Rating: 
Summary: Jealousy and passion lead to murder.
Review: "Now May You Weep" is Deborah Crombie's latest mystery featuring Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid. Since Gemma left Scotland Yard, she no longer has a working relationship with her lover and housemate, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid. Gemma decides to take a few days off from her job as a detective inspector with the Metropolitan Police to enjoy a cookery weekend in the Scottish Highlands. She is traveling with Hazel Cavendish, her landlord and good friend. Much to Gemma's surprise, she finds that Hazel had an ulterior motive when she suggested this trip to Scotland, which was her childhood home. It seems that Hazel has been keeping secrets about her past not only from her friend, but also from her husband, Tim. These secrets lead to an unanticipated series of events that end in murder. "Now May You Weep" features a nice change of scenery. Crombie makes the most of the beautiful Scottish countryside where the story is set. She describes the heather-clad moors, the rolling hills, and granite cliffs of the Highlands in vivid detail. A number of the characters speak in a colorful Scottish dialect, which adds to the book's atmosphere. Since some of the characters are whiskey distillers, Crombie takes the time to explore the history and manufacture of Scotch whiskey, which may be interesting for those who care about how fine whiskey is made. The problem arises with Crombie's plot, which turns out to be a bit of a potboiler. Love triangles abound, and the melodrama is piled on fairly heavily by the time Crombie comes to her climactic conclusion. She uses the same device that worked well in her previous book, namely a series of flashbacks that supposedly explain the events of the present day. Unfortunately, this time around, the flashbacks are distracting rather than illuminating. It is also too bad that Gemma and Duncan spend less time than usual together, and the story suffers for it. The mystery is a little too forced, and the characters lack the psychological depth that we have come to expect from Crombie. "Now May You Weep" is a disappointing installment is an otherwise above-average mystery series.
Rating:
Summary: Jealousy and passion lead to murder.
Review: "Now May You Weep" is Deborah Crombie's latest mystery featuring Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid. Since Gemma left Scotland Yard, she no longer has a working relationship with her lover and housemate, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid. Gemma decides to take a few days off from her job as a detective inspector with the Metropolitan Police to enjoy a cookery weekend in the Scottish Highlands. She is traveling with Hazel Cavendish, her landlord and good friend. Much to Gemma's surprise, she finds that Hazel had an ulterior motive when she suggested this trip to Scotland, which was her childhood home. It seems that Hazel has been keeping secrets about her past not only from her friend, but also from her husband, Tim. These secrets lead to an unanticipated series of events that end in murder. "Now May You Weep" features a nice change of scenery. Crombie makes the most of the beautiful Scottish countryside where the story is set. She describes the heather-clad moors, the rolling hills, and granite cliffs of the Highlands in vivid detail. A number of the characters speak in a colorful Scottish dialect, which adds to the book's atmosphere. Since some of the characters are whiskey distillers, Crombie takes the time to explore the history and manufacture of Scotch whiskey, which may be interesting for those who care about how fine whiskey is made. The problem arises with Crombie's plot, which turns out to be a bit of a potboiler. Love triangles abound, and the melodrama is piled on fairly heavily by the time Crombie comes to her climactic conclusion. She uses the same device that worked well in her previous book, namely a series of flashbacks that supposedly explain the events of the present day. Unfortunately, this time around, the flashbacks are distracting rather than illuminating. It is also too bad that Gemma and Duncan spend less time than usual together, and the story suffers for it. The mystery is a little too forced, and the characters lack the psychological depth that we have come to expect from Crombie. "Now May You Weep" is a disappointing installment is an otherwise above-average mystery series.
Rating: 
Summary: Highland whisky, ancient feuds
Review: "Now May You Weep" takes us with detective Gemma James and her best friend, Hazel Cavendish, to the Scottish Highlands for a culinary weekend. Hazel has deep family roots in the beautiful area, famous for flavorful, aged whisky made in picturesque distilleries. Her homecoming reveals some of the details of her earlier life and a previous romance with the handsome Donald Brodie, whom Gemma is surprised to find, has never completely left Hazel's life. Crombie uses a flashback technique, quoting the diaries of two women in the late 1880s, to weave a tale of passion, fortune, and long-kept secrets. The reader will be swept along as Gemma pieces together disparate evidence to solve a tragic murder, and as she comes to know her close friend Hazel on an even deeper level. Kudoes to Crombie for another great read!
Rating:
Summary: Highland whisky, ancient feuds
Review: "Now May You Weep" takes us with detective Gemma James and her best friend, Hazel Cavendish, to the Scottish Highlands for a culinary weekend. Hazel has deep family roots in the beautiful area, famous for flavorful, aged whisky made in picturesque distilleries. Her homecoming reveals some of the details of her earlier life and a previous romance with the handsome Donald Brodie, whom Gemma is surprised to find, has never completely left Hazel's life. Crombie uses a flashback technique, quoting the diaries of two women in the late 1880s, to weave a tale of passion, fortune, and long-kept secrets. The reader will be swept along as Gemma pieces together disparate evidence to solve a tragic murder, and as she comes to know her close friend Hazel on an even deeper level. Kudoes to Crombie for another great read!
