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Leave the Grave Green (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Deborah Crombie (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 2,029 ratings

Book 3 of 19: Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James

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“Lucid prose, well-focused plot, and all the trappings of a cosy British mystery” from the New York Times–bestselling author of All Shall Be Well (Library Journal).

When Connor Swann, the dissolute son-in-law of renowned and influential Sir Gerald and Dame Caroline Asherton, is found floating in a Thames River lock, the circumstances eerily recall a strangely similar tragedy.

Twenty years ago, the Ashertons’ young son, Matthew, a musical prodigy, drowned in a swollen stream while in the company of his sister Julia—Connor Swann’s wife.

Police Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James quickly discover that Connor’s death was no accident, and that nothing in the Asherton family is as it seems. Connor, though estranged from Julia for more than a year, still lives in her London apartment, where his exploits with women and gambling suggest plenty of motives. The Ashertons are far more attached to Connor than to their own daughter, and these are only the first of the secrets that haunt the suspects. New lies cover older lies, as Kincaid finds himself dangerously drawn to Julia Swann, and Gemma must confront her own troubling feelings for Kincaid.

“Detail and pacing are immaculate as the investigation is drawn closer and closer toward domestic secrets as the source of the solution to the crime. A superbly engrossing whodunit for all active mystery collections.” —Booklist

“The passages of the first drowning are haunting, the mystery is intriguing, the characters are well developed and the solution satisfies.” —Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Crombie's Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his sergeant Gemma Jones make a welcome return, after All Shall Be Well, to investigate a suspicious drowning in the countryside outside London. The seemingly placid domestic life of distinguished conductor Sir Gerald Asherton and his wife, Dame Caroline Stowe, a renowned soprano, is disturbed when their son-in-law's body slips through the local lock and is dragged up to reveal suspicious bruises around the neck. The Ashertons' daughter Julia had recently left Connor, who was "on good terms with pints and ponies." While her parents continued to lunch weekly with the victim in their stately home, Julia, who 20 years earlier had witnessed her little brother's death by drowning, has had nothing to do with him. The youthful, slightly rumpled Kincaid, his pleasant manner masking a keen intelligence, and the equally insightful, appealing Jones make little pretense that police work is objective, detached business. Occasionally Crombie lets their personal feelings-Kincaid's for the widow, Jones's for opera, and both for each other-outweigh the story. Nonetheless, the passages of the first drowning are haunting, the mystery is intriguing, the characters are well developed and the solution satisfies. Stay tuned. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When police detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James (who are series regulars) investigate a suspicious drowning near London, they encounter a strange situation: the victim's widow-a painter whose father is a famous conductor and whose mother is a renowned opera singer-is oddly stand-offish and strangely unaffected by her husband's death. Crombie (All Shall Be Well, LJ 1/94) creates strategic tension by both establishing a parallel between this drowning and the childhood drowning death of the painter's brother and by juxtaposing two protagonists who feel-but struggle against-a mutual attraction. Lucid prose, well-focused plot, and all the trappings of a cosy British mystery-from a talented American author.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Scotland Yard investigators Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James venture out from London to find answers to the death of Connor Swann, son-in-law of a well-known couple: a famous conductor and a honored opera singer. Swann has been found floating in a Thames River lock, and when he's fished out, it's obvious he has been strangled. Because he was estranged from his wife, she's automatically a suspect. What Duncan and Gemma uncover in the course of their inquiry is that the couple--the conductor and the opera singer--also had a son who drowned many years ago while in his sister's company. Of course it's in Duncan and Gemma's professional best interests to find out if there's a connection between the two events. Detail and pacing are immaculate as the investigation is drawn closer and closer toward domestic secrets as the source of the solution to the crime. A superbly engrossing whodunit for all active mystery collections. Brad Hooper

Review

Tidily plotted and neatly written.

-- "Kirkus Reviews"

Detail and pacing are immaculate as the investigation is drawn closer and closer toward domestic secrets as the source of the solution to the crime. A superbly engrossing whodunit for all active mystery collections.

-- "Booklist"

The passages of the first drowning are haunting, the mystery is intriguing, the characters are well developed and the solution satisfies. Stay tuned.

