Rating: 
Summary: Will the real Deborah Crombie please stand up?
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I found that Gemma on her own as she is for most of this book is a nice touch. Although I like Kincaid, I find him somewhat of a "stuffed shirt". I also love Scotland, and this book has some wonderful descriptions of the Scottish countryside in the spring, which to my mind would be when I would like to visit. This book slips back and forth between two times - the present and 1898 so there is a parallel storyline here. I think Ms. Crombie handles this very well, and she certainly makes it clear that the old adage is true - "
The sins of the fathers are visited on the sons." in the book Gemma's friend Hazel has asked her to accompany her to the place where she grew up for what she terms a "cookery weekend", at a Bed and Breakfast. Once they get there Gemma finds that what she thought she knew about Hazel is totally wrong, and she finds herself in the middle of a love triangle which turns into a murder. Along the way we learn how fine whiskey is made. A good read!
Rating: 
Summary: Another Great British Procedural
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I found that Gemma on her own as she is for most of this book is a nice touch. Although I like Kincaid, I find him somewhat of a "stuffed shirt". I also love Scotland, and this book has some wonderful descriptions of the Scottish countryside in the spring, which to my mind would be when I would like to visit. This book slips back and forth between two times - the present and 1898 so there is a parallel storyline here. I think Ms. Crombie handles this very well, and she certainly makes it clear that the old adage is true - "
The sins of the fathers are visited on the sons." in the book Gemma's friend Hazel has asked her to accompany her to the place where she grew up for what she terms a "cookery weekend", at a Bed and Breakfast. Once they get there Gemma finds that what she thought she knew about Hazel is totally wrong, and she finds herself in the middle of a love triangle which turns into a murder. Along the way we learn how fine whiskey is made. A good read!
Rating: 
Summary: Love, sex and murder in the Scottish Highlands
Review: I've been waiting what seemed like forever for the next Kinkaid/James novel from Deborah Crombie and ran right out to buy Now May you Weep. Crombie doesn't disappoint. She kept me reading far into the night. The novel, set in Scotland, is rich with atmosphere and the characters really came to life for me. Not only that, but I learned a lot about making (and enjoying) whiskey because of Ms. Crombie's impeccable research. It was interesting to see how Duncan and Gemma's relationship has progressed since And Justice There is None. Can't wait for the next installment!!!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, wonderful!
Review: I've been waiting what seemed like forever for the next Kinkaid/James novel from Deborah Crombie and ran right out to buy Now May you Weep. Crombie doesn't disappoint. She kept me reading far into the night. The novel, set in Scotland, is rich with atmosphere and the characters really came to life for me. Not only that, but I learned a lot about making (and enjoying) whiskey because of Ms. Crombie's impeccable research. It was interesting to see how Duncan and Gemma's relationship has progressed since And Justice There is None. Can't wait for the next installment!!!
Rating:
Summary: Not up to the rest of the series
Review: In a series that seems to get better with each book, this one just doesn't click. The characters are underdeveloped, the atmosphere is flat, and St. James' and Kincaid's involvement in the case is contrived and completely unrealistic.
Rating: 
Summary: Apt Title
Review: Now May You Weep is quite possibly how you will feel upon completing this lackluster addition to the James/Kincaid series. Gemma James joins her friend for a cooking class weekend in the Highlands with a group of cardboard characters and poorly developed entanglements. Soon enough a murder occurs with Gemma on the outside second guessing the investigation and withholding information. As the story resolves we get blatant red herrings, obvious clues, a lot of talk about whiskey, motives that are ignored and characters that basically just wander out of the story.Where is Duncan during this time, you ask? For the most part he is in London dealing with a moody Kit and the still unresolved question of paternity. He does make a quick run up to Scotland for a cuddle, but is soon back in London because a suspect will only talk to him. Our dynamic duo are basically in the dark until reluctant suspects decide to tell all, allowing Gemma and Duncan to solve the case at the same time despite the fact they are far apart. Gemma then runs to the rescue, subduing the murderer and all of the loose ends are neatly wrapped up. There is a historical story running throughout that is supposed to explain a long running family feud between two whiskey producing families, but the relevance to the current situation are tenuous at best and it reads a lot like a bad romance novel. To add injury to insult, one of the investigation detectives remarks how the case is like something out of Agatha Christie. Dame Agatha deserves better and so do we.
