The second book in Deborah Crombie's series about Scotland Yard's Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James is even better than the first book!This book is better to me than the first because we learn even more about what makes both Duncan and Gemma tick. It begins when Duncan's 49 year old neighbor, lung cancer victim, Jasmine Dent, is found dead by Duncan and a visiting nurse he helps pick the lock for when Jasmine fails to open the door. At first, it might be easily written off as a cancer death. Jasmine was, in fact, dying and the surgeries and chemos had not worked for her. She had put off seeing about her nagging cough and the cancer had been caught late. But it was not the cancer that killed her.On the other hand, a former co-worker, Meg Bellamy shows up while Duncan and the nurse Felicity Howarth are still there, having been on her way for a visit to Jasmine and carrying a sack of food when she saw an ambulance drive away with the body. Meg explains that Jasmine has asked her to be there with her while she took an overdose of all of the morphine she had in the house so she wouldn't die alone so suddenly it looks like a suicide. Only it was not a suicide. Jasmine told Meg just the day before that she had changed her mind.If not for Duncan's intervention, this murder would have slipped by unnoticed but Duncan was a good friend and not willing to let it slide so he forces an investigation and begins working with Gemma to see it through.There are quite a few suspects:(1) Meg, who lives in a tiny bedsitter apartment stands to inherit almost everything from Jasmine. Did she do it to get free of her sad little life of poverty?(2) Theo is Jasmine's younger brother. their mother died at his birth and from age 5 on, Jasmine has cared for her brother. He is a quiet man who loves old movies and has never been able to succeed at anything involving business sense. Did he kill her hoping to inherit enough to save his shop?(3) The Major served in India when Jasmine's father was a civil servant there, the very civil servant whose incompetence led to his wife and child dying in a riot. He has been quietly friendly with Jasmine but never got over the loss of wife and child. Are the sins of the father being taken out on the daughter? And was the major REALLY sick when he left choir rehearsal early the night Jasmine died? (4) Roger- why did this good looking but completely vile young man take up with plain little Meg at the pub instead of her gorgeous co-worker? Why is he leaching off Meg and telling his mates he is going to come into money? Why was he angry and storm off when Meg told him Jasmine had changed her mind about suicide? (5) Felicity is a private duty nurse who specializes in cancer patients and the dying. Just why did she choose Jasmine as a patient and just why is it that instead of comforting her, she has harshly scared the woman with stories of how the cancer will make her suffer.There are also people locked away in creepy mental hospitals, little old ladies, and a victim of an act of long ago child abuse who hold keys to the mystery. It couldn't be suicide- all of the morphine given to Jasmine is still accounted for in the fridge and there were no empty bottles left anywhere. Jasmine could not manage to even walk the steps to go out let alone get rid of the bottles. It is murder and Duncan will search out the guilty party.I like how we got to see and learn a lot more about Gemma James. I like this woman. She is a young rising cop who is the single mom of a toddler son named Toby and in this book, her ex (who ran off on her and Toby after the baby's birth) has really disappeared now- quit his job and left where he lived- so she is getting no child support but is stuck paying for the high mortgage on the house he saddled her with along with day care costs for Toby. I liked seeing how Duncan was so sympathetic to her plight. That, along with his compassion for Jasmine and others, and his actions with Jasmine's cat Sidhi, show what a kind, loving man he is. I am a little in love with both him and Gemma!For those of you, like myself, who love and rescue animals, you will probably feel some anxiety when Jasmine dies and her black cat Sidhi is left behind. The cat was a love of her life and wonderful companion but in books, the cat is often tossed out on its own or taken to animal control where they are killed. Though at first no one wants the cat- don't like cats, are allergic to cats,not allowed to have a cat where they live, going to prison for murder (!!!), I must report that Duncan Kincaid made sure to feed the cat, change the litter box, give water, and even leave the lights on for the kitty daily. And in the end, I am delighted at the very good home Sid goes to. Bravo to Deborah Crombie (who has 3 cats and a German shepherd of her own) for including Sidhi's care and fate in this book in a highly responsible and satisfying way. I love people who are good to animals!!!