-- "Publishers Weekly"

Crombie's insightful writing and an engrossing reading by Deehy make this haunting whodunit well worth hearing.

-- "AudioFile"

Secrets, big and little, hound one character after another: liaisons, frustrated ambitions, lies that cover older lies. Deborah Crombie has stylishly adopted a British accent along with a feel for British customs in crime.

-- "Washington Post Book World"

About the Author

Deborah Crombie is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James mystery series set in the UK. Crombie was raised in Texas and has lived in the United Kingdom. She currently lives in McKinney, Texas. Crombie's novels are published in North America, Japan, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Spain, Romania, Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and numerous other countries.

From AudioFile

In the third in Crombie's Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series, the Scotland Yard detectives are called in to investigate when a body is found floating in a Thames River lock. Before long, the two find themselves untangling a complicated web of family lies and deception. Thanks to narrator Michael Deehy's layered performance, listeners feel Kincaid and James's attraction to one another yet understand their reluctance to complicate their working lives by allowing it to surface. Deehy's secondary characters are multidimensional and intriguing, especially when Kincaid finds himself inexplicably drawn to the victim's estranged wife. Crombie's insightful writing and an engrossing reading by Deehy make this haunting whodunit well worth hearing. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003VPWXGU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner (July 28, 2010)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 28, 2010
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1073 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 308 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #252,890 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,478 in International Mystery & Crime (Kindle Store)
- #4,429 in Police Procedurals (Kindle Store)
- #6,583 in Police Procedurals (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 2,029 ratings

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Deborah Crombie

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Deborah Crombie grew up near Dallas, Texas, but from a child always had the inexplicable feeling that she belonged in England. After earning a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Austin College in Sherman, Texas, she made her first trip to Britain and felt she'd come home. She later lived in both Chester, England, and Edinburgh, Scotland, where she failed to make as good a use of being cold and poor as JK Rowling.

It was not until almost a decade later that, living once more in Texas and raising her small daughter, she had the idea for her first novel, a mystery set in Yorkshire. She had no credentials other than a desire to write and a severe case of homesickness for Britain. A Share in Death, published in 1993, was short-listed for both Agatha and Macavity awards for Best First Novel and was awarded the Macavity.

Crombie's fifth novel, Dreaming of the Bones, was a New York Times Notable Book in 1997, was named by the Independent Mystery Booksellers as one of the 100 Best Crime Novels of the Century, was an Edgar nominee for Best Novel, and won the Macavity award for Best Novel.

Subsequent novels have been published to critical acclaim and in a dozen languages. Crombie's 18th novel featuring Metropolitan Police detectives Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Inspector Gemma James, A BITTER FEAST will be published by Harper Collins in October, 2019.

The author still lives in Texas but spends several months out of the year in Britain, maintaining a precarious balance between the two, and occasionally confusing her cultural references.

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4.3 out of 5

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Darja

gripping plot, great atmospheric writing

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2014

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While I adore all of Deborah Crombie's books, some are nevertheless better than the others. After the previous installment of the series which was a bit too dark and twisty for my tasty (but the accompanying London descriptions, Hampstead Heath in that case, were divine), Leave the Grave Green returns in all Crombie's glory. There are compulsory country houses and Agas which give the book the tactile quality, but also fascinating, larger-than-life characters (an opera singer, a conductor, a pub landlord, an artist, and of course Gemma) that I relish reading about even if some of them are not very likeable. And of course, a well-thought out mystery - a man falls into a lock on the Thames, he has strangulation marks on his throat, nobody saw anything, and the man is an estranged husband of an emotionally cold artist whose parents, curiously, still adore him. With Crombie, you never guess beforehand who done it.

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Holly

These are getting better as I move through the series - 4.5 stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2016

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This series was highly recommended to me by another fan of Louise Penny. The Three Pines mysteries are wonderful, but only one is being written each year which makes it a long wait between books. After reading those, it set a standard for mysteries which is hard to live up to. These novels are not quite a good as those, but are about as close as any I have read. This particular installment was my favorite so far and rates closer to 4.5 stars in my book.

One of the most pleasant aspects of this series as that the books are so character-driven. It really is necessary to start at the beginning and work your way through to fully enjoy them so you can watch the characters develop. While it would be an enjoyable read without the background, having it makes a huge difference.

