Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James Books In Order

Publication Order of Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Books

Writing from her home in McKinney, Texas, Deborah Crombie has been writing her Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series for some time now. Infusing both mystery and suspense, she has a mastery of the form, as she manages to provide an intriguing collection of stories that have captured the attention of audiences internationally. Set in Scotland, she travels to Britain regularly to research her material and keep up-to-date with all the latest goings on there. Featuring the case work of one Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, along with London based Sergeant Gemma James, it charts how they operate. Working alongside one another, it’s a well-researched and fully realized set of mysteries that have gone on for a number of years now. Constantly clashing, the two headstrong characters work together with mutual respect, as they seek to always get the job done.

With over eleven books in the series so far, this proved to be a hugely popular series at the time, as the last one was published in 2007 before a gap. Running over a highly successful course, they managed to capture the relationship between the two, as readers became familiar with the ever popular characters. Still popular today, they continue to draw in audiences from across the world, as Crombie carries on receiving acclaim for them.

A Share in Death

Initially published in 1993, this was the novel where it all began and the characters were introduced for the first time. Setting up the premise, it provided all the primary motives, as well as fully establishing all the characters too. Creating a sense of the style and the tone of the novels overall, it works in well in building an ambiance with an idea of what’s to come.

Having been working on the force for some time, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid has seen it all when it comes to police work. With more experience than he’d like, he’s still a resourceful and erudite officer with the ability of keeping an eye extreme attention to detail. This hasn’t stopped him becoming somewhat cynical in recent years, though, as he attempts to ensuring that justice will prevail for his branch at Scotland Yard. Stepping onto the scene then is his new assistant Gemma James, an enthusiastic Sergeant from London who’s both upbeat and optimistic. Also with a keen eye, she is extremely intelligent as their talents compliment one-another, ensuring that they make a force to be reckoned with. Determined and focused, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, using both her wits and her wiles to aid her. Then there’s the rest of the police force who must all orbit around these two central protagonists as they go about their job. Scotland Yard itself as an establishment with an important legacy and a huge reputation is a key-player in the proceedings as well. There are also smaller recurring characters too, though, who return to play an important part in the overall arc of the story.

Spending time away on a well-deserved retreat Duncan Kincaid is relaxing taking time off from the job. His week in the Yorkshire time-share comes to an abrupt end, though, after a body is discovered in the bath whirlpool there. Cutting his holiday short in the luxurious apartment, he then goes about finding out who the culprit is behind this death. He then finds out that the place he is staying, ‘Followdale House’, has turned up a dead acquaintance of his, leaving another to be a killer. To top it all off the local police seem uninterested in taking the case or following it up, leaving Kincaid to deal with it himself. That’s when he enlists the help of his associate Gemma James to come and help him solve the case, which she promptly does. Finding another murder take place they then realize a killer is on the loose and it is up to them to catch the murderer. Will they be able to find the killer in time, or will it be too late leaving them to strike once more taking another life? Can they discover the true intentions of the murderer and why they are doing what they’re doing there? What will become of them both as they attempt to learn the truth behind it all finding that they have a share in death?

All Shall Be Well

Setting up book two in the ever popular Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series, this sequel was initially published in 1994. Carrying on from where the last left off, it provides another case for eponymous duo, which they must solve before it’s too late. With the characters already being well established, it manages to delve deeper into the case, thus giving greater depth to who they are with a richer narrative.

Jasmine Dent was a woman in pain, her body racked with disease as she lay on her deathbed to her final moment when she departed. Dying in her sleep was the way she wanted to go and end it all, and it seems she managed to get her wish. One thing seems inconsistent though, and it soon transpires that a murder took place, as Kincaid and James need question good and evil as they deal with their own ethics. Who would decide to take someone in their final moments and murder them like that and for what end? Will they be able to find the killer before it is too late, and could they potentially strike again before they’re found? What will become of them all as Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James discover that maybe not all shall be well?

The Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Series

As the books are continuing with the fifteenth being released soon, it looks like there is plenty of life left in this series yet. With an extremely dedicated following, it should bring more to the franchise and continue to do so in the following years to come. There’s a lot of room still to expand upon the characters and draw more from them and their line of work. The modern environment they operate within also provides a lot for them to deal with, as they adapt to keep up with the times. This looks like something that Crombie will enjoy as a writer for the foreseeable future.