No Mark upon Her: A Novel [Hardcover]

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

No Mark upon Her: A Novel [Hardcover]

Product Details

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (February 7, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061990612
ISBN-13: 978-0061990618
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Deborah Crombie (Author)
Price : $16.46
You Save : $9.53 (37%)

Customer Reviews

If you are a fan of smart English Scotland Yard procedurals, you should enjoy this latest by Deborah Crombie which explores the competitive world of rowing. The moody, murky Thames River creates the book's atmosphere and is the backdrop for the mysterious death of an Olympic-caliber rower who was practicing to compete for England in the upcoming Olympics. Complicating this? She was also a senior female Met officer, West London, Major Crimes.
The case demands finesse to protect the reputation of the Met, and Scotland Yard's Duncan Kincaid is called on holiday by his boss to intervene and investigate the possibility of a suspicious death. Kincaid and his partner, Cullen, soon discern that the victim's life appears "as if she had something to hide." Old rivalries, hushed-up crimes and possible crooked cops are encountered as they sort through the different strands of her life trying to uncover motive and means for murder by those who knew her. There are ample suspects among police colleagues, Olympic aspirants, old friends, and even a coach, ex-husband and lover among others.
Devotees of Crombie will find this an especially taut mystery with amped-up tension. More crimes are attempted and the pace accelerates. Plot lines intertwine to create a sophisticated and complex mystery which has a riveting and ultimately satisfying conclusion. I had several suspects in mind as the villain. As customary with Crombie, secondary characters aren't flat, and are as believable as Kincaid and his wife Gemma, who also works for the Met and assists Kincaid in this investigation. The search and rescue dogs and their owners add to the dramatic tension and warmth of the story.
You sense while reading this book that Crombie enjoys writing and experimenting with her craft. She has a natural, fluid prose with occasional cul-de-sacs of poetic description which elevate her mysteries above the average mystery fare. She takes care constructing the story and writing it as the quality of writing is even throughout the book. The plot is well-conceived and paced. Although Crombie is American, she has lived in England and Scotland and may be as American writer Henry James described himself 'more English than the English'. There's plenty of tea-pouring, being gobsmacked, finding "no joy", dogsbodies and Governor's for Anglophiles.
Loyal readers of hers will enjoy the advancement of Duncan Kincaid's and Gemma James' family's progress and familiar characters (Hazel, Wes etc.) from prior books who make cameo appearances. I particularly enjoyed DI Singla's humorous description of what is usually in his wife's handbag as a character study--it's these human interest asides that color Crombie's books, attracting loyal readers. If you are new to Crombie, this book can be a stand alone--it will probably tempt you to sample her first in the series A Share in Death (Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Novels) and read through the entire series.
Every book of Crombie's has a unique flavor--she seems to continually challenge herself to progress as a writer and create something fresh. This book successfully accomplishes that and should delight her reading admirers.

The fourteenth in the Gemma Jones/Duncan Kincaid modern British police procedural series, this one starts off with a wedding marred by racism. The crime is set in the posh rowing world of Henley, and involves a lot of upper-crust British nobs of the Oxbridge set, plus some people from lesser backgrounds they've accepted into their number. I found the new characters extremely well-drawn, distinctive, and specific and I wish that some of them could continue in successive books in the series. The mystery is well-hidden; with several red herrings; I didn't know who did it until almost the end of the book, which is gratifying.
This is definitely not the place to start this series, as Gemma and
Duncan's friends, colleagues, and the children in their household
would be mystifying to the newcomer. Go back to "A Share in Death", and enjoy the series as it develops.
While I'm not sure this is the absolutely the best book in the series, (perhaps "Necessary as Blood"?) it's definitely an excellent addition that had me fully engaged and wishing I could sit and read it all the way through in one sitting.