As far as style, it's more of a traditional English mystery than anything else. The main characters work for Scotland Yard so there is a realism than is lacking in the more cozy style book. It also isn't full of blood and gore like many in the thriller genre include.

The book is engrossing and difficult to put down, leaving the reader wondering what the new twist or turn is going to be in the next chapter. Highly recommended for fans of good, intelligent mysteries - a bit of mystery combined with well-written literary prose. Have already downloaded the next one on my Kindle.

9 people found this helpful

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BayfieldCounty

Crombie Writes Incredibly Interesting Books

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2014

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Continue to enjoy her writing. The detective side of her stories are always interesting, I suspect very similar to the plodding and drudge work police have to go through to solve a crime. The real plus however is her ability to develop characters along the way. The main focus is always on the two main characters of course, but she always manages to develop secondary characters as interesting personalities. I have not found that to be the case with other authors.
My only regret wth Deborah Crombie is that I did not realize the first book I bought written by her was actually in the middle of this series so I wad a bit ahead of character development. I just finished this one, am on the next one now, and will continue until I have read the entire Kincad/James set.
Really an interesting series, I love it.

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Diana H. Maine

Good Title - Good Series

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2019

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LEAVE THE GRAVE GREEN by Deborah Crombie is a Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Crime Novel Book 3.
I was interested in this mystery series - the author was mentioned by the author, Louise Penny.
Each title is a bit better-written; the plot has more detail and tension and the characters are more personal and fleshed-out. The sense of place is excellent and is a reason I seem to read series - the location or sense of place is very interesting to me.; along with the culture, customs and idiosyncrasies of an area.
Kincaid and James seem to do most of their work ‘on their own’ and there are few references to their actual office/station or professional workplace, although the Thames Valley Force is mentioned frequently in this particular title.
LEAVE THE GRAVE GREEN opens with the accidental drowning of young Matthew Asherton. Twenty years later, Connor Swann’s body is found floating in a Thames River lock. Both victims are connected to Julia Asherton - Matthew was her brother and Connor is her husband.
Superintendent Duncan Kincaid is called to investigate along with his assistant, Sgt. Gemma James.
Good title and good series.

5 people found this helpful

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Kathleen Isaac

LOVED IT

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2023

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no serial killer , no body washed up on shore..... Just two Scotland Yard detectives trying to figure out who was responsible for the drowning. The closer to why brings in more suspects! A good mystery and a good story. I've already got the next book.

One person found this helpful

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Miss R. A. Connor

Another good read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2023

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Duncan is sent into the Chilterns countryside to deal with a death by order of his boss Denis Childs, on behalf of the AC ( Assistant Commissioner) as he is/was a friend of conductor Sir Gerald Asherton who is father in law to the decreased.
The case involves a lot of toing and froing from the area and London. Gemma and Duncan get a little closer, but he is also getting close to Julia, wife of the decreased and a suspect.
The case pulls all the threads together, and they both have to work through the truth and secrets and lies to uncover what really happened.

Amazon Customer

Typical Deborah Crombie - well-written story and characters, and ...

Reviewed in Canada on November 12, 2017

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Typical Deborah Crombie - well-written story and characters, and an unpredictable ending - just what you want in a police procedural. She never disappoints.

R. Miller

Well done!

Reviewed in France on February 22, 2018

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I enjoy this series, and hadn't yet read this example. It arrived promptly, and in good condition. I would be happy to order again, from this vendor.

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Martina Steffi

Gute Krimi Reihe

Reviewed in Germany on July 22, 2016

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Momentan meine lieblings Krimi Reihe. Nette Charaktere, fesselnde Geschichte, leichtes Tete a Tete der Hauptpersonen. Schöner Krimi zum schmökern und mit lösen, diesmal in englisch.

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Edith Schwarz

Leave the Grave Green: A Duncan Kincaid/gemma... Deborah Crombie

Reviewed in Spain on May 25, 2016

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Like all Deborah Crombie's books in the series very well thought out, well written and a good thriller to boot. All her books including this one also give an insight in local life and all stories are set differently enough not to be formulaic. Excellent read, I have read all her books now and hope she continues writing forever.

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Leave the Grave Green (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James Book 3) Kindle Edition

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