Summary –When Jasmine Dent, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid’s neighbour dies in her sleep, nobody has a reason to believe something might be wrong. Jasmine was suffering from terminal cancer and Duncan should have been relieved because of her painless death. But his instincts tell him to look deeper. Did Jasmine commit suicide as she had wanted? Or did somebody accelerate her death? But then why would someone want to hurt her when her days were already numbered?Review –It was a coincidence that I read Elly Griffiths’ A Room Full of Bones and All Shall Be Well in quick succession. It was Griffiths who first introduced me to Julian of Norwich whose famous lines “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well” form the title of this book. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I have a lot of catching up to do on this series. So I started All Shall Be Well as soon as I finished A Share in Death. Jasmine Dent, Duncan’s downstairs neighbour is an enigma. Suffering from cancer at an advanced stage, her days are numbered. Yet when she is found dead in her sleep, Duncan can’t shake the feeling that something is amiss. His suspicion proves to be correct as autopsy reveals Jasmine died due to an overdose of morphine. Even though everything suggests a possible suicide, Duncan does not want to let go of his instincts and starts his private investigation with the help of his colleague Sergeant Gemma James.All Shall Be Well is better than its predecessor in terms of characterisation. We know more about Duncan, especially his personal life. And then there is Gemma who plays more important role in this book. Gemma is struggling on home front as well. Her ex husband has vanished without a trace and she is stuck up with heavy mortgage and has to take care of her two year old son. But the character that I liked most is of Jasmine about whom we know more after her death. As Duncan tries to peep into Jasmine’s past, it reveals many layers of her personality – something that Duncan had not quite expected. But then Jasmine was an enigma even to people who were close to her and there were not many. Her friends and acquaintances play an important part in the mystery. There is bumbling Meg, her friend and colleague, Meg’s greedy and self-absorbed lover, Major Keith – Jasmine’s downstairs neighbour, her brother Theo and nurse Felicity. The ensemble of cast is limited and the mystery though good is not difficult to solve. There are clues cleverly left and if you are careful while reading, the mystery can be solved fairly early on. But still the book urges you to read on.Now that I have warmed up to the series, I will try to keep up with it as fast as I can. I really like the way Crombie paces out her books in a nice, easy way and there is more of London in this book. Also I could see the hints of sparks that I am sure are about to fly between Duncan and Gemma sooner or later and that’s definitely reason enough to continue reading this series.
What do You think about All Shall Be Well (2004)?
Very much enjoyed Deborah Crombie's second book in the Duncan Kincaid series. Excellent descriptive detail which places the reader in the scene without being overwhelming. Wonderful characterizations which permits the reader to empathize not just with the main characters (Duncan and Gemma), but with the secondary characters as well. I love how Ms. Crombie develops every character's backstory that may (or may not) be woven into the main plot. This novel contains a very nice twist to the plot in the last few pages. This is the second book of the series that I have read, and will eventually read this entire series. Enjoying these characters too much to stop.
—Mikki Cober
I had inadvertently skipped this book, #2, in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series, so I went back and read it after I finished the rest of the wonderful series. So glad I did. Every novel in this series reveals something about Duncan and Gemma both individually and together, so it's important to read each and every one (in order, oops). It's like the mysteries that they solve in that each book is a piece to the puzzle that is Duncan's and Gemma's relationship. The murder that must be solved in this book is that of Duncan's 49-year-old neighbor, a woman already dying of cancer and a person who has maintained a wall of privacy surrounding herself and her affairs, both past and present. Duncan must decipher just who Jasmine Dent was and is to prove that her death was murder and not suicide. With this second novel, the reader will begin to start rooting for Duncan and Gemma to become romantically involved. I'm so happy that I came to the series late and had 15 books to read, allowing me to experience the evolution of that relationship without waiting. Of course, now that I am up to speed, I, too, suffer the pains of a year without my favorite twosome.
—Kathy
All Shall be Well is the 2nd book in the Kincaid/James series. A terminally ill neighbor of Duncan who he has struck up a friendship with died sooner than expected. An acquaintance of the deceased makes the comment that she was asked to assist in a suicide. She was told by the victim that she had changed her mind. All this and some things that Duncan noticed does not set well with him. He calls for a postmortem to find the cause of deathI enjoyed going along with Duncan and Gemma on their investigation. Both are quite likable. I like how Duncan knows human behavior and how he questions and observes people. There were many suspects. The why of the crime was a surprise. Also as the story progresses, the reader starts learning more about the victim Jasmine who was reserved and private. It was a good read. It was a read that I kept wanting to go back to. It was difficult to put down. I am looking forward to progressing with the series.
—Lynn
