Hid From Our Eyes by Julia Spencer-Fleming

First Lines: August 20, 1952. He had parked his cruiser in the muddy verge of the country highway, a little way from the circus that was going on up the road.

Millers Kill Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne responds to a 911 call to find that a young woman in a party dress has been found dead in the middle of a road outside town. When there is no obvious sign of death, Van Alstyne immediately thinks of a crime in 1972 with the identical MO-- a crime of which he was accused. When it is learned that yet another identical crime was committed in 1952, the pressure is on Russ to find the killer before he's removed from the case.

These three cases may seem identical, but how can one killer be responsible for crimes that span sixty years? Russ is going to need every bit of help he can get-- from everyone in the police department to retired police chief Jack Liddle to his wife, Reverend Clare Fergusson, who is already juggling the tasks of being a new mother to Russ's baby and running St. Alban's Church.

It's been a long wait for Hid From Our Eyes, but it was worth it. In my opinion, Julia Spencer-Fleming's cast of characters ranks right up there with those in Elly Griffiths' Dr. Ruth Galloway series. As far as devoted readers go, Russ and Clare and Hadley and all the rest have become friends, and we have to feel a part of everything that happens to them as well as "helping" them solve a mystery. We are most definitely invested.

Russ is really under the gun here. Not only does he have this very puzzling crime to solve, but a vote is also coming up to determine whether or not the Millers Kill police force will be disbanded. He feels as though he's coming up to a crossroads in his life. Clare herself is still fighting her own demons and has given herself the added pressure of trying to be the world's best mother and cleric. The decisions these two make by the book's end may not be to everyone's liking, but they feel real.

How's the three-pronged mystery in Hid From Our Eyes? It was a real head-scratcher for me until one specific thing was described about three-quarters of the way through the story. That's when the light bulb finally went off over my head and it was just a matter of my waiting for the characters in the book to figure it out for themselves.

Readers who loathe cliffhangers in their books are going to have something to wail and gnash their teeth over in Hid From Their Eyes. I know there are many of you, so prepare yourselves. As for me, I'll just look forward to the next time I see Russ and Clare. They are two of my favorite characters in all of crime fiction. Welcome back, Julia Spencer-Fleming!

Hid From Our Eyes by Julia Spencer-Fleming

eISBN: 9781250022660

Minotaur Books © 2020

eBook, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #9 Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

 

Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming

First Line: The dog's barking woke Mikayla up.

All is not going smoothly at the beginning of the marriage of Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne and the Reverend Clare Fergusson. It's a bitterly cold January. He's got a double homicide to deal with, and he's not exactly sure that he wants to be a father. As for Clare, she's still struggling with PTSD, and she's having to deal with her Bishop's investigation into her "unpriestly" behavior. (Her pregnancy came before the wedding.)

Things aren't going smoothly for other members of the Millers Kill Police Department either, but all personal problems must be put on the back burner when it is learned that the murdered couple were fostering an eight-year-old girl who had received a liver transplant... and Mikayla is missing. Without her medication, Mikayla faces transplant rejection and death. That little girl is now everyone's priority.

Julia Spencer-Fleming is one of the very best at portraying the nuanced personal relationships of her characters. The marvel is that she does this and creates a fantastic mystery, too. Periodic chapters from little Mikayla's point of view definitely keep the sense of urgency at the boil as do isolated locations and horrendous winter weather. 

Some of the behavior of Russ and Clare (particularly Russ) almost had me talking to myself-- not that I'm totally wrapped up in these characters or anything-- but the mystery is just as good as the author's characterizations. I enjoyed myself trying to deduce the identities of everyone involved with Mikayla's kidnapping, and watching all the various plot threads coming together was a delight. For any of you who may be as interested in the relationship between Hadley and Kevin as I am, there's plenty of that in Through the Evil Days.

