New York Times bestseller Deborah Crombie returns with a "gripping police procedural" (Washington Post) featuring Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James as they race to solve the shocking murder of a young woman before panic spreads across London. On a rainy November evening, trainee doctor Sasha Johnson hurries through the evening crowd in London's historic Russell Square. Out of the darkness, someone jostles her as they brush past. A moment later, Sasha stumbles, then collapses. When Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his sergeant, Doug Cullen, are called to the scene, they discover that she's been stabbed. Kincaid immediately calls in his detective wife, Gemma James, who has recently been assigned to a task force on knife crimes which are on the rise. Along with her partner, detective sergeant Melody Talbot, Gemma aids the investigation. But Sasha Johnson doesn't fit the profile of the task force's typical knife crime victim. Single, successful, career-driven, she has no history of abusive relationships or any connection to gangs. Sasha had her secrets, though, and some of them lead the detectives uncomfortably close to home. As the team unravels the victim's tangled connections, another murder raises the stakes. Kincaid, Gemma, and their colleagues must put even friendships on the line to find the killer stalking the dark streets of Bloomsbury.

From critically acclaimed, award-winning author Deborah Crombie comes a riveting story of a past evil that endures.

A lifetime ago, Erika Rosenthal and her husband, David, fled to England to escape the Nazis--which is all Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Gemma James truly knows about her secretive friend's past. But Erika needs Gemma's help now. A family heirloom, stolen during their flight, is being sold at a prestigious London auction house. Who has had it all these years? And was Erika's husband's death more sinister than it appeared?

Hidden somewhere in the shadowy, exclusive world of London's monied society are answers to these questions, and to a shocking new murder--one that kicks the enquiries into high gear and brings Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, Gemma's partner and colleague, into the case. Their investigation could exact justice for Erika, and lead them both to shocking revelations and repercussions that echo across the years.

Olympic rowing hopeful and senior Metropolitan Police officer DCI Rebecca Meredith goes out alone to train on the river in Henley on a dark afternoon in late October - and doesn't return. When a desperate search by the police and a K9 team reveals the possibility of foul play, Scotland Yard wants one of their own on the case. Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, returning from celebrating his marriage to long-time partner Detective Inspector Gemma James, is called to Henley to investigate. He soon finds that the world of elite rowing can be brutal, and that Rebecca Meredith's ex-husband was not the only person with good reason for wanting her dead. Then, when a search-and-rescue team member is threatened, Kincaid realizes the case may be even more complex and more dangerous than he believed. But it is only when he enlists Gemma's aid that they find that the answers lie closer to home than they could have imagined - and are infinitely more deadly. It seems that more than one innocent life depends on their ability to track down the killer.

When a K9 search-and-rescue team discovers a woman's body in the Thames, Scotland Yard superintendent Duncan Kincaid finds himself heading an investigation fraught with complications. The victim, the talented and difficult Rebecca Meredith, was an Olympic rowing contender on the verge of a controversial comeback. She was also a high-ranking detective with the Met--a fact that raises a host of sensitive issues in an already tangled case.

To further complicate the situation, a separate investigation, led by Detective Inspector Gemma James, Kincaid's wife, soon reveals a disturbing--and possibly related--series of crimes, widening the field of suspects. But when someone tries to kill the search-and-rescue team member who found Rebecca's body, the case becomes even more dangerous. Pressured to find answers quickly while protecting the Yard at all costs and with his career and reputation on the line, Kincaid must race to catch the killer before more innocent lives are lost--including his own.

Once the haunt of Jack the Ripper, London's East End is a vibrant mix of history and the avant-garde, where elegant Georgian town houses exist side by side with colorful street markets and the hippest clubs. But here races and cultures still clash, and the trendy galleries and glamorous nightlife disguise a violent and seedy underside.

Sandra Gilles, a young mother, leaves her daughter with a friend and then disappears on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in May. Shortly thereafter, her husband, a Pakistani lawyer, is killed. Scotland Yard detective Gemma James happens upon the scene--and soon she and Duncan Kincaid, her life partner and colleague, are on the trail of a murderer. But the investigation grows darker and more dangerous at every turned corner, and the true prize must be protected at all costs: a beautiful, orphaned little girl, not yet three, whose life now hangs in the balance.

A week's holiday in a luxurious Yorkshire time-share is just what Scotland Yard's Superintendent Duncan Kincaid needs. But the discovery of a body floating in the whirlpool bath ends Kincaid's vacation before it's begun. One of his new acquaintances at Followdale House is dead; another is a killer. Despite a distinct lack of cooperation from the local constabulary, Kincaid's keen sense of duty won't allow him to ignore the heinous crime, impelling him to send for his enthusiastic young assistant, Sergeant Gemma James. But the stakes are raised dramatically when a second murder occurs, and Kincaid and James find themselves in a determined hunt for a fiendish felon who enjoys homicide a bit too much.

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.