Rating: 
Summary: Loved the story!
Review: Deb Crombie writes comfortable books. Had to get this one in quickly before her newest one is published soon. Gemma James stars in this book but Duncan comes in to prop her up soon enough. She travels to a country Inn with her best friend Hazel and discovers things about Hazel that she questions severely, only to doubt herself. Hazel's girlhood lover is done in and the procedural begins. I actually felt sorry for these star-crossed lovers by the end of the book. It's fairly easy to guess who dun it, but it is nicely done, easy to keep up and I'll read anything by Ms Crombie anyway. I also enjoy all the titles of her book. They are very different.
Rating:
Summary: Scottish Highland Intrique
Review: Deborah Crombie's excellent Gemma James/Duncan Kincaid series continues with NOW MAY YOU WEEP. This novel transports Gemma (and us) to the Scottish Highlands with her friend Hazel Cavendish. Hazel comes from a line of a whiskey-making dynasty. Hazel's story plays a little like Romeo and Juliet. Young lovers torn apart by family feud. Hazel leaves Highlands rather than have her lover lose his place in his family dynasty. She marries and moves on with her life only to meet up with her former lover years later. She has never forgotten him and decides to see where it all might lead, so after a bit of subterfuge, she brings Gemma with her to the Highlands in the guise of doing a cookery class there.
Things get a bit tricky when her former lover is found dead and suspicion rests on Hazel. Crombie's strengths lie not only in tightly woven suspenseful plots, but the rich characterizations she brings to all her novels. Here we have not only the mystery that is intriguing in itself, but also the ongoing story of Gemma and Duncan. They have moved in together with their respective sons, but it is not smooth sailing for the family. Gemma and Duncan are extremely likable characters and I enjoy reading about them immensely.
Rating:
Summary: Love, sex and murder in the Scottish Highlands
Review: Even if you've never read the previous eight books in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James mystery series, Now May You Weep would be a standout. Author Deborah Crombie -- in her usual fashion -- gives us characters so real you feel they might walk right off the page, sets them in motion in a beautifully drawn setting and starts things off with a bang -- quite literally -- in her meticulously developed plot. This book goes down as smoothly as the malt whiskey that plays an important part in the story. A real treat.
Rating:
Summary: fascinating mystery
Review: Gemma Jones is taking a mini vacation from Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and their two children. The Detective Inspector assigned to Notting Hill Police Station is traveling with her friend to the bed and breakfast Inner Free in a small village in the Scottish Highlands to take a cooking class. What Gemma didn't realize is that Hazel was rendezvousing with Donald Brodie, the only man she ever loved, even though she is married to Jim Cavendish and has a child with him. The group that are at the B&B all have ulterior motives for taking the class and emotions run high. When Gemma takes an early morning walk she stumbles across the body of Donald and finds herself in the middle of a homicide investigation during her vacation. Even though Gemma is out of her jurisdiction, she has a need to solve the case before the killer strikes again. There are so many suspects who would have liked to see the victim dead, from Brodie's mistress's boyfriend to Hazel's husband, readers come to understand that it is not only the B&B people who are the suspects. NOW MAY YOU WEEP concentrates on Gemma who is able to figure out who the killer is before the person is ready to strike again, but is not sure she can stop another homicide from happening. Deborah Crombie once again delivers a fascinating mystery starring characters who feel like old friends. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat a disappointment from a master
Review: I am a fan of Deborah Crombie's Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid mysteries but this one is a disappointment. The plotting is not only rather weak but somewhat implausible. It smacks of a typical rote-romantic mystery which is quite unlike Crombie's usual novels.
Gemma travels with her friend, Hazel Cavendish, to Scotland and whiskey distilling country and she finds out on their arrival, that Hazel had set up the weekend to reunite with her first lover. Although, married to a fellow therapist and seemingly happy in previous novels, it seems that Hazel has never gotten over her first lover, Donald Brodie, the owner of a successful distillery with a long history in Scotland. When Donald is murdered, Hazel is initially suspected. Kincaid makes a brief appearance but Gemma ultimately solves the murder. The murderer seems to have a somewhat weak motive for the crime but then the entire narrative plot is also weak.
An ongoing historical narrative seems to be added to give meat to the plot but is a little fanciful and melodramatic, particularly when it is hinted that Hazel is plugging into this 100 year old story.
All in all, a disappointment from a usually excellent writer. I look forward to her next offering.
Rating:
Summary: Now May You Weep
Review: I am a huge fan of the series and have contacted Deborah to praise her writing on previous Kincaid/James titles but this one missed the mark. Duncan and Gemma were flatine, their growth arc non-existant, Gemma was unrecognisable and Hazel's 'past life' did not ring true knowing her as we do through this series,the storyline was forced and contrived, the back story did not contribute to the mood as in the other novels. I re-read the book prior to posting and still feel the same.
Hopefully book 10 in this series tentatively titled 'One Blood Will Tell' gives us back the texture on which this series was built.
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