And Justice There is None

 

And Justice There is None by Deborah Crombie

Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Series #8

Mystery

2003 Bantam (first published in 2002)

Finished on October 26, 2021

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Gemma James is adjusting to professional and personal changes that include her eagerly sought promotion to the rank of inspector--and a future now intricately entwined with Duncan Kincaid. But her new responsibilities are put to the test when she is placed in charge of a particularly brutal homicide: The lovely young wife of a wealthy antiques dealer has been found murdered on fashionable Notting Hill.

Dawn Arrowood was six weeks pregnant. Her lover, Alex Dunn, a porcelain dealer in London’s bustling Portobello Market, appears absolutely devastated by her death, but Gemma’s the main focus of investigation is soon Karl Arrowood, who had the most powerful motive for killing his unfaithful wife. But this case sets off warning bells for Duncan: it’s far too similar to an unsolved murder in which an antiques dealer was killed in precisely the same way and when the escalating violence claims yet another victim, he and Gemma find themselves at increasing odds with each other--as two separate investigations become linked in the most startling of ways. Their hunt for a killer will traverse the teeming stalls of the city’s antiques markets to a decades-in-the-making vendetta of history and hatred that has been honed to a flawless, deadly point. To solve this case, Gemma and Duncan must walk a merciless razor’s edge through a place where true justice will be a long time coming.

After reading a disappointing installment in this series in September, I am so pleased that I didn't choose to stop reading any more books by Crombie as I thoroughly enjoyed And Justice There is None. As with most of her mysteries, Deborah Crombie has a fairly large cast of characters in this book, but I never felt overwhelmed and managed to keep track of everyone quite easily. I was also happy that Gemma and Duncan played front and center in the story and that readers are offered more information about the developments of their relationship. I also enjoyed the setting, which takes place at Portobello Market and Notting Hill. I spent two weeks in London back in the 1990s, wandering all of the city by Tube and on foot, so it was fun to picture the various locations in the narrative. The mysteries were not at all convoluted and yet I was unable to guess the murderer's identity before it was revealed. All in all a very good read. I do hope the next will be just as entertaining!