Julia Spencer-Fleming - At Midnight Comes the Cry

It’s Christmas time in Millers Kill, and Reverend Clare Fergusson and her husband Russ van Alstyne - newly resigned from his position as chief of police – plan to enjoy it with their baby boy. On their visiting Santa, decorating the tree, and attending the church Christmas pageant. But when a beloved holiday parade is crashed by white supremacists, Clare and Russ find themselves sucked into a parallel world of militias, machinations and murder.
Meanwhile, single mom and officer Hadley Knox has her hands full juggling her kids and her police work. She doesn’t want to worry about her former partner – and sometimes lover – Kevin Flynn, but when he takes leave from the Syracuse PD and disappears, she can’t help her growing panic that something has gone very wrong.
Novice lawyer Joy Zhào is keeping secrets from her superiors at the state Attorney General’s Office. She knows they wouldn’t condone her off-the-books investigation, but she’s convinced a threatening alt-right conspiracy is brewing – and catching the perpetrators could jump start her career.
NYS Forest Ranger Paul Terrance is looking for his uncle, a veteran of the park service gone inexplicably missing. He doesn’t think much of an ex-cop and out-of-town officer showing up in his patch of the woods, but he’s heard the disturbing rumors of dangerous men in the mountains.
In New York Times Julia Spencer-Fleming's latest novel, as Christmas approaches, these five people will discover their suspicions hang on a single twisting thread, leading to the forbidding High Peaks of the Adirondacks. As the
December days shorten and the nights grow long, a disparate group of would-be heroes need to unwind a murderous plot before time runs out.

Comment: This is installment #10 in the series featuring reverend Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne. The series focus on a mystery investigation per book but there is an ongoing plot related to the characters personal lives, which means this is best read in order, and there will certainly be inevitable some spoilers if one has not read the previous books.

In this book, following the events of the previous one, Russ and Clare are getting ready for Christmas with their baby Ethan, and they decide to attend a parade. Things don't go as they imagined, however, since a group of white supremacist try to cause havoc and, in the middle of everything, Clare finds herself interacting with Megan, the wife of one of the rioters. One thing leads to the next and this woman invites Clare and Russ for a barbecue, which Clare accepts trying to see how far these supremacists have gone in their attempt to organize something bigger.

At the same time, Hadley and Russ decide to look for Kevin, their fellow police officer who seems to have been missing for a while. When they realize what Kevin is doing and where, it feels as if the world is indeed quite small, but can they all find a way to prevent a terrible crime?

Well, I was not expecting the plot of this book to focus on this particular theme, considering what the real world is going through, but it was certainly quite a provocative idea and, as always, the author provides food for thought in making us realize that there is an explanation for everything, even obviously wrong opinions/attitudes.

To me, the beauty of these books has been the development of the characters' personal lives and their interactions with one another. Clare and Russ seem to be quite in sync here and I'm glad to say they seem happy and stable and just glad to be having time with their child. It is a comforting idea to see them at ease and doing things that millions of people do everyday too. I also liked seeing them interacting with their friends and even with this new weird couple they met. Of course, Clare doesn't have it easy trying to change their minds...

I also liked the sub plot of Russ and Hadley looking for Kevin. I have always loved Kevin, he is a sweetheart and I felt very invested in learning what had happened to him and if he was alright. It was also rewarding to see how deeply Hadley felt she needed to do something, which only validates that she and Kevin have something stronger than they imagined. I liked how this book ended for them, and the promise of what could be in their future.

The author also introduced two new characters, whom I liked quite a lot. Lawyer Joy Zhao and forest ranger Paul Terrence added an interesting layer to this story, mainly because they are not white, and this obviously played a role to contrast to the supremacist content. I liked these two, they were quite competent - well, Joy is a young lawyer, just starting - and they did plenty to help the others advance their search and investigations. I can't tell if the author plans on writing more and, if so, these two will be in future books due to the geographic proximity to Millers Kill, kind of, but I would love to see them again, especially considering the hint left at the end of their last scene on the page.

As for the white supremacists plot, it went into a very recognizable path, but thankfully nothing tragic happened. To be honest, there were some moments, especially when the good guys were trying to get an idea of what the supremacists were doing, that felt like it dragged, all those references to hide and seek tactics in the snow, then this person goes this direction, than there's that path, well several passages kind of got mixed up in my awareness of what everyone was doing and I did space out for a while.

Of course, the ones intending to cause harm were caught and those in need of help were helped. Surely, the author could have gone further, but I think the way things happened fell into the usual mood of the books and provided interesting but not shocking content. 

