Three and a half stars. I always enjoy Deborah Crombie's Gemma Janes/Duncan Kincaid mysteries and this one was no different, though I did feel it wasn't as good as some of her previous ones in the series. Now May You Weep starts off slowly - the murder doesn't happen until we've gotten to know the characters and situation. The pace eventually picks up and I did end up staying up late to finish it. This has Gemma James going off with her friend Hazel to a cooking weekend at a B&B in Scotland. The inn is close to a distillery and its history and owner play a large part in the story. Crombie likes to convey the particular history of a place or explore a distinctive kind of craft or business. In other books she's taken us to mystical Glastonbury, shown us how tea is blended, and explored London's Docklands and Portobello Market. In this one we get the whiskey distillery tour, and it's very thorough. I enjoy vicarious sightseeing in the British isles, but this one got a bit bogged down and the tension lagged. I was able to guess the murderer - I think I'm getting a good feel for Crombie's set-ups, but it wasn't obvious and I did second-guess myself a few times. Gemma and Duncan don't spend much time together in this outing - it's mostly Gemma's story. She is frustrated to be on the site of a murder and not be able to orchestrate the investigation, much to her annoyance, as well as that of the local inspector, whose toes she steps on. This lessens the police procedural aspect while there's much more emphasis on the entangled relationships of the characters. Gemma is shocked to find that the marriage of her friend and confidante Hazel is not as wonderful as she thought. The readers of her series are, too, because Hazel's calm, ordered household was held up as a paragon of domestic bliss where the children (usually including Gemma's boy Toby) were bathed and ready for a story while a delicious dinner was bubbling in the oven and soft music played on the stereo when Gemma would come by inevitably late from work. And Hazel, a psychologist, is perceptive, kind, understanding, a wise counselor, and always 'together.' Until her world falls apart in this book. I don't remember any foreshadowing in earlier novels, and I wondered how Crombie decided on Hazel as the lynchpin of the story. Hazel's husband Tim seems a totally different character here than in the earlier stories, though he wasn't often mentioned, and this seems like the author manipulated the character for the plot. True, we had only seen him through Gemma's eyes. As Gemma and Duncan have too often found in their detective work, alas, all is not as it seems.
This is only the second of the 9 Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James books I have not liked. There are several reasons but I will just list these:(1) The Scottish "flavor" is thick and overpowering and is something I just don't like. I never liked Scotland and find I dislike most books set there. I love England, Wales, and Ireland but somehow never warmed to Scotland (though I love many Scottish people). I found myself wanting the characters to go home to London! (2) The whiskey theme and the deadly dull descriptions about making it were too boring. I don't drink alcohol and never did. I have toured wineries while researching for travel guide updates and thought that was quite bad enough (although touring Napa in California and seeing the grapes growing is just lovely since I can eat grapes like they are going out of style) but this was something I had to slog through.(3) I dislike the breakup of Tim and Hazel's marriage for no real reason than as a plot device. The whole point of this book was to break up Hazel's marriage to a man she adored and had a wonderful relationship with, the father of her little daughter Holly. The marriage of Tim and Hazel was wonderful. Why destroy it just because you can? (4) Duncan has known since book 5 that Kit is his son. He is still just pussyfooting around with the notion of having a DNA test done to prove it. He has had to let Ian run the show as far as Kit is concerned for far too long and then there are the threats from Kincaid's ex Victoria's revolting parents. All he has to do is just get the damned test done with cotton swabs to the mouth at the doctor's so why wait 5 or more books to do it. Just do it man, just do it. File for your rights to the child. Give him stability. Instead here he is going on about whether he needs the results to love the child more or is trying to prove something. He needs to do it for the boy's benefit and to get rid of the insecurities Kit feels about belonging. I am sorry not to like it. The last book got 5 stars from me and I found myself ordering a copy from Amazon. I wanted to like it. Ah well, on to the next one!
What do You think about Now May You Weep (2015)?
Whisky is at the heart of this Deborah Crombie mystery featuring her detectives Gemma James, now promoted to Detective Inspector, and her partner Duncan Kinkaid. Gemma finds herself in Scotland, increasingly wrapped up in the problems of a precariously financed distillery owned by friends of her former housemate, Hazel Cavendish. I learned more than I needed to know about how whisky is distilled, aged, bottled, and distributed. But I don’t drink the stuff and I would judge that anyone not already conversant with the life cycle of whisky might find it all much more interesting than I did.When Hazel’s former fiancé, a distiller, is found dead, Hazel is the prime suspect and Gemma extends her stay in the Highlands to help clear her friend. Eventually Duncan joins her as they scramble to find the real murderer.2011 No 112
—Mary Ronan Drew
This was probably my least favorite book in the Gemma James/Duncan Kincaid series thus far. The plot seemed to hinge on a lot of improbabilities and coincidences, plus some woo-woo stuff (Gemma's friend Hazel is somehow dreaming the dreams of her long-dead great-grandmother?). I also could have done without the faux Scots dialect that some of the characters speak--it's stereotypical and intrusive, and doesn't really add much to the characterization. Still, that's not much to complain about in a series that is otherwise very well-written and plotted. By this, the ninth book in the series, Crombie has earned the right to a miss.
—Rosemary
I read this on my holidays and it was a nice read, although quite confusing. I did not like the flashbacks to the past since they seemed to not lead to anything. I did like all the explanations of how to make whiskey, the traditional whiskey making families and other descriptions of the scottish landscape and scottish manners. this was the reason i wanted to read this book. i could not finish it because i had to give it back to the hotel ^^ but i liked the police investigations until the point i had read it.
—Katrin
