Rating: 
Summary: Comfortable Mystery Read
Review: Deborah Crombie gives a nice comfortable mystery story with several detours for one to ponder. Characters are very interesting people. This story was strange but well written. It kept my interest. Kincaid and Gemma's relationship is moving along nicely. On to the next.
Rating:
Summary: Comfortable Mystery Read
Review: Deborah Crombie gives a nice comfortable mystery story with several detours for one to ponder. Characters are very interesting people. This story was strange but well written. It kept my interest. Kincaid and Gemma's relationship is moving along nicely. On to the next.
Rating:
Summary: Surprising suspense
Review: Deborah Crombie gives us a very interesting plot. It's rare to read about the murder of one the main characters, but the author doesn't deceive you. Just great suspense reading. My first of Crombie's, but not the last. Kept me on reading for hours. Great evasion.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: Deborah Crombie writes uncannily like another American-born author of English detective novels, Elizabeth George. Both Crombie and George write about British detectives who are intensely human, compassionate and introspective. At the same time, these detectives are very competent and persistent in their dogged pursuit of justice. Crombie and George also go to great pains to develop their characters, and they write natural dialogue that is both literate and engaging. In "Dreaming of the Bones," Crombie explores the deepening relationship between Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. The personal lives of these two characters are in turmoil, and suddenly, Kincaid and James find themselves joining forces to solve a serious of murders that hit uncomfortably close to home. In "Dreaming of the Bones," Crombie uses flashbacks skillfully and her sardonic humor is delightful. The only drawback is the ending, which is a little anticlimactic and drags on longer than it should. In spite of this flaw, I recommend "Dreaming of the Bones" highly, since it is a satisfying and an entertaining mystery.
Rating:
Summary: An engrossing mystery by a talented writer.
Review: Deborah Crombie writes uncannily like another American-born author of English detective novels, Elizabeth George. Both Crombie and George write about British detectives who are intensely human, compassionate and introspective. At the same time, these detectives are very competent and persistent in their dogged pursuit of justice. Crombie and George also go to great pains to develop their characters, and they write natural dialogue that is both literate and engaging. In "Dreaming of the Bones," Crombie explores the deepening relationship between Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. The personal lives of these two characters are in turmoil, and suddenly, Kincaid and James find themselves joining forces to solve a serious of murders that hit uncomfortably close to home. In "Dreaming of the Bones," Crombie uses flashbacks skillfully and her sardonic humor is delightful. The only drawback is the ending, which is a little anticlimactic and drags on longer than it should. In spite of this flaw, I recommend "Dreaming of the Bones" highly, since it is a satisfying and an entertaining mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome Book, and the Best in the Series, so far.
Review: Dreaming of the Bones is a wonderful book, and the title reflects the storyline. The way Ms. Crombie slides in and out of the past with the book is almost dreamlike. In this book, Duncan Kincaid and his Gemma are trying to solve what could have been a five year old murder, but while they're trying to convince the authorities that it was murder and not suicide another death occurs that can't be anything but murder. Kincaid has to determine what happened years and years ago to try to figure out who has committed these murders. In his search he comes upon some truths of his own that will probably change his life completely. It's a voyage of discovery for him as well as revenge. Despite the few discrepancies this book seemed to be more British than the others that I have read in this series. Ms. Crombie should do a bit of research to determine how the English spell "colour", but it did not take away from the story, and I really did enjoy it!
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book, and the Best in the Series, so far.
Review: Dreaming of the Bones is a wonderful book, and the title reflects the storyline. The way Ms. Crombie slides in and out of the past with the book is almost dreamlike. In this book, Duncan Kincaid and his Gemma are trying to solve what could have been a five year old murder, but while they're trying to convince the authorities that it was murder and not suicide another death occurs that can't be anything but murder. Kincaid has to determine what happened years and years ago to try to figure out who has committed these murders. In his search he comes upon some truths of his own that will probably change his life completely. It's a voyage of discovery for him as well as revenge. Despite the few discrepancies this book seemed to be more British than the others that I have read in this series. Ms. Crombie should do a bit of research to determine how the English spell "colour", but it did not take away from the story, and I really did enjoy it!
Rating:
Summary: A terrific read . . .
Review: Except for Martha Grimes, I don't usually go in for English mystery series, the sort of thing with continuing characters and starring a Scotland Yard investigator, nor have I read any others in this series. But I can see why this novel was voted a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and why it was nominated for both the Edgar and the Agatha. Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid has been divorced for twelve years, his life is ticking right along, and he has a nicely developing romance with his sergeant, Gemma James. And then he hears from his ex-wife, Victoria, now a professor of modern English poetry at Cambridge, who has been researching a biography of Lydia Brooke, who died in what Victoria has come to believe are suspicious circumstances a few years before. She wants Duncan's help, and he agrees, to Gemma's consternation. Sounds like a pretty routine plot, doesn't it? It's not, believe me. Where most writers in this genre concentrate on the plot, with characters who are less than three-dimensional, or (again, like Martha Grimes) develop wonderful characters but tend to stint the mystery itself, Crombie succeeds very well at both. Duncan and Gemma and Victoria all come alive, as do the supporting players, and you won't guess at the solution to the mystery until the denouement, either. By the end of the book, Duncan's life has become permanently more complicated, and I want to know what happens next! (Obviously, I'm going to have to go back and read the first four books in this series before tackling the sixth one.)
Rating:
Summary: The best in a dynamite police procedural series
Review: Five years ago, the talented Cambridge poet Lydia Brooks apparently
committed suicide. Now Victoria McClellan, is writing a biography about
the renowned Lydia. However as she digs deeply into the background of the
deceased poet, Vic begins to question whether Lydia actually killed herself
or was murdered. She turns to her estranged former spouse, Scotland Yard
Superintendent Duncan Kincaid for help.
Duncan wants nothing to do with the feminist who dumped him over a
decade ago. However, her evidence is compelling, so, along with his
current lover and partner, Gemma James, he looks at the local police
report, which he finds shoddy and its conclusion very shaky. As the two
law enforcement officials begin to dig, Vic is murdered. A stunned Duncan
and his partner start investigating one current murder and one potentially
five year old murder in an effort to uncover a killer, who will do anything
to keep a four decade old secret quiet.
Deborah Crombie has a well deserved reputation for her Kincaid
series. However, her latest entry, DREAMING OF THE BONES, clearly tops her
already superior work because the reader has an incredible glimpse into
what makes Duncan what he is. His relationships with Gemma and Vic are
thoroughly explored, turning the Superintendent into a human being. The
story line is exciting, especially the ultimate clue to the killer's
identity. Fans of this series will be elated with this book, but will wonder whether Ms. Crombie can top this outstanding novel, let alone match
its excellence.
Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Series gets better & better
Review: I am reading all of the Kincaid-Gemma books in chronological order. This is the best one yet. I like Crombie's books better than Elizabeth George's. Her characters get on with the crime solving & don't indulge in such navel-gazing & endless angst over their relationships the way George's do. I think the reader should just take this book for what it is -- fiction -- a good mystery & not get onvolved in analyzing the poetry, the letters, & who is supposed to represent whom in real life. Just enjoy it! I can't wait to read the next one.
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