If the author decides to not write more, I think the story ended in a hopeful way. I would not mind it. But something about the overall feel of this series seems to be lacking, thus I think one more book could accomplish the sense of closure, if that is what the author has in mind. Who knows, perhaps she already has plans for a couple more books...

Grade: 7/10

Julia Spencer-Fleming - Hid From Our Eyes

1952. Millers Kill Police Chief Harry McNeil is called to a crime scene where a woman in a party dress has been murdered with no obvious cause of death.
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.

I think these books might seem easy, but there is a lot of food for thought in regards to most subjects addressed. I think the author has done a great job giving layers to the characters, even the secondary ones, and this makes me invested in them and in what will happen next. Now, onto wait for months and months until the next...

Grade: 8/10

Julia Spencer-Fleming - Through the Evil Days

On a frigid January night, Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne and Reverend Clare Fergusson are called to the scene of a raging fire, that quickly becomes a double homicide and kidnapping. Which is the very last thing Russ needs...
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.

Things get solved and explained and some details were actually cleverly inserted in the story, which only becomes obvious at the end. Along with the case investigation and the marital life of Russ and Clare, we also have the POVs of officers Hadley and Kevin. I'm rooting for these two but the fact is that Hadley isn't a person who trusts easily and not confiding certain things about her past to Kevin caused them a lot of trouble in the end of the story. I'm hoping things get solved and that they can be a couple in the future... this secondary element was compelling too, though and I'm more than emotionally invested in what will happen next. Hopefully, the next book will be what I'm expecting!

Grade: 8/10

Julia Spencer-Fleming - One Was a Soldier

On a warm September evening in the Millers Kill community center, five veterans sit down in rickety chairs to try to make sense of their experiences in Iraq. What they will find is murder, conspiracy, and the unbreakable ties that bind them to one another and their small Adirondack town.
The Rev. Clare Fergusson wants to forget the things she saw as a combat helicopter pilot and concentrate on her relationship with Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne. MP Eric McCrea needs to control the explosive anger threatening his job as a police officer. Will Ellis, high school track star, faces the reality of life as a double amputee. Orthopedist Trip Stillman is denying the extent of his traumatic brain injury. And bookkeeper Tally McNabb wrestles with guilt over the in-country affair that may derail her marriage.
But coming home is harder than it looks. One vet will struggle with drugs and alcohol. One will lose his family and friends. One will die.
Since their first meeting, Russ and Clare's bond has been tried, torn, and forged by adversity. But when he rules the veteran's death a suicide, she violently rejects his verdict, drawing the surviving vets into an unorthodox investigation that threatens jobs, relationships, and her own future with Russ.
As the days cool and the nights grow longer, they will uncover a trail of deceit that runs from their tiny town to the upper ranks of the U.S. Army, and from the waters of the Millers Kill to the unforgiving streets of Baghdad.

Comment: This is the 7th installment in the series where reverend Clare Fergusson and chief of police Russ van Alstyne investigate cases in their Miller's Kill community and town.

Eighteen months after Clare was sent to Iraq, she is back and Russ is beyond happy. They want to finally live their romance in the open but there is always something getting in the way. Clare is also not doing very well, and she doesn't share she is taking more pills than she should. She joins a veteran's therapy group, along with other four patients who, by chance, know each other and they develop this bond that only someone who was in a combat zone can understand. But something isn't right and not only related to their personal struggles... is there a way to avoid tragedy or what started in Iraq will finally be finished here, when supposedly danger is gone?

This series has been quite a gem for me and for a friend of mine, we've been buddy reading these books since the 3rd installment. We have also been reading other books, but I must say this one hits the notes of a series with compelling characters and situations and a very good mix of angst and light comedy, especially in the dialogue and a few situations the characters find themselves in. I know the story might not be a happy one all the time, it's really not, but there's this vibe of bad and good that makes reading the story something that gives me a lot of comfort.

The installments are focused on different plots but the lives of the characters keep being developed and many references are linked to past books. It's really not a series that should be read out of order, although if one does, the plot segment makes sense, but it's so much better to read and know what some situations are about or what this or that comment truly means. Since this is the 7th book, there is a lot of content that mattered before so that the characters are the way they are now.

Each book has a specific plot and/or theme addressed and, of course, in this book that theme is the often challenging mental struggles soldiers have. We often hear about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) but it encompasses a large variety of situations and symptoms. The author, obviously, wouldn't be able to highlight all the possibilities in the book without making it a book about that alone, but I think she used common examples of some of the most known symptoms and offered a way for the reader to think about what it meant and still means for so many soldiers and people who are in war zones to come back after living things most of us cannot imagine.

