Deborah Crombie – författare

Jack Montfort grew up in the shadow of Glastonbury Tor in a town revered as the mythical burial place of King Arthur, and, according to New Age followers, a source of strong druid power. Montfort has little more than a passing interest in the history of the area - until he comes across an extraordinary chronicle almost a thousand years old . . . The unsettling way this record comes into his hands brings Montfort into contact with a disparate group of townspeople, including Nick Carlisle, a student of Glastonbury's myths; Faith Wills, a pregnant teenage runaway; and Winnie Catesby, the Anglican priest who is now Jack's lover. When a member of Jack's circle is attacked and left for dead, he appeals to his cousin, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, for help. For something terrible and bloody shattered Glastonbury Abbey's peace long ago - and now it is about to spark a violence that will reach forward into the present . . .

In the past: It is September 1939 and thousands of children are being evacuated from London. Among them 12-year-olds Lewis Finch and William Hammond, both billeted on the Surrey estate of the formidable Regina Burne-Jones. Both become allies, then friends, and thus begins a story of choice and betrayal the repercussions of which will echo down the years . . .In the present: Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are called out to investigate a death in London's East End. A young woman known as Annabelle Hammond has been strangled. Prime suspect is a busker she was seen talking to just before she disappeared. And when he turns out to be Gordon Finch, Duncan decides to investigate events which occurred more than fifty years before.

Five years ago, the talented Cambridge poet Lydia Brooks apparently committed suicide. Now Victoria McClellan, is writing a biography about the renowned Lydia. However as she digs deeply into the background of the deceased poet, Vic begins to question whether Lydia actually killed herself or was murdered. She turns to her estranged former spouse, Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid for help.

On a winter's evening in Notting Hill, Dawn Arrowood drives home after a doctor's appointment confirming her pregnancy. She is terrified. Her older husband has made it clear that he wants no children, and Dawn is not even sure that the child is his. But as Dawn arrives home, she is attacked as she gets out of her car. In the ensuing struggle, her assailant whispers in her ear 'I'm sorry'. And he cuts her throat.Gemma Jones and Duncan Kincaid are called to the crime scene. The gripping case that develops forces them to investigate 1960s Notting Hill and its racial tensions, the Russian mafia and a possible serial killer. . .And at the same time, Gemma, pregnant herself with Kincaid's child, has to cope with her own rollercoaster of emotions in a case that is rather too close to home for comfort.

When Detective Inspector Gemma James is persuaded by her friend, Hazel, to take a trip to the misty Scottish Highlands, she jumps at the chance. But upon their arrival it becomes clear that Hazel has been concealing a dangerous secret.At their remote B&B the pair encounter Donald Brodie, the owner of a local distillery . . . and Hazel’s former lover. Their relationship had ended abruptly years before. Now Donald is convinced he can win Hazel back.But the lovers' reunion yields shocking - and mortal - consequences. Gemma soon discovers that, in this tight-knit community, there is no shortage of murder suspects. And beneath the hospitable surface, there lurks a hundred years of bitter family rivalry waiting to emerge . . .‘As rich and history laden as a tartan plaid . . . this is a pure gem’ Publishers Weekly (starred review)