
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May 18, 2012 12:20pm