Along with this, we also have another case, the discovery of a fraud and theft situation and Russ finds himself investigating. I liked the mix of these plot elements, the story felt alive, as it always does, and something was always ongoing, making the pace feel more vibrant. At the same time, we kept seeing the characters deal with their issues, then interact with one another, we have the POV of several characters, but in a very consistent way, and reading from those different POVs was not difficult, even made some situations more interesting for that.

I think that, for plot reasons and to keep some of the issues ongoing for longer, there are one or two situations, related to the characters, namely Clare and one secondary character, that felt a bit too predictable. I understand why, after all the author wanted the big reveals and the moment in which the individuals who were in the group therapy shared their feelings and admitted they had a problem to happen closer to the end of the story. However, this means some things continued further than they had to and to delay the reveal, some scenes felt a little forced, and the need to "hide" things but making them part of the plot led to predictable situations. This didn't spoil my enjoyment but it's one of those things that done better would have given the story a different feel.

I must say the end was a little bittersweet. I say in the sense that things end up well for the protagonists, and I'm very eager to read the next book now! But some events happen that can be seen as sad or unfair... some don't have solution, but others do and I'm hoping the author will do something about it in the next book. As for this one, very well done, indeed.

Grade: 8/10

Julia Spencer-Fleming - I Shall Not Want

Millers Kill reaches the boiling point in this white-hot novel of love and suspense
People die. Marriages fail. In the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill, New York, however, life doesn't stop for heartbreak. A brand-new officer in the police department, a breaking-and-entering, and trouble within his own family keep Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne busy enough to ignore the pain of losing his wife---and the woman he loves.
At St. Alban's Episcopal Church, the Reverend Clare Fergusson is trying to keep her vestry, her bishop, and her National Guard superiors happy---all the while denying her own wounded soul.
When a Mexican farmhand stumbles over a Latino man killed with a single shot to the back of his head, Clare is sucked into the investigation through her involvement in the migrant community. The discovery of two more bodies executed in the same way ignites fears that a serial killer is loose in the close-knit community. While the sorrowful spring turns into a scorching summer, Russ is plagued by media hysteria, conflict within his department, and a series of baffling assaults.
As the violence strikes closer and closer to home, an untried officer is tested, a wary migrant worker is tempted, and two would-be lovers who thought they had lost everything must find a way to trust each other again---before it becomes forever, fatally, too late.

Comment: This is the sixth installment in the series featuring reverend Clare Fergusson and chief police Russ van Alstyne. I have had such a great time reading these stories that, of course, I have to finish the whole series.

There will be some spoilers, for part of the plot is ongoing and some past situations will have to be mentioned.

In this story, which happens months after the events we saw in the last book, things seem to have become rather normal again, with Russ recovered from his injuries and back to work, and Clare dividing her time between the church and the National Guard. Then, problems once more start becoming complicated when a van carrying Latino workers to a farm has an accident and some run into the woods, scared of being considered illegal, while the driver, a nun Clare met some weeks before, is hurt. In the middle of all of this the farm is owned by Russ' sister and it turns out some of the paperwork is false, which his sister didn't know. At the same time, a body is discovered and it seems the man was executed. Could it be there is any connection between the Latino workers and the murder and the land in which the body was found?

These books are practically comfort reads by now. I have enjoyed every single one, and the more used I am to the characters, the more I like spending time reading about them including the police tasks Russ tells the others to do, which should be so mundane and irrelevant in the big scheme of things, but still makes me smile and find it funny how some of the team reacts. Perhaps, in regards to this story in specific, I wasn't as keen on the illegal immigrants' content, because it's really too close to real life and the solution doesn't seem to be that easy

I was actually a little surprised by how smooth and ordinary the transition between what happened in the last book - that end felt almost like a cliffhanger - and this one was accomplished. It felt as if nothing major had happened when, in fact, it did. Once I got into the swing of things, it was all back to normal, Russ and Clare were still trying to deal with their feelings for one another while trying to respect each other and even more so, Russ' need to mourn his wife.

The plot is very interesting, even though the illegal immigrants content wasn't one I'd look for to read on purpose... I know it's out there, I know it's a reality, but those who flee illegally are often in such unfair and impossible situations that I feel nothing will ever be fully fair to help them except fix the problems of their origin countries...if only it were that easy!