Rating:
Summary: Gemma can't help herself, if it's Murder, She has to but in
Review: Sergeant Gemma James is off to Scotland for a weekend, but not with her partner, Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid. She's going to have a small vacation away from him and do a cooking class weekend with her good friend Hazel Cavendish at a countryside B & B. Even before their arrival, it's clear that Hazel's not been completely honest about what's going on. It seems there is some interesting chemistry between her and Don Brodie, the attractive owner of a local distillery. Add to that the unspoken history and tensions among the guests in the bed and breakfast and that cooking class weekend begins to fall apart and it deteriorates rapidly when Don is found shot dead, murdered. There are motives and suspects galore, not to mention Hazel, all that interesting chemistry and all, you know. Much to Gemma's frustration, local Detective Chief Inspector Alun Ross makes it perfectly clear to her that she is not going to be involved in the investigation. Gemma calls Kincaid for assistance, but gets no joy as he's got problems with his son, so she is on her own. Can she just sit back and let the locals solve the crime? Of course not! I'm a big fan of Gemma and Duncan's and I think if you give them a try, you will be too. Ms. Crombie knows how to set up a mystery, knows how to keep her readers involved, knows how do draw them into the setting. I really felt like I was in Scotland and I didn't guess whodunit before I should have. Karen Holtz, New Jersey Book Girl
Rating:
Summary: Best book in a while......
Review: Sometimes I think having an association with a favorite writer is like marriage-for better or worse. I have not liked several recent mysteries by Deborah Crombie, but I hung in there, reading her latest book waiting for another DREAMING OF THE BONES or KISSED A SAD GOODBYE. I have been rewarded by her latest book-NOW MAY YOU WEEP.
Folks talk about the perfect storm-and this book is the perfect book. First of all it is a really good read and I read it in two sittings. The main characters-the two detectives Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid-are back and in fine form, and mostly behaving like the professional cops they are supposed to be. Gemma and Duncan have found a way to live together and work together without actually being on the same payroll together-thus sparing the sensibilities of those of us who grow weary of watching coworkers sleep their way to the top. The plot of the book, while not ingenious is very good-and believable, and the setting is to die for. The development of the supporting characters, especially longtime friend Hazel is quite credible and long overdue. Crombie's description of child and animal behavior is also quite good. According to the book jacket Crombie lives with three cats and a dog, so she is obviously aware and observant, and possesses a skill for understanding feline and canine behavior.
One of the best features of the book, from my perspective, is that Crombie describes the art of whiskey manufacture without overwhelming the reader with too much information. As the relative of a long line of Scots who made `fine" whisky in the hills of Kentucky and who went on to make liquor long after Prohibition was the law of the land (didn't everyone have a grandfather with a still in the chicken house and a grandmother who put up `medicinal' dandelion wine?), I greatly appreciated the detail about Scotch whiskey making.
This is a sad book. Even though I could tell from the telltale foreshadowing who the victim would be, I kept hoping it was not so. I could also figure out just ahead of the detectives who the murderer was which every mystery reader likes to do. Probably the thing I liked the best about this book is that Crombie has acknowledged ever so skillfully and subtly that divination and clairvoyance are quite real (either that or she has moved into the area of fictional writing known as magical realism-either way it is great!!). Good police work and good parenting are often quite intuitive. Keep it up Ms Crombie. This is the best so far.
Rating:
Summary: A Crombie to Savor
Review: Spend a rainy weekend with this book and your favorite single malt scotch, and you won't be disappointed. Crombie moves her characters to the Scottish Highlands for this atmospheric tale of illicit love and lost opportunities, served up with typical Crombie insight into the characters and their motivations, and a parallel backstory that reminds us how long memories can last. Sex, murder, betrayal, money, and possibly even a ghost mix with characters you'll wish you could see again to make a smoothly textured, completely satisfying read.
Rating:
Summary: Scotland and Deborah Crombie - great combination!
Review: This latest in the Kincaid-James series was no disappointment, although being a lover of Scotland AND Crombie, I am perhaps biased. But Crombie just gets better (unlike so many mystery writers who have to churn out a new book every year and burn out after a while). The plot involves a long weekend trip to the Scottish highlands by Gemma James, who is invited by her friend Hazel Cavendish. It turns out that this is not going to be the innocent weekend learning some cooking at an old farmhouse run by an old school friend of Hazel's -- Gemma learns that an old lover of (now married) Hazel will be present for the weekend. Not only that, but Hazel has been meeting the old lover, Donald Brodie, in London. Donald runs a family distillery (Scotch) down the road from the farmhouse and will be doing the cookery weekend as well. No-one thinks this weekend is a good idea except Donald, who wants Hazel to leave her husband for him. Needless to say, someone ends up dead and Hazel is a suspect, so Gemma gets involved in trying to solve the murder (to the annoyance of the local police). Duncan ends up joining her, so they are once more working together. Interspersed with this 2003 story are short sections of a story that took place 100 years ago in the same area, with the ancestors of Donald and Hazel and some other characters. In a place where feuds and grudges are rife, the story of family conflict from the past explains some of the tensions in the present day story. All in all, the plotting was excellent and characterization and dialogue well-done. Add to this the Scottish highland backdrop, and this mystery made a great read. I could practically smell the heather. I can hardly wait to find out what happens to James & Kincaid next. I hope Crombie does another "Scottish" mystery soon.
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