This was a good story, but sad, and I thought the villain was a bit unrealistic (I hope). A wife and mother goes missing, and a few months later her husband is murdered, leaving behind an almost 3-year-old girl of mixed race. A lot of the story was about Gemma and Duncan's personal life and impending wedding, which I enjoyed as usual. There was also a lot of information about the Bangladeshi part of London, which was interesting. Recommended for readers already familiar with the characters. ( )

I was a little disappointed in the ending when I finally got there. Throughout the book I hit points that seemed to take forever to get through and I had other moments where I couldn't put the book down. While I liked some aspects of the plot, I thought others were very unnecessary and didn't give the story more depth but made it more confusing. I really wanted to like this book and was excited to read it but was a little let down at the outcome. ( )

"Necessary as Blood" is a good read and well written, but not Crombie's best. The story lacks the focus of earlier books in the series as it jumps between advancing the "mystery" plot, exploring Gemma's personal problems, and developing the secondary characters -- and Kincaid is an afterthought, although he has primary responsibility for the case. ( )

Ms. Crombie proves herself as a master of the British detective genre. Her deft weaving of characters intertwined with a disappearance and murder, to be connected to a pedophilia ring is amazing. I couldn't put the book down & finished it in one day. Bravo! ( )

I received this book as part of the Early Reviews program, and it was my first introduction to the James/Kincaid mystery series.

I lived outside London back in the early 1980's and spent a lot of time in central London, so it was nice to return there 20+ years later through the eyes of Deborah Crombie. It is obvious from her descriptions of the City that she loves London. She also does a good job of putting a face to the racial tensions of East London between the immigrants from the remnants of the Empire and the white Anglo-Saxon residents.

The story is a police procedural revolving around the disappearance of a young artist, the murder of her husband and the aftermath for their young daughter. The story starts out slowly, but picks up steam fairly soon--not from the murder, which doesn't take place until well after the beginning of the book, but by the interplay between the main characters, their friends, family and co-workers. For the most part I enjoyed the characters, though I'm not sure there isn't too much American author in the dialogue. There are lots of false clues, chases down rabbit holes and the inevitable "ah-ha" moment when the story pulls together. Surprisingly, one of the high points of the book was the author's descriptions of Sandra's art. It really gave me an image. I wondered if the descriptions were based on something she has actually seen because they were so vivid.

I did think the ending was a bit too much treacle, and a push for the continued soon concept of series, but other than that, I would recommend the book to anyone wanting a mystery set in modern London. ( )