As for the crimes and the bodies being found, of course there's a very simple explanation and sequence of events, but only obvious when we have that explanation. As always, the author writes things in a very appealing way, so much that even small steps the characters take to investigate or to go from one point to the next seem fascinating. I think some secondary characters were a bit too much of a caricature and not all their actions made sense in that specific scenario. But I liked the new addition to the police force the her possible role in upcoming books...

Thinking about the personal lives of the protagonists, there isn't much more to say except that, as usual, by the end of the book there are two big situations which affect their path. I say this because it's rather obvious that the goal has always been to lead things to the point where Russ and Clare would become a couple. Well, it's been quite a road for them and in each book something happened to put them apart somehow. Since both are ethical and respectful of one another and of what it would like to others around them to not behave properly, this has been a long time coming.But I must say, I did like how things progressed in this book, mainly the final part. Still, the very end again features a life changing situation which will leave me worried until i read the next book.

Grade: 8/10

Julia Spencer-Fleming - All Mortal Flesh

Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne's first encounter with Clare Fergusson was in the hospital emergency room on a freezing December night. A newborn infant had been abandoned on the town's Episcopal church steps. If Russ had known that the church had a new priest, he certainly would never have guessed that it would be a woman. Not a woman like Clare. That night in the hospital was the beginning of an attraction so fierce, so forbidden, that the only thing that could keep them safe from compromising their every belief was distance---but in a small town like Millers Kill, distance is hard to find.
Russ Van Alstyne figures his wife kicking him out of their house is nobody's business but his own. Until a neighbor pays a friendly visit to Linda Van Alstyne and finds the woman's body, gruesomely butchered, on the kitchen floor. To the state police, it's an open-and-shut case of a disaffected husband, silencing first his wife, then the murder investigation he controls. To the townspeople, it's proof that the whispered gossip about the police chief and the priest was true. To the powers-that-be in the church hierarchy, it's a chance to control their wayward cleric once and for all.
Obsession. Lies. Nothing is as it seems in Millers Kill, where betrayal twists old friendships and evil waits inside quaint white clapboard farmhouses.

Comment: This is the 5th installment in the series featuring reverend Clare Fergusson and chief police Russ van Alstyne. I have had a great time going through these books, because they have both engaging little mysteries and complex personal development.

Attention: spoilers from previous books will be included.

In this story, following the events from the previous one, Russ has been staying with his mother while his wife Linda thinks of what he told her, about him being in love with someone else. Things are stressful for everyone, including Clare, who didn't plan on loving Russ either and their decision to not see each other again is as hurtful as it would be to not care. Then, things turn upside down when Linda is found murdered in her house and Russ starts a run against the clock to find the culprit and, at the same time, to prove his innocence since several people start wondering if he or Clare did it. However, something evil lurks around and perhaps that is why Linda was killed... but what will happen when the truth is discovered?

Reading this story was quite the ride! The author held nothing back and probably wrote one of the strongest installments in the series, and the only reason I didn't graded it higher is because, clearly, the goal here is to delay certain things, and sometimes that feels a little too manipulative.

The plot is a direct sequel of what happened in the previous book. The mystery investigation is related to definitive and separated situations, each case a new case, but parallel to the investigation we have the development of the characters and those they interact with, and here there is always a lot going on too, and this time, in this book, this aspect of the novels went into a very surprising road. I say surprising in the sense that what happened was somehow expected, but I did not think it would happen now, this way.

Basically, Clare and Russ have worked together in some cases, and their initial friendship blossomed into love, but since he is married, neither wants to compromise integrity and morality by doing something they would be ashamed of. In the last book Russ finally told his wife what he felt and they separated. I kind of expected something like to happen because if the reader is being led into thinking Clare and Russ are that much destined to be together romantically, something needs to happen to allow them to be a couple without shame nor worries, but I thought, then, the way to go would be for him to get a divorce and after a book or two they would assume their relationship.

Well, the author went a step further and Linda, Russ' wife, is killed in the first chapters after an apparent random attack. The investigation begins due to this situation, so that Russ has the chance to investigate what happened and who killed his wife, but it turns out, after a few details become known, things are much more complicated than that and, perhaps, the attack was not that random.

I will have to say, the author did a great job in connecting this case with the personal feelings the protagonists had and the actions they took which, somehow, linked to this again. I think the author was quite clever because the way the plot is sequenced, the reader really sees the story as being linear and then some things happen to prove it wrong. This means there are surprises and some twists happening with frequency and it felt as if the action was non stop.

