Deborah Crombie is an author I've heard about and recommended often, but I have to admit that I'd never picked up one of her books. It was time.A Share in Death marks the beginning of Crombie's popular series featuring Scotland Yard superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his sergeant, Gemma James. Book one opens with Kincaid taking a much needed vacation, unfortunately this turns into a working holiday when someone is murdered and Kincaid finds himself up against the local coppers in his search to find justice.I was surprised reading this book at how much of a "cozy" quality there was. I was expecting violence and suspense, something a little more grittier, but I didn't get that here. There was a lot of description of the details surrounding Kincaid and it lent a participatory quality to the mystery. If you paid close enough attention, you were sure to determine the guilty party.Since I'm not a much of a mystery fan, I wasn't enamored of the level of description in A Share in Death. I tend to like the focus to stay on the main characters. The description certainly went a long way into presenting a strong sense of place as well as providing clues to solving the mystery for the reader. From the very first page, readers are sucked into Yorkshire. Duncan Kincaid's holiday began well. As he turned the car into the lane, a shaft of sun broke through the clouds and lit a patch of rolling Yorkshire moor as if someone had thrown the switch on a celestial spotlight. Drystone walls ran like pale runes across the brilliant green of pasture, where luminous sheep nibbled, unconcerned with their importance in the composition. The scene seemed set off in a time as well as space, and gave him the sensation of viewing a living tapestry, a world remote and utterly unattainable. The clouds shifted again, the vision fading as swiftly as it had come, and he felt an odd shiver of loss at its passing (p. 1).While physical descriptions are liberally shared here, character development does play a role A Share in Death, and I think to get it's full impact you need to be invested in the series. What is shared in A Share in Death is an introduction to both Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. Duncan seems to be at a standstill with regards to his personal life; he seems to be looking for something that's missing. While Gemma, ten years younger, is just getting by raising her young son on her own. I certainly want to know more about both characters, but I don't feel like I know either of them yet. Time to place some holds at the library.The mystery itself was comfortably predictable. I wouldn't say this one is filled with a high level of suspense, but I was compelled to read to the end, even though I had my suspicious about the guilty suspect. There is something comforting about a certain level of predictable events and I can honestly say this is what draws me to other genre fiction like romance or fantasy. While readers do want change, there is a reason that readers turn to books that follow a conventional plot, and I think that's the case with this series.Another thing that I did not expect was the inclusion of points of view from characters other than Duncan and Gemma. There are sections that are presented to readers from murder victims and attempted victims. I think this is another technique that lent well to the participatory quality of the narrative. Readers occasionally knew more than Duncan and could start to pull the pieces together and solve the mystery. From working in a public library, I know there is a huge market for these kinds of murder mysteries, and as a non-mystery reader, it often stumps me when helping people find similar reads.Is A Share in Death my new favourite book? Probably not, but I did like the mystery and I do feel compelled to read further in the series to get to know the characters. And it's nice to have actually read a book that I have and will continue to recommend.Originally published with read-alikes at The Book Adventures.
