Megan P. (4ntrvlr) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I stumbled across this book at a charity book sale and am glad I did. I was unfamiliar with the series but based on this book I want to read more.
I found the characters believable and complex and the writing clear and compelling. This particular book has some tenuous connections to the poet Rupert Brooke and I greatly enjoyed the excerpts from his poems that opened each chapter.
While the relationship between Kincaid and Gemma is progressing, you don't need to have read the prior 4 books to enjoy this one.
I didn't give it a 5 as the it took a little time to see how the plot and new characters were to be involved in the story.
I found the characters believable and complex and the writing clear and compelling. This particular book has some tenuous connections to the poet Rupert Brooke and I greatly enjoyed the excerpts from his poems that opened each chapter.
While the relationship between Kincaid and Gemma is progressing, you don't need to have read the prior 4 books to enjoy this one.
I didn't give it a 5 as the it took a little time to see how the plot and new characters were to be involved in the story.
Cheryl R. (Spuddie) -
Helpful Score: 2
Fifth entry in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Scotland Yard mystery series. When Duncan receives a call from his ex-wife Victoria, whom he hasn't seen in over ten years, he wonders what's up. Vic is a Cambridge University professor and is also writing a biography of a semi-famous Cambridge poet, Lydia, who committed suicide five years previously. After examining Lydia's papers, Vic begins to wonder if her death was indeed a suicide and has decided to contact Duncan to get his opinion and to see if he can gain access to the police reports from the time of her death. When Vic herself ends up dead a short time later, Duncan's uneasy feeling about the earlier case are solidified and he vows to stop at nothing to find Vic's killer, too--and Gemma steps in to assist. I can't believe how much I've come to enjoy this series. Very rarely do I finish a book in a series and want to move immediately to the next one to see what happens next, but I do feel that way with this one. I generally hold myself back though--heaven forbid I make it through them all too quickly and then have to WAIT for the next book to be written! LOL
Mary D. (mqu) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 38 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Another installment in a very fine series of British murder mysteries. The two main characters acquire more and more depth and complexity in every book.
Karen B. (Jitterbug3) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 198 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This was not my favorite in this series; I'm not sure if it was the poetry or the change in point of view that threw me but I do love Duncan and Gemma so will continue; hope the next book goes back to the pace and story telling of the first four.
Johanna H. (bookladyjo) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 84 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I was so happy to locate this book. It was the only one of the series I hadn't read. I read the last book first and had a hard time getting my hands on the others. I have recommended these books to others in my book group. It is so much fun to find an new author.
Nancy E. (neckrote) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 119 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful book! I have almost finished reading all of Crombie's books to date. Loved them all.
Helpful Score: 1
The whole Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series has been wonderful to read. I've become invested in the characters and can talk about them like family. She does such a great job of really bringing them alive and giving them a voice that you can relate and attach to and I'm sad to say that this was the last one in her series that I had not read (and I don't have any more to indulge in). It's a very pivotal book and it stands out from the others because it is the only one that features Duncan's ex-wife - although the ones to come definitely build on the events in this book and her role in their lives. As with all of them, it is well written, a quick read, and simply a great story. Maybe now my job is to read them all in order...
Eadie B. (eadieburke) -
It is the call Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid never expectedâand one he certainly doesn't want. Victoria, his ex-wife, who walked out without an explanation more than a decade ago, asks him to look into the suicide of local poet, Lydia Brookeâa case that's been officially closed for five years. The troubled young writer's death, Victoria claims, might well have been murder.
No one is more surprised than Kincaid himself when he agrees to investigate; not even his partner and lover, Sergeant Gemma James. But it's a second death that raises the stakes and plunges Kincaid and James into a labyrinth of dark lies and lethal secrets that stretches all the way back through the twentieth centuryâa death that most assuredly is murder, one that has altered Duncan Kincaid's world forever.
I enjoyed book 5 very much and another visit to another small English village. Cambridgeshire this time. I also liked the excepts from Rupert Brookes' poetry at the start of each chapter. Once again, great writing from Deborah Crombie, unique characters that were well-drawn and another super plot. I look forward to the next installment and I would highly recommend this series to those who love mystery in small English villages.