Added to this, as I've said, the main characters are also dealing with their feelings and this whole thing is happening because Russ and Clare didn't want to betray their personal values nor the commitments they had done; Russ to his wife and Clare to her church. Life isn't that simple and it got to a point they didn't want to lie but they couldn't hide their feelings for one another and this is quite an important par of why the stories have been so appealing to me, the characters have depth and consistency in their personalities.

The investigation also allows for some secondary characters' development and so on, which adds flavor and complexity to the overall plot line. The killer they are looking for ends up being quite another clever twist, which I only started suspecting from a certain scene on, almost at the end of the book. It was quite incredible in a way, because by then of course my attention was on the personal dramas, and that was like a surprise from practically nowhere. Very clever, indeed.

I won't spoil it, but the end was shocking in a way, and mildly surprising in another. I'm quite eager to know what happens next! This series is really quite well thought, well worth the emotional and the time investment, at least until now.

Grade:8/10

Julia Spencer-Fleming - To Darkness and To Death

Saturday, November 14, 5:00 A.M.
In the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill, an old lumberman sits in the dark with his gun across his knees. Not far away, an unemployed logger sleeps off his bender from the night before. The owner of the town's last paper mill tosses in his bed. And a young woman, one of three heirs to the 250,000-acre Great Camp, wakes alone in darkness, bound and gagged.
Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne wants nothing more than a quiet day of hunting in the mountains on his fiftieth birthday. His wife needs to have the town's new luxury resort ready for its gala opening night. The Reverend Clare Fergusson expects to spend the day getting St. Alban's Church ready for the bishop's annual visit. Her long-distance suitor from New York expects some answers about their relationship during his weekend in town.
In Millers Kill, where everyone knows everyone and all are part of an interconnected web of blood or acquaintance, one person's troubles have a way of ensnaring others. What begins as a simple case of a woman lost in the woods leads to a tangle of revenge, blackmail, assault, kidnapping, and murder. As the hours tick by, Russ and Clare struggle to make sense of their town's plunge into chaos---and their own chaotic emotions.
Something terrible waits in the ice-rimed mountains cradling Millers Kill. Something that won't be content with just one death---or two. . .
Julia Spencer-Fleming continues her moving story of the way a small town, as well as a great city, can harbor evil, and the struggle of two honest people to deal with the ever-present threat of their feelings for one another.

Comment: This is the 4th installment in the series featuring the investigations by Clare Fergusson and Russ van Alstyne, whose first books I've read and enjoyed, and I was quite curious about this one too.

In this new story Russ celebrates his 50th birthday and he is eager to spend it hunting with friends, but life never goes according to all plans and the news that Milly, who is a member of a rich family in the area involved in a big environmental business, is missing, starts of the plot when a group of rescuers is reunited to look for her after. Of course Russ is off duty but since he can't ignore his role as chief of police he soon is in the middle of things, and Clare, being who she is, is working along with the rescue team. As everyone searches for Milly, other people carry on with their lives, and some ill made decisions... but when a death occurs, isn't that going too far in regards to what has been going on?

As it happened when I read the other books in the series, once more I was transported to a fast paced plot about an apparently simple investigation which leads into something way more complex as the pages advance. Perhaps this author's stories aren't the most complex or psychologically demanding, but I like how things are sequenced and developed and the writing style makes for a compelling read.

This time, the story is developed in an interesting time line, the whole story is told from a certain hour of the day to the next, which means every situation is quickly followed by something else and, if I remember correctly, practically everything takes place in the same day. The true interest in this particular story is how we are able to follow several characters and what they do and a seemingly simple/routine decisions can have a much bigger impact than the person anticipated. It was also slightly amusing - in a dark humor kind of way - to see how some characters made silly decisions and the consequences were often dire.

The plot is quite simple: several people are involved in a business deal between landlords and a big company which aims to secure the protection of a certain environmental area. Of course that this might sound good for some, but it will also impact others in a more negative way. Some characters deal with this by making decisions which aren't always correct or based on all the necessary information and misunderstandings or wrong moves turn out to have terrible outcomes, without need. I will say that this and the presentation of the hourly plot development made for a compelling read, and a fast paced sequence of events which, sometimes for me, bordered on ridiculous but was extremely engaging.

The plot isn't too complicated to follow, although I must say that in order to maintain some mystery or doubt until a certain moment in the story, a few situations felt a little unrealistic. Or, at least, it felt so from the way the author decided to write them. This didn't ruin my reading experience, but it made some parts a little confusing and I'd say this was avoidable. The whole environmental matter wasn't as highlighted as I imagined, in the sense that this might be a story about the usual good vs bad side of protecting the environment at the cost of other things, it felt to me that it was only a vehicle for some character's choices.

