Currently he's struggling with the prospect of impending fatherhood. And his new wife is not at all happy with his proposal for their long-delayed honeymoon: a week in an unelectrified ice-fishing cabin. The vestry of St. Alban's Church has called for the bishop to investigate Clare's "unpriestly" pregnancy. She has one week to find out if she will be scolded, censured, or suspended from her duties. Officer Hadley Knox is having a miserable January as well. Her on-again-off-again lover, Kevin Flynn, has seven days to weigh an offer from the Syracuse Police Department that might take him half a state away.
As the days and hours tick by, Russ and Clare fight personal and professional battles they've never encountered. In the course of this one tumultuous week the lives of the Millers-Kill residents readers have come to love and cherish change forever. Readers have waited years for Through The Evil Days and Julia Spencer-Fleming delivers with the exquisite skill and craftsmanship that have made her such a success.
Comment: This is the 8th installment in the series featuring Clare Fergusson and Russ van Alstyne, which I've been reading, and enjoying, for some months now.
After the events of the previous story, which include Clare discovering she is pregnant, things are as stressful as ever and not even the impending honeymoon with Russ is enough to calm her. Right before they leave, though, they are called to a fire where two bodies were found and it seems it was not an accident. Russ decides to go away with Clare anyway, but not only does the investigation prove to be more complex than they imagined, but the secluded honeymoon in the icy mountains isn't enough to keep him away from his police persona and they find themselves investigation again. As the clues are put together, and the case becomes more confusing, is there any way to help a girl that was, apparently, taken from the house before it was burned?
As always, this was quite an engaging story and I was happy to spend time with these characters again. As it has happened with the other installments, not only do we follow Russ and Clare in their daily lives and the cases they often investigate (Russ from a professional POV, Clare as the minister in the community), but we get to keep updated on the lives of those around them, namely officers Kevin and Hadley who seem to be the main secondary characters in the most recent stories.
Russ and Clare are in a complicated position and they face issues as a couple the same way they did when they weren't one, which is to say that many things are realistic for people who need to deal with new things coming their way, but as a couple in love, they communicate and discuss stuff, while maintaining their love for one another. In fact this a great element, they might not see eye to eye in some things, but they are there for the love they share and, in the end, that shows in their actions and dialogues.
Of course, things are stressful because they had agreed to not have children and now, one is on the way. I should say that this was a bit predictable but it's still so.... thrilling to imagine and I cannot wait to actually have scenes with them as parents. Still, this does create a certain distance between them, as Russ feels he didn't have a choice and he feels old for the role. I can understand this, as well as I can understand Clare wanting her baby. At the same time, there's the honeymoon, which was already postponed, and I do think the situation offered an interesting point to consider, and Russ chooses to go ahead because he knows his work dedication was a cause of strife with his first wife.
It should not be a problem now, if one thinks about it, because Clare is a different person and she also gives a lot ore of herself to her duties, and Russ understands it. Still, this was the reason why they traveled to the mountains and why they were able to be in the right place to help with the investigation. Certainly, some things were a bit too convenient, but what happens is, as expected, another way for them to contemplate their personal issues and everything can be seen as a matter of perspective.
The case being investigated might not be my absolute favorite in the series, but it did provide interesting situations. Perhaps, I should say, I wasn't as personally impressed by the several scenes taking place in the icy mountains and all the physical problems and obstacles they faced, namely Russ. Some things were a bit exaggerated I think, and at some point I was no longer sure where anyone was at in terms of location, with so much coming and going and running and hiding and ambushing someone... things became a bit muddled and confusing.
No comments:
Post a Comment