Review of No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie

No Mark Upon Her
Deborah Crombie
Macmillan
ISBN13:9780230750630
470 pages

Duncan Kincaid Superintendent at Scotland Yard and his now thrice married wife Detective Inspector Gemma James have sustained many changes lately personal as well as professional. Along with his son Kit and her son Toby they’ve recently taken a foster daughter Charlotte whom they hope soon to adopt, but she needs special care because of the circumstance of her becoming orphaned so Gemma and Duncan agree to each take family leave to care for her, Gemma’s is just about over and Duncan’s is just about to start when Duncan receives a summons by his boss to look into a female detective’s suspicious death while rowing. It seems unknown to most Becca Meredith has been training for the Olympics when one evening she goes out on the Thames not to return alive.  Although there are suspects aplenty this complex and much disturbing now murder case is taking a direction that Duncan is very uncomfortable with and could have grave consequences for the Police department and always finding solace in her thoughts, goes to Gemma. Soon Gemma and Duncan along with their assistants Melody and Doug are going at the case from two directions and hoping to meet in the middle with the suspect in hand and no further harm done but that seems an impossible task at the moment and the presumed guilty party seems out of their reach and even worse there’s a chance that they have it all wrong.

Deborah Crombie is a brilliant Brit-Lit writer who amazingly makes her home right here in the good old US of A however her extensive research across the pond is invaluable and that is obvious when you open the pages and imagine yourself in London, or Notting Hill or any of the other wonderful places this author has taken me to in her Kincaid/James series which this is the 14^th installment. Her dialogue is Queen’s English all the way and her narrative with her vivid descriptions will have you wiping the imaginary rain off your face and trying to see through the fog on the Thames as she spins her tale of murder, mystery and mayhem. Her characters, if you’ve read them from the beginning have evolved from single cops working as partners to partners in life, love and home and you as readers have the exclusive front row seating to have watched them mature first into the couple and finally the family they’ve become and the series has matured right with them with personal and professional concerns finding face right along side the serious crime fighting this duo does.
If this is your first taste of Deborah Crombie and her Kincaid/James series that’s fine it does well alone, but my suggestion is to go back to the beginning and find out how they got where they are now and who they’ve become along the way. If you like British crime fiction you’ll find this a little less bloody than most and more tasteful because of it.If you’re looking for that perfect gift for that someone special on your list treat them to a murder