1972. Millers Kill Police Chief Jack Liddle is called to a murder scene of a woman that's very similar to one he worked as a trooper in the 50s. The only difference is this time, they have a suspect. Young Vietnam War veteran Russ van Alstyne found the body while riding his motorcycle and is quickly pegged as the prime focus of the investigation.
Present-day. Millers Kill Police Chief Russ van Alstyne gets a 911 call that a young woman has been found dead in a party dress, the same MO as the crime he was accused of in the 70s. The pressure is on for Russ to solve the murder before he's removed from the case.
Russ will enlist the help of his police squad and Reverand Clare Fergusson, who is already juggling the tasks of being a new mother to her and Russ's baby and running St. Alban's Church, to finally solve these crimes.
Comment: This is the 9th installment in the series featuring Russ van Alstyne and Clare Fergusson. It seems there was a gap of six years between the release of the 8th book and this 9th one. I can only imagine the frustration and thus why it's so much better to read a good series when all books are out, but.... it has been announced the 10th will come out in November... so not as long but still. It is frustrating to wait!
In this new adventure, Russ and Clare are recent parents and their decision to try to juggle things while keeping baby Ethan with them as often as possible of course adds to their tiredness. Still, life doesn't stop and the worry over what will happen to the police station continues, especially since a woman has been found dead in pretty similar circumstances as two others, one in 1952 and another in 1972. The investigation seems too hard for there isn't an obvious clue on how the woman died, but as the clues pile in, and the connection between what is slowly discovered points to a surprising conclusion. Will the police and Clare find a way to solve the crime before it's too late for Russ and his police station?
Repeating myself, reading the books in this series is quite an entertainment and a good example of a long series justifying the commitment of carrying on with it, the proof that sometimes that commitment is worth it. Of course, some elements aren't as great as others in the big scheme of things, but it's still a good experience for certain.
In terms of plot, the one here wasn't as thrilling as others were, mystery wise, but when things finally start to make some sense, it turns out that it is a lot more complex than what it seemed at first. The fact that there is a pattern which repeats at least three times suggests that there is a connection between all these crimes and the way the dead women are found, but it can be hard to imagine the scenario that ends up being the real explanation. Not that it isn't possible, but it's really something a bit far fetched.
The technique used to connect the three times (1952, 1972 and the present) was to have a few chapters set in the past years, one of them including a very young Russ. It was a little weird and I'm not, usually, a big fan of stories with flashbacks unless it's known from the start it will be a dual timed plot. Thankfully, the chapters set in the past aren't lengthy and do offer atmosphere and setting - I'm so very curious about Russ' mother Midge and his former mentor Jack, the previous chief of police we see as protagonist in the 1972 chapters. My romance reader persona is already envisioning a romance!
The crimes and how things are finally discovered in the present were a bit more fascinating from a certain point on, yes, but not all the time. Of course, the mystery aspects don't have to be a deal breaker in this series because a very big part of the story is dedicated to the protagonists' relationship and the interactions with others around them. Clare and Russ are fine as a couple, are in love and in awe of their child, scenes that always brought a smile to my face. However, I must say I felt a little disappointed that Clare isn't yet in the right mind frame as she was before she was deployed. We have some scenes regarding this which disappointed me and I fervently hope this situation will be addressed in the next book and, hopefully, "solved".
There is a lot of pages centered on Hadley, the only female police officer, especially after what happened to her at the end of the previous book. I admit I imagined Hadley to not be as at ease as she shows others, and I thought her complicated relationship with Kevin and the consequences of their last case before Kevin left for another city would have more importance than what it seemed. This is a subject that I imagine the author to give us closure about in a certain way, hopefully with more romance!, but this drop by drop situation is frustrating.
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