Deborah Crombie- Can't believe she lives in Texas....

Just finished Necessary as Blood (2009), the highly praised Dreaming of the Bones, and her first novel, A Share in Death. In my last blog I mentioned reading And Justice There is None in February while the snow was falling. So I've really jumped around in the series! but now I plan to read the rest.

Her London and UK - Dreaming is set in Cambridge-seem so believable I was surprised that she was not a Brit but a Texan. However, one of the book jackets says she's married to a Scot and spends a lot of time in the UK. And Justice There is None's Notting Hill setting made me want to call British Airways on the spot and spend some time at the Portobello Market. I think she may be creating a montage of different parts of London in different books. It is not just the tourist London but a London of slums, yuppies, immigrants, and secret treasures down back streets.

They are really good. The plots are tight and quick moving, the setting is detailed and rings totally true, and unlike many series, her books get better with each one. True, they are following a serialized story of the growing romance and the careers of Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James but at the same time can be read as stand alone novels as I have done far.

The relationship between the protagonists Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James is pretty believable and supporting characters like their kids Toby and Kit, Gemma's friends Hazel and Tim, Betty, Wesley, the families, their police associates Melody and Doug - they are interesting and far from one-dimensional. The dialogue also rings true.

The police procedural part- both Gemma and Duncan are with Scotland Yard- does seem well researched but is actually very familiar to all of us anglophile imbibers of Prime Suspect and other shows and movies.

Highly recommended. Can't wait to read the next one!

http://www.deborahcrombie.com/