The characters were, as they always are, the true interest in the series. We keep following Clare and Russ as they go on with their professional lives and how much of a coincidence it is that their paths often cross in this regard...well, it's a small town setting after all. Their personal relationship is at a knotty point, though, because they had admitted their feelings to one another but several factors prevent them from taking things to a different level. I'm curious to see what will happen and how long they will try to avoid it changing their lives. 

In general, this was another engaging story to me, although in the beginning there was a moment or two where it felt nothing special was happening... well, slowly at frat and then at a faster pace, things did improve. I'm now eager to read the next one!

Grade: 8/10

Julia Spencer-Fleming - Out of the Deep I Cry

On April 1, 1930, Jonathan Ketchem's wife Jane walked from her house to the police department to ask for help in finding her husband. The men, worn out from a night of chasing bootleggers, did what they could. But no one ever saw Jonathan Ketchem again...
Now decades later, someone else is missing in Miller's Kill, NY. This time it's the physician of the clinic that bears the Ketchem name. Suspicion falls on a volatile single mother with a grudge against the doctor, but Reverend Clare Fergusson isn't convinced. As Clare and Russ investigate, they discover that the doctor's disappearance is linked to a bloody trail going all the way back to the hardscrabble Prohibition era. As they draw ever closer to the truth, their attraction for each other grows increasingly more difficult to resist. And their search threatens to uncover secrets that snake from one generation to the next--and to someone who's ready to kill.

Comment: This is the third installment in the Clare Fergusson and Russ van Alstyne series by author Julia Spencer-Fleming. I have enjoyed the previous books, liked this one too and also convinced a friend to buddy read the rest of the series throughout the year. I hope the books remain consistently good.

In this installment the issues begin when the board decides how to go on with the improvement of the church, mainly the roof that leaks. One way to get money more quickly would be by reaching to the fund that also maintained the social clinic for many years, but soon after the person in charge informs the doctor of this, problems start to pile up, including also the disappearance of the doctor after a discussion with a woman who doesn't want to vaccinate her children. While reverend Clare finds herself in the middle of everything once more, chief Russ breaks his leg and no one seems to be able to find the missing doctor. When suspicious activities remount to events in the 20s and 30s and another missing person case, can it be there's some sort of connection between the two situations somehow?

These books are a mix of crime investigation and domestic developments on the lives of the main characters. For readers who love one but not the other, I suppose the story might feel like dragging or might seem boring in parts, but I do like the way the author mixes up the two and how it makes me think of the overall book as an almost cozy one. To me, it works as something solid, but I can understand how frustratingly slow certain situations develop.

I'd say that my enjoyment of this book wasn't higher because I had to interrupt reading many times,for one thing or another. I think if my head space had been focused on this for longer, I'd have appreciated even more. That aside, the story features a crime investigation and the links to another investigation in the 30s, when a man disappeared and his wife wanted him declared dead after the legal time. What connection the two things have besides the location and the fact the child of that couple is now in charge of the fund paying for the clinic feels too vague to matter. Of course, as the story advances, we realize, with the help of a few flashback chapters, why it mattered indeed.

Some links between the situations seem to be a little too convenient but the author does try to make things seem logical. I think the fact part of the mystery might had begun in the 1930s also helps to give the idea some information is more circumstantial than actual proof, considering the difference in method in what was not possible to use back then by the police. The case was actually interesting and there were still doubts on how things happened or why, but when the final piece of the puzzle is revealed, even after the notion a hint had been left here and there with unassuming importance, of course more about it makes sense than not. Secondary issues aside, the old mystery was actually well planned by the author.

The contemporary mystery was a bit far fetched, in my opinion. Not impossible, but the explanation for why the doctor's disappearance was too opportune for what was necessary to happen. I think it was handy the author could make things work the way they did, and I do appreciate the complex setup before the real issues took place, but a few details felt over the top. Despite this, I was happy enough with how things went, perhaps this segment was not the most intriguing, but it got the job done.

Regarding the personal connections and dynamics between the characters. Fans or readers of the previous two books, like me, probably are eager to see what happens for Russ and Clare. He is married, she is the reverend and while they can be friends, it's obvious the feelings between them are stronger than that. Ethics, morals, society all contribute for a lot of tension, a lot of longing and I think this parts is subtle enough for the reader to feel the poignancy of what's between them.

