Reverend Clare Fergusson and her husband, Russ van Alstyne (newly resigned from his position as chief of police), have plans to celebrate the perfect Christmas with their baby boy, Ethan. Those plans come to a screeching halt when white supremacists crash a beloved holiday parade. In no time at all, they find themselves yanked into a world of militias and murder.
Others are also drawn into this mess, including single mother and police officer Hadley Knox. She's worrying about her former partner, Kevin Flynn, who's taken leave from the Syracuse Police Department and then disappeared.
Add to this a novice lawyer on an off-the-books investigation and a missing park service ranger, and it's plain to see that it's going to take a lot of work to have a Christmas that's merry and bright in Millers Kill, New York.
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It is so good to have Clare Fergusson and Russ van Alstyne back! I have really missed Julia Spencer-Fleming's series, and it's wonderful to see that At Midnight Comes the Cry brings these beloved characters roaring back at full strength.
Although I have to admit that I'm sick to death of white supremacists in the news and really don't want to have them taking center stage in my fiction, the storyline is strong, and with Clare Fergusson in charge, it's not going to be the "same old, same old."
For longtime fans, there's plenty of catching up to do with the author's wonderful cast of characters. We get to see Clare and Russ with their baby, and Hadley worrying about Kevin Flynn. A novice lawyer is going off the reservation from the state Attorney General's Office, and a forest ranger is looking for his missing uncle. Clare and Russ work together like a well-oiled machine in the hair-raising climactic scenes, too. (Of course!)
I haven't read anything about the fate of this series, but there is something mentioned at the end that makes me wonder if this is the last time we'll see Clare and Russ. If so, they end on a high note... and I'll miss them.
At Midnight Comes the Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming
eISBN: 9781250022677
Minotaur Books © 2025
eBook, 320 pages
Police Procedural, #10 Fergusson/Van Alstyne
Rating: A+
Source: Net Galley
I hope it's not the end for this series, Cathy - I really do. These are such well-developed characters, and the stories always take a solid, fresh perspective. But I do respect an author who knows that no series lasts forever, and it's best to go out on, as you say, a high note. I'm glad this one's so good.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great first line!
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