Now May You Weep: A Novel (Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Novels, 9)

Sergeant Gemma James is off to Scotland for a weekend, but not with her partner, Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid. She's going to have a small vacation away from him and do a cooking class weekend with her good friend Hazel Cavendish at a countryside B & B. Even before their arrival, it's clear that Hazel's not been completely honest about what's going on. It seems there is some interesting chemistry between her and Don Brodie, the attractive owner of a local distillery.Add to that the unspoken history and tensions among the guests in the bed and breakfast and that cooking class weekend begins to fall apart and it deteriorates rapidly when Don is found shot dead, murdered. There are motives and suspects galore, not to mention Hazel, all that interesting chemistry and all, you know.Much to Gemma's frustration, local Detective Chief Inspector Alun Ross makes it perfectly clear to her that she is not going to be involved in the investigation. Gemma calls Kincaid for assistance, but gets no joy as he's got problems with his son, so she is on her own. Can she just sit back and let the locals solve the crime? Of course not!I'm a big fan of Gemma and Duncan's and I think if you give them a try, you will be too. Ms. Crombie knows how to set up a mystery, knows how to keep her readers involved, knows how do draw them into the setting. I really felt like I was in Scotland and I didn't guess whodunit before I should have.Karen Holtz, New Jersey Book Girl

"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!

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.

This latest in the Kincaid-James series was no disappointment, although being a lover of Scotland AND Crombie, I am perhaps biased. But Crombie just gets better (unlike so many mystery writers who have to churn out a new book every year and burn out after a while). The plot involves a long weekend trip to the Scottish highlands by Gemma James, who is invited by her friend Hazel Cavendish. It turns out that this is not going to be the innocent weekend learning some cooking at an old farmhouse run by an old school friend of Hazel's -- Gemma learns that an old lover of (now married) Hazel will be present for the weekend. Not only that, but Hazel has been meeting the old lover, Donald Brodie, in London. Donald runs a family distillery (Scotch) down the road from the farmhouse and will be doing the cookery weekend as well. No-one thinks this weekend is a good idea except Donald, who wants Hazel to leave her husband for him. Needless to say, someone ends up dead and Hazel is a suspect, so Gemma gets involved in trying to solve the murder (to the annoyance of the local police). Duncan ends up joining her, so they are once more working together.Interspersed with this 2003 story are short sections of a story that took place 100 years ago in the same area, with the ancestors of Donald and Hazel and some other characters. In a place where feuds and grudges are rife, the story of family conflict from the past explains some of the tensions in the present day story.All in all, the plotting was excellent and characterization and dialogue well-done. Add to this the Scottish highland backdrop, and this mystery made a great read. I could practically smell the heather. I can hardly wait to find out what happens to James & Kincaid next. I hope Crombie does another "Scottish" mystery soon.

Gemma Jones is taking a mini vacation from Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and their two children. The Detective Inspector assigned to Notting Hill Police Station is traveling with her friend to the bed and breakfast Inner Free in a small village in the Scottish Highlands to take a cooking class. What Gemma didn't realize is that Hazel was rendezvousing with Donald Brodie, the only man she ever loved, even though she is married to Jim Cavendish and has a child with him.The group that are at the B & B all have ulterior motives for taking the class and emotions run high. When Gemma takes an early morning walk she stumbles across the body of Donald and finds herself in the middle of a homicide investigation during her vacation. Even though Gemma is out of her jurisdiction, she has a need to solve the case before the killer strikes again.There are so many suspects who would have liked to see the victim dead, from Brodie's mistress's boyfriend to Hazel's husband, readers come to understand that it is not only the B & B people who are the suspects. NOW MAY YOU WEEP concentrates on Gemma who is able to figure out who the killer is before the person is ready to strike again, but is not sure she can stop another homicide from happening. Deborah Crombie once again delivers a fascinating mystery starring characters who feel like old friends.Harriet Klausner