There is some development about this in this book. We finally met Russ' wife Linda, briefly, and I have to confess I thought it too weird she had not be on page before... what does this mean now, though? I won't give spoilers, but Russ and Clare talk and I don't know what will happen in the next book. I have my preference, I have my guesses, but will the author go this road? I'm doing a big effort here to not read blurbs of the following blurbs, but I do want the full experience of discovering what will happen as the characters do too, so... longing ahead for certain!

Grade: 8/10

Julia Spencer-Fleming - A Fountain Filled With Blood

Nestled in the heart of the Adirondacks, Miller's Kill, New York is about as safe as it gets. That's why Episcopal minister Clare Fergusson is shocked when the July Fourth weekend brings a rash of vicious assaults to the scenic town. Even Clare's good friend, police chief Russ Van Alstyne, is shaken by the brutality of the crimes-especially when it appears that the victims were chosen because they are gay. But when a third assault of an out-of-town developer ends in murder, Clare and Russ wonder if the recent crime wave is connected to the victim's controversial plan to open an upscale spa in Miller's Kill. But not all things in the tiny town are what they seem-and soon, Clare and Russ are left to fight their unspoken attraction to one another even as they uncover a labyrinthine conspiracy that threatens to turn deadly for them both...

Comment: This is the second installment in the mystery series featuring reverend Clare Fergusson and police officer Russ Van Alstyne. The two often find themselves dealing with the community in which they belong to in different capacities, but always with some crime to solve... and forbidden attraction to avoid...

When this story begins, there's an assembly of sorts going on, with some construction work in the woks being debated, especially because there's talk of water contamination and such. While this happens, a small group of ruffians attacks a man, who happens to be the medical examiner and also a gay man. Later, another gay man is attacked and some clues start pointing to a possible distraction about the construction work, which is dividing opinions. While going on about their lives and work, can Clare and Russ put everything together and find out if there's any actual link between all these events? What about when someone is found dead...?

Last year I've read the first book in this series, which I got interested in after I gave that first book as a gift and the person liked it a lot, so I decided to get one for myself. I especially liked the premise: Clare is a woman priest in the Episcopalian Church and Russ is a police officer, married. In common they have the military training and an attraction but there are a few obstacles to prevent them being together, namely his marriage. I suppose the goal is to lead them into a place down the road in the series, where a romance will happen, I just hope it will be well done.

In fact, I'm confident this will be so, and I'm trying my best to not give in to the temptation and read the blurbs of the other books in case they ruin the experience for me. I'm definitely going to read the rest of the series throughout the next year. 

Regarding the romance hints, things remain the same here as they were in the first book, they acknowledge to each other they like the other person and that they could be a strong pair romantically but self conscience, morals and a close community prevent impulsive decisions. I can't help but notice that, once more, we spend a whole book reading about Linda, Russ's wife and she never, not even once, shows up on the page interactions or speaking with others. It has to mean something again, right?

As for the mystery, I must say I liked it a lot more here than in the first book. The the attacks on gay people were certainly hard to read about, in the sense this felt unjust not only because they were intentionally beaten, but because they were all characters that had no real impact on the story line, they were mere handy targets and part of me was really annoyed, but of course, there is a specific reason for this. When we learn why these people, things are obviously a bit more complex than what seemed. I also liked how Clare and Russ talk about homophobia and how they conclude the unfairness and the ignorance of so many things even though people act and react in ways they should not.

I mean, I just liked how there's food for thought in this and people aren't perfect, nothing is just good or bad in relation to anyone's opinions, and talking, discussing things is a better way to think about them and to respect others.

Anyway, as the story went along, some secondary characters became more and more important and I confess I suspected the killer from the start, just not exactly how. Then, in a rather good twist, although a little obvious once we got the clues together, there's a bigger villain and I think he author wrote things in a very clever way to make readers guessing on what is going on. Again, once things are explained, many little things made sense and I have to wonder if somethings seemed too convenient that one dismisses them too soon...

Closer to the end, there's a certain scene with a helicopter that I rolled my eyes at, not that it was something impossible (like a sort of similar one in another book which was ridiculous to me...) but because it was so dramatic that it felt over the top. I do think there were a few things which could have been done better, especially some things Clare does in her need to help or to investigate. I think this a given in the series, part of Clare's "charm" but sometimes if feels too unlikely.

I'm quite eager to keep reading the series and find out what next for these characters. I'd say this is more a mix of woman's fiction (the hint of forbidden romance between mature characters and Clare's religion) and cozy mystery, even with some gore here and there. Hoping the best for the next one...

