In a Dark House

✍ Scribed by Deborah Crombie

• Publisher: Avon
• Year: 2004;2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 212 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9780060525262

✦ Synopsis

An abandoned Southwark warehouse burns next door to a women's shelter for victims of spousal abuse. Within it lies the charred corpse of a female body burned beyond all recognition. At the same time, workers at Guy's Hospital anxiously discuss the disappearance of a hospital administrator -- a beautiful, emotionally fragile young woman who's vanished without a trace.

And in an old, dark, rambling London house, nine-year-old
Harriet's awful fears won't be silenced -- as she worries about her
feuding parents, her schoolwork . . . and the strange woman who
is her only companion in this scary, unfamiliar place.

Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid -- lovers and former partners -- have their own pressing concerns. But they must put aside private matters to investigate these disturbing cases. Yet neither Gemma nor Duncan realize how closely the cases are connected -- or how important their resolutions will be for an abducted young child who is frightened, alone . . . and in serious peril.

From Publishers Weekly

A serial arsonist nutter is on the loose in London in Crombie's assured 10th book starring Scotland Yard Det. Supt. Duncan Kincaid and his lover/partner Det. Insp. Gemma James. When a nude, charred female corpse turns up in a burned warehouse, the police discover that the unidentified victim, one of four possible women, was murdered beforehand. Duncan and Gemma also look into the abduction of 10-year-old Harriet Novak, a pawn in her parents' ongoing acrimonious divorce. As the investigation by both fire officials and police evolves, it becomes clear that the abduction is connected to the murder. Young, eager firefighter Rose Kearny, who found the body in the burning building, works the case on her own and comes up with a theory that may explain the arsonist's unusual motive. Fanny Liu, confined to a wheelchair, fears the worst when her roommate goes missing, and a nearby home for battered women apparently connects several aspects of the case. It's a web of gossamer-thin clues that police, under the patient Superintendent Kincaid, work to untangle as they race against time to find the imperiled Harriet. Myriad subplots that have accrued from past entries slow the action in places, but Duncan and Gemma are such interesting and attractive characters that few readers will mind.
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Review

“Crombie has laid claim to the literary territory of moody psychological suspense owned by P.D. James and Barbara Vine.” (Washington Post )

“Crombie...has evolved into a masterful novelist.” (Denver Post )

“A master of the modern British mystery...one writer who gets better with every book.” (Harrisburg Patriot News )

“Rich and complex.” (London Times )

“A defiinite recomendation for fans of Elizabeth george, P.D. James and Ruth Rendell.” (Library Journal )

“Crombie keeps this series on its toes with her smooth procedural techniques and engagingly eccentric characters.” (New York Times Book Review )

“An uncanny affinity for the English detective genre...Her characters are three-dimensional and are drawn with compassion and sensitivity.” (Dallas Morning News )

Crombie’s steady hand drives teh story--and the likable Kincaid and james--safely home again. (Texas Monthly )

“...interesting and attractive characters...” (Publishers Weekly )

“As always, Ms. Crombie peoples her novel with well-drawn, interesting characters. (Richmond Times-Dispatch )

In this dark house, the author’s light shines brightly. (Richmond Times-Dispatch on In a Dark House )