No one is more surprised than Kincaid himself when he agrees to investigate; not even his partner and lover, Sergeant Gemma James. But it's a second death that raises the stakes and plunges Kincaid and James into a labyrinth of dark lies and lethal secrets that stretches all the way back through the twentieth centuryâa death that most assuredly is murder, one that has altered Duncan Kincaid's world forever.
I enjoyed book 5 very much and another visit to another small English village. Cambridgeshire this time. I also liked the excepts from Rupert Brookes' poetry at the start of each chapter. Once again, great writing from Deborah Crombie, unique characters that were well-drawn and another super plot. I look forward to the next installment and I would highly recommend this series to those who love mystery in small English villages.
Ann G. (anitag) -
Superintendent Duncan Kincaid receives an unexpected call from his ex-wife, who walked out on him years ago without an explanation. Now she wants him to look into a suicide of a local poet, that she suspects was murdered. So far, I have not been disappointed with any of the books in this series.
All of them have been great reads with excellent characters and suspenseful plots.
All of them have been great reads with excellent characters and suspenseful plots.
Betty S. (NYYankeesRock) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 13 more book reviews
This was very good. The letters took you back and forth. They gave a complete picture of the characters. It was difficult to keep up with all the characters.
Barbara L. reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 988 more book reviews
It is the call Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid never expected?and one he certainly doesn't want. Victoria, his ex-wife, who walked out without an explanation more than a decade ago, asks him to look into the suicide of local poet, Lydia Brooke?a case that's been officially closed for five years. The troubled young writer's death, Victoria claims, might well have been murder.
No one is more surprised than Kincaid himself when he agrees to investigate?not even his partner and lover, Sergeant Gemma James. But it's a second death that raises the stakes and plunges Kincaid and James into a labyrinth of dark lies and lethal secrets that stretches all the way back through the twentieth century?a death that most assuredly is murder, one that has altered Duncan Kincaid's world forever.
No one is more surprised than Kincaid himself when he agrees to investigate?not even his partner and lover, Sergeant Gemma James. But it's a second death that raises the stakes and plunges Kincaid and James into a labyrinth of dark lies and lethal secrets that stretches all the way back through the twentieth century?a death that most assuredly is murder, one that has altered Duncan Kincaid's world forever.
Patricia R. reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 47 more book reviews
Love the whole series
Linda G. (Doc) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 359 more book reviews
All of Crombie's books make compelling reading. This one was not my favorite, probably because I am not into poetry which is a sort of central "character." But I have been reading her titles out of order and "Dreaming of the Bones" filled in a lot of backstory about Gemma, Duncan, and company.
Raydene B. (Knitbooky) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 136 more book reviews
Excellent British cop story with more depth than most
Elaine (Fulltimer) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 179 more book reviews
This series about Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid are some of my favorites. You can't go wrong with any of them.
Ard V. (webb) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 31 more book reviews
This is a 'thinking persons' mystery. Very well done as far as the text, complex plot, very good
Cameron-Ashley H. (BigGreenChair) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 461 more book reviews
After 12 yrs, the last person Scotland Yard Superintendent expects to hear from is his ex-wife. But this is no social call. In her biographical research on a troubled poet, she uncovers reasons to believe the death 5 yrs ago was not a suicide. She asks him to look into the long-closed case. Then a second death occurs, this one clearly murder. They sift through a tangle of relationships, secrets and lies to find a killer and a secret.
Sally T. reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 8 more book reviews
Excellent story...
Nancy A. (NancyA) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 5 more book reviews
Another excellent book in this series.
Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed Dreaming of the Bones (Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James, Bk 5) on + 1032 more book reviews
This was much discussed on an email group I joined, way way back when it was first written, and that's what made me pick it up back then. It didn't disappoint me the second time around. It's really good, the fifth in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series and better than any of the previous. Kincaid's ex-wife contacts him - she is writing a biography of a famous poet, deceased 5 years past, and thinks now the woman did not commit suicide but was murdered. But who would listen? Kincaid is reluctant, but agrees to ask around. It's hard going without an official Scotland Yard investigation to back him up. And then...but that would be telling. I loved the depth and emotion in this book, great characters, good dialogue, well worth reading. A new reader could easily start here - I did, way back when, and didn't feel like I had missed much of the character's lives.