Grade: 8/10

Julia Spencer-Fleming - In the Bleak Midwinter

Clare Fergusson, St. Alban's new priest, fits like a square peg in the conservative Episcopal parish at Millers Kill, New York. She is not just a "lady," she's a tough ex-Army chopper pilot and nobody's fool. Then a newborn infant left at the church door brings her together with the town's Police Chief, Russ Van Alstyne, who's also ex-Army and a cynical good shepherd for the stray sheep of his hometown. Their search for the baby's mother quickly leads them into the secrets that shadow Millers Kill like the ever-present Adirondacks. What they discover is a world of trouble, an attraction to each other--and murder...

Comment: In 2016 I gifted this book to a friend and she really liked it. I had planned on getting one for myself but time went by and only now I managed to add it to my monthly list, but I was quite eager, considering my friend's opinion.

This is the first book in the series featuring the odd partners reverend Clare Ferguson and the chief of police Russ Van Alstyne, in a small town where it all seems to be one way, until a murder starts unveiling secrets. Reverend Clare is new at St Albans and she knows some people might frown at a female priest but Clare knows she has been Called and she believes her military background can help her assert her position. Her mission starts right away, for the night before she starts, she finds an abandoned baby and in the hospital she meets the chief of police, also a military man, who helps her with some technicalities. However, the baby had been left with a note and that starts up a whole new problem, especially since the day after, the baby's young mother is found dead. As the investigation goes further, Clare is eager to help everyone, even if that means spending time with a man she grows to respect and like, and the feeling seems reciprocal, but he is married....

I have not read anything about the future installments, not even the blurbs, meaning I don't know how things will develop but my first impressions on this title make me think this was thought to be a suspense series first, and the inspirational content and the romance hints a secondary element. It seems this might happen throughout the other books too, perhaps with more intensity on this or that, depending on the plot.

I liked this story enough, it was certainly fascinating to read and even more so because of the female protagonist. It's not that common that we have female priests as main characters and this was a good story to learn a little on the subject, although I assume Clare was pretty unconventional anyway. I think the inspirational/religious aspect was a bit detailed in one or two situations, mostly related to expectations those who hired Clare had at first, but it was both good and less good the information on the Church and the "rules" so to speak weren't too obvious. I mean, I liked we aren't always forced to see this as a "better" option, religion wise, but for such a novelty, I kind of wanted more on Clare's journey to become a reverend.

In fact, the religious parts were interesting to me, because they are so different from those I'm familiar with, being Catholic. But religious details aside, what made me more interested was the fact Clare was hired. How interesting, it's very different from Catholic priests, who are, if I got that right, nominated, chosen by the bishops or something similar. Meaning, it doesn't feel like reverends like Clare should be that much more conscious about people/attendants of the church, who might have a word on their "job". Clearly, though, the author has included some political hints here, I think. Some characters say this or that which can be pertinent to how a real person in a certain position might say/think but I must confess I would have preferred this part to not be that obvious and in one or two scenes what was expressed left me a little annoyed.

Back to the fictional part of the story, the murder was clever enough to make one think and the author spread the clues well enough that the investigation process felt realistic. However, I also think Clare, since she is not a police officer, got too much information because she was a reverend and no matter how good a relationship with chief Van Alstyne, did she really have to be in people's business that much, especially when they didn't seek her out at church? Some readers said she was too nosy, got herself into situations she had no business getting into and this even led her to make some silly choices, which out her in danger. 

I suppose making the heroine a reverend and not a law agent had its perks, but there's also the other side, Clare often acted in an inconvenient matter, even if her heart is in the right place.

Then we have the situation of the mutual attraction between her and chief Van Alstyne. Nothing happens, as one would expect of two good citizens and with a string moral compass, but after what my friend say, I kind of imagined something more obvious when it came to pining. I think this actually rather subtle, perhaps to escalate (emotionally I mean) in the next books. 

Both have military background, so I can imagine them having the structure to hold on to "what is right" but the author has also made it easy to notice how well matched they can be. I also found it interesting that the chief mentions his wife Linda several times but she's never on the page, he never interacted with her on the page. Perhaps a hint on where this might go? Here I go making films...

When the murder is explained and the culprit unveiled, of course everything made sense despite the red herrings throughout the book. I actually would have preferred another choice, I think that a different murderer would have had a better effect on the plot, but I can see why the author planned things this way instead.

All considered, there were enough positive aspects to make me want to see what happens next, to see if what I liked less is an intricate part of the series or just a factor of this title, but I surely hope the situations on the second book offer a more solid structure when it comes to plot.

Grade: 7/10