In the past. . .home to the tragically destroyed Great Exhibition, a solitary thirteen-year-old boy meets his next-door neighbor, a recently widowed young teacher hoping to make a new start in the tight-knit South London community. Drawn together by loneliness, the unlikely pair forms a deep connection that ends in a shattering act of betrayal.

In the present. . .On a cold January morning in London, Detective Inspector Gemma James is back on the job while her husband, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, is at home caring for their three-year-old foster daughter. Assigned to lead a Murder Investigation Team in South London, she's assisted by her trusted colleague, newly promoted Detective Sergeant Melody Talbot. Their first case: a crime scene at a seedy hotel in Crystal Palace. The victim: a well-respected barrister, found naked, trussed, and apparently strangled. Is it an unsavory accident or murder? In either case, he was not alone, and Gemma's team must find his companion--a search that takes them into unexpected corners and forces them to contemplate unsettling truths about the weaknesses and passions that lead to murder. Ultimately, they will question everything they think they know about their world and those they trust most.

Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his partner, Sergeant Gemma James, take their sons to picturesque Cheshire for their first family Christmas with Duncan's parents--a holiday both dreaded and anticipated. But not even the charming town of Nantwich and the dreaming canals can mask the tensions in Duncan's family, which are tragically heightened by the discovery of an infant's body hidden in the wall of an old dairy.

As Duncan and Gemma help the police investigate the infant's death, another murder strikes closer to home, revealing that far from being idyllic, Duncan's childhood paradise holds dark and deadly secrets . . . secrets that threaten everything and everyone Duncan and Gemma hold most dear.

In the tradition of Elizabeth George, Louise Penny, and P. D. James, New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie delivers a powerful tale of intrigue, betrayal, and lies that will plunge married London detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James into the unspeakable darkness that lies at the heart of murder.

Recently transferred to the London borough of Camden from Scotland Yard headquarters, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his new murder investigation team are called to a deadly bombing at historic St. Pancras Station. By fortunate coincidence, Melody Talbot, Gemma's trusted colleague, witnesses the explosion. The victim was taking part in an organized protest, yet the other group members swear the young man only meant to set off a smoke bomb. As Kincaid begins to gather the facts, he finds every piece of the puzzle yields an unexpected pattern, including the disappearance of a mysterious bystander.

The bombing isn't the only mystery troubling Kincaid. He's still questioning the reasons behind his transfer, and when his former boss--who's been avoiding him--is attacked, those suspicions deepen. With the help of his former sergeant, Doug Cullen, Melody Talbot, and Gemma, Kincaid begins to untangle the truth. But what he discovers will leave him questioning his belief in the job that has shaped his life and his values--and remind him just how vulnerable his precious family is.

In the past . . .

On a blistering August afternoon in Crystal Palace, a solitary thirteen-year-old boy meets his next door neighbor, a recently widowed teacher hoping to make a new start. Drawn together by loneliness, the unlikely pair form a connection that ends in a shattering act of betrayal.

In the present . . .

On a cold January morning in London, Detective Inspector Gemma James is back on the job now that her husband, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, is at home to care for their three-year-old foster daughter. Assigned to lead a Murder Investigation Team, her first case is a crime scene at a seedy hotel in Crystal Palace. A well-respected barrister is found naked, trussed, and apparently strangled. Is it an unsavory accident or murder? Their search leads them into unexpected corners and forces them to contemplate unsettling truths about the weaknesses and passions that lead to murder. Ultimately, they will begin to question everything they think they know about their world and those they trust most.

When a search-and-rescue team discovers a woman's body in the river, Scotland Yard superintendent Duncan Kincaid finds himself heading an investigation fraught with complications. The victim, Rebecca Meredith, was a talented but difficult woman with many admirers--and just as many enemies. An Olympic contender on the verge of a controversial comeback, she was also a high-ranking detective with the Met--a fact that raises a host of political and ethical issues.

To further complicate things, a separate investigation, led by Detective Inspector Gemma James, Kincaid's wife, soon reveals a disturbing, possibly related, series of crimes, widening the field of suspects. But when someone tries to kill the search-and-rescue team member who found the body, the case becomes even more complex and dangerous.

Surrounded by enemies with friendly faces, pressured to find answers quickly while protecting the Yard at all costs, his career and reputation on the line, Kincaid must race to catch the killer before more innocent lives are lost--including his own.

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in mid May, a young mother, Sandra Gilles, leaves her three-year-old daughter with a friend at the Columbia Road Flower Market, then vanishes. Shortly thereafter, her husband, imminently reliable Pakistani lawyer Naz Malik, disappears. Responding to an urgent plea from a close friend, Metropolitan Police Inspector Gemma James becomes involved in the investigation, although she has no official standing.

And when one disappearance turns deadly, Gemma convinces her lover and former partner, Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, to take on the case. Working together again, Gemma, Duncan, Sergeant Doug Cullen, and DC Melody Talbot must stop a vicious killer and protect the child whose fate hangs in the balance.