Deborah Crombie's first book A Share in Death in her series about Scotland Yard detective Duncan Kincaid and his Sergeant Gemma James shows great promise for the series. Duncan is taking advantage of a vacation at a timeshare in Yorkshire which his cousin has offered him. He looks forward to the week away from his professional responsibilities. Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent that it will not be as relaxing as planned when Duncan discovers a body in the jacuzzi. Duncan realizes that he will have to participate in some capacity with the investigation for it to be resolve successfully.It is a classic plot for a mystery with all of the suspects in one spot and forced to examine each others motives. People's mistakes lead them in to further danger. They begin to suspect each other and emotions heighten . To aid in the investigation, Duncan sends his capable sergeant Gemma on a fact-finding tour about the resident guests of the time share.Characters are done with interest and the reader is caught up hoping that some are not involved in the felony and that others will not perish. Crombie skillfully uncovers a bit of information at a time until it is clear who the culprit is and there is the right amount of tension in hoping for apprehension.At the conclusion of the book the reader is ready to read the next of the series
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Oh dear. A Goodreads friend recommended this author to me when I felt sad that I had read all of Edward Marston's series about the Railway Detective so I decided to try out the first book in Deborah Crombie's Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series and I love it! You know what this means. Book after delightful book to read and catch up on in this series. Deborah Crombie is an American who writes about a detective superintendent from Scotland Yard named Duncan Kincaid who took his vacation by taking advantage of a relative's time share week out in the country in Yorkshire, England. His assistant Gemma James is a single mom with a little son who lives in a not so wonderful neighborhood with loud neighbors. Duncan tries not to mention that he is a Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent when he arrives at the time share but it comes out when he finds two of the kids staying at the timeshare crying over the assistant manager who has been murdered in the spa by someone who threw in a plugged in appliance. The man had been very kind to the kids who have parents who don't know where they are half the time and to the teenaged girl who is a pawn in her parents divorce (the parents just want to hurt each other and don't care about the girl) and also to Duncan himself. Naturally it comes out who Duncan is and the local police are not thrilled to find a Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent in their midst. One in particular is a rude idiot who seems to feel threatened though Duncan is respectful to him. Naturally we can't have just one murder or incident. Another lady who is there with her sister is rather forgetful but DID remember seeing something and someone but she is bumped off before she can tell which Duncan deeply regrets. Then yet another person is shoved down a flight of stairs and nearly killed and later finds herself at gunpoint. For a quiet rural area, there is a LOT of hot and heavy action.Speaking of hot and heavy action, the manager seems to be having an affair with more than one guest as well as being a rude bitch who hated the assistant manager, a man running for political office is shocked to find his natural mother (he was adopted at 3 days of age when the natural mom was a pregnant teen with parents who forced her to give up the baby while her dad kept in touch the boy's whole life secretly) among the guests, a man having an affair with the manager has his 14 year old daughter along and she is so unloved and miserable she acts out in an unusual way, and our Duncan almost gets lucky with two women who pursue him, finds the teen is seductive towards him, and finds himself attracted to the local doctor who is a married woman with two little girls. Gemma too is very busy following up and researching the people Duncan tells her to check up on. I like Gemma! She is a warm, friendly, outgoing person who people trust. Duncan is frustrated when the mean local cop tries to pass Sebastian's death off as a suicide but it soon becomes apparent that there is a murderer afoot. I loved the atmosphere of the inn and the countryside as well as the well-defined characters. I will be reading this entire series and this one was from 1993 so I have a LOT of catching up to do and many more adventures and mysteries to solve with Duncan and Gemma.
—Terri Lynn
All Duncan Kincaid wants is a peaceful holiday in the Yorkshire Moors and what does he get, a murder. It shouldn't be his business, even though he is a Superintendent of Scotland Yard, as he told no one who he really is, but he just can't help himself.When an employee of the small hotel he is staying at dies, unexpectedly and in a rather gruesome manner, Kincaid finds the body. That is, he finds the body after two children discover it and begin to scream. When the local police arrive there is a minor run-in as they want Kincaid to stay well out of their investigation but what they believe has happened and what he believes has happened are two different things. And, then there is another body to contend with. As the bodies and suspects pile up Kincaid gets deeper and deeper into the lives of the people he is surrounded by and finds that his holiday has disappeared.A good mystery. I would like to read more of Duncan Kincaid and his exploits.
—Linda
Great series. Lots of mystery; keeps your interest. Can't guess the end.A week's holiday in a luxurious Yorkshire time-share is just what Scotland Yard's Superintendent Duncan Kincaid needs. But the discovery of a body floating in the whirlpool bath ends Kincaid's vacation before it's begun. One of his new acquaintances at Followdale House is dead; another is a killer. Despite a distinct lack of cooperation from the local constabulary, Kincaid's keen sense of duty won't allow him to ignore the heinous crime, impelling him to send for his enthusiastic young assistant, Sergeant Gemma James. But the stakes are raised dramatically when a second murder occurs, and Kincaid and James find themselves in a determined hunt for a fiendish felon who enjoys homicide a bit too much.
—Nancy
