In the tradition of Elizabeth George, Louise Penny, and P. D. James, New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie delivers a powerful tale of intrigue, betrayal, and lies that will plunge married London detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James into the unspeakable darkness that lies at the heart of murder.Recently transferred to the London borough of Camden from Scotland Yard headquarters, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his new murder investigation team are called to a deadly bombing at historic St. Pancras Station. By fortunate coincidence, Melody Talbot, Gemma's trusted colleague, witnesses the explosion. The victim was taking part in an organized protest, yet the other group members swear the young man only meant to set off a smoke bomb. As Kincaid begins to gather the facts, he finds every piece of the puzzle yields an unexpected pattern, including the disappearance of a mysterious bystander.The bombing isn't the only mystery troubling Kincaid. He's still questioning the reasons behind his transfer, and when his former boss—who's been avoiding him—is attacked, those suspicions deepen. With the help of his former sergeant, Doug Cullen, Melody Talbot, and Gemma, Kincaid begins to untangle the truth. But what he discovers will leave him questioning his belief in the job that has shaped his life and his values—and remind him just how vulnerable his precious family is.About the AuthorDeborah Crombie is a New York Times bestselling author and a native Texan who has lived in both England and Scotland. She lives in McKinney, Texas, sharing a house that is more than one hundred years old with her husband, two cats, and two German shepherds.

"Crombie's Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James characters are rich, emotionally textured, fully human. They are the remarkable creations of a remarkable writer."—Louise PennyNew York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie returns with a mesmerizing entry in her "excellent" (Miami Herald) series, in which Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are pulled into a dangerous web of secrets, lies, and murder buried beneath the surface of a picturesque Cotswolds village. Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his wife, Detective Inspector Gemma James, have been invited for a relaxing weekend in the tranquil Cotswolds, one of Britain's most beautiful and historic regions, famous for its rolling hills, sheep-strewn green meadows, golden cottages, and timeless villages that retain the spirit of old England. Duncan, Gemma, and their children are guests at Beck House, the country estate...

Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are drawn into separate investigations that hold disturbing—and deadly—complications for their own lives in this powerful mystery in the bestselling series. On a beautiful morning in mid-May, the body of a young woman is found in one of Notting Hill’s private gardens. To passersby, the pretty girl in the white dress looks as if she’s sleeping. But Reagan Keating has been murdered, and the lead detective, DI Kerry Boatman, turns to Gemma James for help. She and Gemma worked together on a previous investigation, and Gemma has a personal connection to the case: Reagan was the nanny of a child who attends the same dance studio as Toby, Gemma and Kincaid’s son. Gemma soon discovers that Reagan’s death is the second tragedy in this exclusive London park; a few months before, a young boy died in a tragic accident. But when still another of the garden residents meets a violent end, it becomes clear that there are more sinister forces at play. Boatman and Gemma must stop the killer before another innocent life is taken. While his wife is consumed with her new case, Kincaid finds himself plagued by disturbing questions about several previous—and seemingly unrelated—cases involving members of the force. If his suspicions are correct and the crimes are linked, are his family and friends in mortal danger as well? Kincaid’s hunch turns to certainty when a Metropolitan Police officer close to him is brutally attacked. There’s a traitor in the ranks, and now Kincaid wonders if he can trust anyone. As Gemma begins to see a solution to her case, she realizes she holds a child’s fate in her hands. Can she do the right thing? And can Kincaid rely on his friends, both inside and outside the Scotland Yard force, to stand beside him as he faces the deadliest challenge of his career? Advertising Show More

Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are drawn into separate investigations that hold disturbing—and deadly—complications for their own lives in this powerful mystery in the bestselling series.On a beautiful morning in mid-May, the body of a young woman is found in one of Notting Hill's private gardens. To passersby, the pretty girl in the white dress looks as if she's sleeping. But Reagan Keating has been murdered, and the lead detective, DI Kerry Boatman, turns to Gemma James for help. She and Gemma worked together on a previous investigation, and Gemma has a personal connection to the case: Reagan was the nanny of a child who attends the same dance studio as Toby, Gemma and Kincaid's son.Gemma soon discovers that Reagan's death is the second tragedy in this exclusive London park; a few months before, a young boy died in a tragic accident. But when still another of the garden residents meets a violent end, it becomes clear that...

The life of Scotland Yard's Gemma James is changing in major ways-she's just been promoted to Inspector, she's pregnant, and she and her young son are about to move into spacious new digs with her lover, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid. Then the beautiful young wife of a Portobello Road antiques dealer is murdered in the driveway of her Notting Hill home and the case lands in Gemma's disappearing lap. Dawn Arrowood, as Gemma soon discovers, was pregnant when she died, most likely by Alex Dunn, a porcelain dealer in Portobello Market whose disappearance after the murder makes him a prime suspect. But Gemma rules him out as the killer, focusing her investigation on Karl Arrowood, the dead woman's husband. When Karl is murdered, she's stymied, but then Kincaid's investigation into what may be a serial killer turns up a bizarre connection to Gemma's case and a link to Karl Arrowood's sideline as a drug smuggler. As usual, Crombie handles a complicated plot with style, providing enough twists and turns to hold the reader's attention while driving the narrative to a stunning conclusion.

