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In A Dark House

by Deborah Crombie

In A Dark House – by Deborah Crombie may not be her very best work, but it lives up to the Crombie reputation for excellence in both her writing and depiction of England: in this case London itself. In A Dark House continues the series of Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James, as they're once again brought together in tracking down an arsonist. Ms. Crombie certainly knows her England, even if she's actually a native of Texas.

In A Dark House begins with the thoughts of the arsonist as he starts another fire. Except in this case he's unaware that there's also a body nearby. But as usual in the Deborah Crombie novels, the arsonist is only part of the story. There's the fight over custodianship of Duncan and Gemma's son Kit, plus the sudden abduction of Harriet, a ten-year-old girl and the involvement of a prominent man and his daughter, as well as a female fire fighter. All of these disparate elements are cleverly used to weave a fascinating tale.

Duncan Kincaid from Scotland Yard is brought in to find and ID the body of a naked female found in the smoldering remains of a warehouse fire. Usually no one at his level would be asked to participate, but he's there because MP Michael Yarwood had requested the presence of Scotland Yard. Meanwhile the Reverend Winifred Montfort, in a temporary exchange with another priest, visits one of her wheelchair-bound parishioners to discover the parishioner's housemate missing, and Fanny, the parishioner, has no idea where the woman known as Elaine has gone, or why she suddenly left.

Dr. Tony Novak has decided to abduct his daughter Harriet and flee to Europe to avoid his ex-wife Laura's anger. A notorious lady's man, he picks up Harriet from her school and leaves her in the care of someone he knows only as 'Beth' while he goes to get Harriet's passport from his former home. When he goes to the place where the three were supposed to meet, no one is there. 'Beth' has kidnapped Harriet, and Tony hasn't the faintest idea of who she actually is or how to reach her and get his daughter back – he doesn't even know a last name.

The story swivels back and forth from one character to another, and instead of all relating to each other and coming together in the end, each one is resolved separately – the one item remaining unsolved is what finally happens to 'Beth' – especially since she seems also to be responsible for two previous murders. Deborah Crombie is an expert when it comes to the murder-mystery story, with complete command of suspense and plot. Her In A Dark House may not garner as many awards as some of her other work, but it's doubtless worth your interest!

Alan Paul Curtis

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