A Killing of Innocents: A Novel

New York Times bestseller Deborah Crombie returns with a new novel 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.

Review

"Situated in the rich, historic Bloomsbury district of London, A Killing of Innocents is a superbly plotted work of suspense that immerses the reader in the intriguing world of Scotland Yard. But Crombie also gifts us something equally compelling: a very modern portrait of richly intertwined and diverse characters navigating the competing demands of work, family and romance. There is such humanity in all of Crombie's creations, particularly the lead married detectives Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid, making this stand-alone book and its background series such a noteworthy and satisfying addition to the genre of psychological suspense." — Natalie Jenner, international bestselling author 

"Crombie is as skilled as Louise Penny or J.D. Robb in developing characters while entwining personal lives with riveting police investigations. With four years since A Bitter Feast, the previous book in the series, the author’s fans will be eager to catch up with her characters." — Library Journal (starred review)

"Crombie, as usual, presents a fascinating puzzle, loaded with twists and a grand dose of London atmosphere...This is a worthy excursion into the lives of a popular sleuthing duo." — Booklist

“We can always count on her for fabulous plots...But what puts Deborah Crombie among the greats is her sure hand in raising her characters off the page.” — Louise Penny, New York Times bestselling author

“Nobody writes the modern English mystery the way Deborah Crombie does—and A Bitter Feast is the latest in a series that is gripping, enthralling, and just plain the best.” — Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of The Black Ascot and A Cruel Deception

“A Bitter Feast is a rich banquet for mystery lovers. Three cheers for the chef, Deborah Crombie!”— Alan Bradley, New York Times bestselling author

“Deborah Crombie continues to push the envelope, writing books that are new, different and better and better. Richly layered, character-driven, and with an evocative sense of place, A Bitter Feast truly transcends the genre.”— Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of the Royal Spyness series and the international bestseller The Tuscan Child

“A Bitter Feast is a fast-paced mystery with wonderfully developed characters and a storyline that makes it hard to put down.”  — San Francisco Book Review

“Crombie is very talented at putting together a richly atmospheric whodunit...As a creator, she energetically inhabits the many strange worlds she shows her readers....” — Washington Post

About the Author

Deborah Crombie is a New York Times bestselling author and a native Texan who has lived in England and Scotland. She now lives in McKinney, Texas, sharing a house that is more than one hundred years old with her husband, three cats, and two German shepherds.