When Scotland Yard superintendent Duncan Kincaid takes Gemma, Kit, and Toby for a holiday visit to his family in Cheshire, Gemma is soon entranced with Nantwich's pretty buildings and the historic winding canal, and young Kit is instantly smitten with his cousin Lally. But their visit is marred by family tensions exacerbated by the unraveling of Duncan's sister Juliet's marriage. And tensions are brought to the breaking point on Christmas Eve with Juliet's discovery of a mummified infant's body interred in the wall of an old dairy barn—a tragedy hauntingly echoed by the recent drowning of Peter Llewellyn, a schoolmate of Lally's. Meanwhile, on her narrowboat, former social worker Annie Lebow is living a life of self-imposed isolation and preparing for a lonely Christmas, made more troubling by her meeting earlier in the day with the Wains, a traditional boating family whose case precipitated Annie's leaving her job....

For a limited time, download Nocturne, an original short story by bestselling author Deborah Crombie, that leads into her forthcoming novel, No Mark Upon Her.In No Mark Upon Her, Olympic rowing hopeful and Metropolitan Police officer DCI Rebecca Meredith goes out to train on the river in Henley on a dark afternoon in late October. When, the following morning, her ex-husband realizes she hasn't returned, a search is instituted and a K9 search and rescue team finds Meredith's body in the river.Scotland Yard superintendent Duncan Kincaid, returning from a family celebration of his marriage to Inspector Gemma James, is called to investigate Meredith's death. He soon finds that both Meredith's rowing colleagues and her ex-husband might have had good reason to want her dead. But when an attempt is made on the life of one of the search and rescue team members who found Meredith's body, Kincaid realizes the case may be more complex and more...

Erika Rosenthal has always been secretive with her friend and neighbor, Detective Inspector Gemma James, about her past, except for one telling detail: She and her long-dead husband, David, came to London as refugees from Nazi Germany. But now the elderly woman needs Gemma's help. A unique piece of jewelry stolen from her years ago has mysteriously turned up at a prestigious London auction house. Erika believes the theft may be tied to her husband's death, which had always been assumed a suicide. Gemma has a tough challenge. She must navigate the shadowy and secretive world of London 's monied society to discover the jewelry's connection to David's murderer. However, the cold case needs to be put back on the books and possibly into the hands of her partner, Duncan Kincaid. When a second, present-day murder kicks the investigation into high gear, Gemma becomes more determined to exact justice for Erika – in a case that will have lasting repercussions.

Newly appointed Detective Inspector Gemma James has never thought to question her friend Hazel Cavendish about her past. So it is quite a shock when Gemma learns that their holiday retreat to a hotel in the Scottish Highlands is, in fact, Hazel's homecoming -- and that fellow guest Donald Brodie was once Hazel's lover, despite a vicious, long-standing feud between their rival, fine whiskey distilling families. And the fires of a fierce and passionate affair may not have burned out completely -- on Brodie's part at least, since he's prepared to destroy Hazel's marriage to win back his "Juliet." But when a sudden, brutal murder unleashes a slew of sinister secrets and long-seething hatreds, putting Hazel's life in peril, Gemma knows she will need help unraveling this very bloody knot -- and calls for the one man she trusts more than any other, Duncan Kincaid, to join her far from home ... and in harm's way.

The third in the Duncan Kincaid mystery series. Superintendent Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James are summoned from Scotland Yard to investigate the drowning of a man. Twenty years earlier, the man's brother had drowned in mysterious circumstances. Could it be that the murderer is one of the family?

Senior policeman Commander Albert Gilbert is found dead at home. Inspector Duncan Kincaid and his partner Sergeant Gemma James soon have their prime suspect in Geoff Genovase, until one of Gemma's colleagues, Jackie Temple, voices her suspicions about a senior police officer.

In the past . . .On a blisteringly hot August afternoon in Crystal Palace, once home to the tragically destroyed Great Exhibition, a solitary thirteen-year-old boy meets his next-door neighbor, a recently widowed young teacher hoping to make a new start in the tight-knit South London community. Drawn together by loneliness, the unlikely pair forms a deep connection that ends in a shattering act of betrayal.In the present . . .On a cold January morning in London, Detective Inspector Gemma James is back on the job now that her husband, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, is at home to care for their three-year-old foster daughter. Assigned to lead a Murder Investigation Team in South London, she's assisted by her trusted colleague, newly promoted Detective Sergeant Melody Talbot. Their first case: a crime scene at a seedy hotel in Crystal Palace. The victim: a well-respected barrister, found naked, trussed, and apparently strangled. Is it an...

"New York Times" bestselling author Deborah Crombie makes her mark with this absorbing, finely hued tale of suspense--a deeply atmospheric and twisting mystery full of deadly secrets, salacious lies, and unexpected betrayals involving the mysterious drowning of a Met detective--an accomplished rower--on the Thames. When a K9 search-and-rescue team discovers a woman's body tangled up with debris in the river, Scotland Yard superintendent Duncan Kincaid finds himself heading an investigation fraught with complications. The victim, Rebecca Meredith, was a talented but difficult woman with many admirers--and just as many enemies. An Olympic contender on the verge of a controversial comeback, she was also a high-ranking detective with the Met--a fact that raises a host of political and ethical issues in an already sensitive case. To further complicate the situation, a separate investigation, led by Detective Inspector Gemma James, Kincaid's wife, soon reveals a disturbing--and possibly related--series of crimes, widening the field of suspects. But when someone tries to kill the search-and-rescue team member who found Rebecca's body, the case becomes even more complex and dangerous, involving powerful interests with tentacles that reach deep into the heart of the Met itself. Surrounded by enemies with friendly faces, pressured to find answers quickly while protecting the Yard at all costs, his career and reputation on the line, Kincaid must race to catch the killer before more innocent lives are lost--including his own.