For those of you who love marvelous characterization every bit as much as you enjoy trying to solve mysteries, I can't recommend Julia Spencer-Fleming's series highly enough. There's only one catch: since the lives of the characters play such a large part in the books, if you're new to the series you should really begin at the beginning with In the Bleak Midwinter.  Oh, the treat you have in store!
 

Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming

ISBN: 9780312606848 

Minotaur Books © 2013

Hardcover, 368 pages

Police Procedural, #8 Fergusson & Van Alstyne mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.  


 

One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming

First Line: Sarah Dowling's first thought, peering through the wire-reinforced glass of the community center's door, was that they were an odd group.

It's group therapy time for five veterans in Millers Kill, New York. They're all trying to make sense of their experiences in Iraq and how those experiences have changed them. The Reverend Clare Fergusson is one of the group. She wants to forget what she saw as a combat helicopter pilot and concentrate on her relationship with Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne. The other four are dealing with traumatic brain injury, an in-country affair, the amputation of limbs, and out-of-control anger. Heavy stuff that's very hard to deal with.

When one of the veterans dies and Van Alstyne rules the death a suicide, Clare talks the other vets into conducting their own investigation that will wind up threatening relationships, jobs... their very futures. That investigation will also uncover deceit with ties far outside their tiny town of Millers Kill.

This seventh book in a wonderful series is quieter and much more personal than the rest have been, but it deals with some very serious subject matter. First and foremost is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Each of the five vets attending the group therapy sessions suffers from it, and each one's symptoms are different. Throughout the series, the Reverend Clare Fergusson has been a rock, someone others look up to in times of need. To have her suffer from PTSD and to show her coping with it in very inappropriate ways brings home how serious the disorder is. Readers have already grown to care deeply about Clare, so their sympathy and understanding is more or less guaranteed. By their very proximity, the other four veterans are brought in under the umbrella of understanding that has been extended to Clare.


The lives of the characters also progress in this book, including my favorite, Hadley Knox. Hadley's been thrown into an occupation that she thinks she is very ill-qualified for, but she's determined to do the best that she can for her children, and being a police officer brings in the money that she needs. What she can't see (and we can) is that she's better qualified than she thinks, and I always enjoy the scenes in which she appears.

With all this talk of PTSD and characters' personal lives, you might think that the mystery isn't up to the author's usual high standards. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only are our favorite characters' lives moving forward, One Was a Soldier also has a first-rate investigation that kept me guessing throughout. One more book, and I'll be current... unless Spencer-Fleming manages to get one step ahead of me!
 

One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming

ISBN: 9780312334895

Minotaur Books © 2011

Hardcover, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #7 Van Alstyne and Fergusson mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Paperback Swap


 

I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

First Line: When she saw the glint of the revolver barrel through the broken glass in the window, Hadley Knox thought, I'm going to die for sixteen bucks an hour.

Millers Kill Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne is trying to avoid thinking of his wife whom he recently lost, and he's also trying to avoid thinking of-- or seeing-- the Reverend Clare Fergusson. The results are mixed, and Van Alstyne often behaves like a bear that's been poked with a sharp stick once too often. But when dead bodies start turning up that have ties to the local migrant community, Van Alstyne learns that his own sister as well as Reverend Clare also have ties to the migrant workers. As spring turns to summer, this weary police officer has his hands full with a rookie, the search for a possible serial killer, would-be lovers, media hysteria-- and a whole lot more.

After having avoided this series for so long due to the massive hype the very first book received, I now have the extremely pleasant task of playing catch-up. After so much avoidance, Julia Spencer-Fleming's series is now one of my favorites, and it has everything to do with the main characters, Russ Van Alstyne and Clare Fergusson. In showing how two very moral people try so hard always to do the right thing yet find themselves sliding down the slippery slope, the author shows readers that no one is exempt from temptation, and that-- even though it's not easy-- people still need to do what's right.

One of the ways she shows that doing what's right is sometimes not easy at all is the predicament in which Van Alstyne's sister finds herself embroiled. She and her husband are dairy farmers and have increased both the size of their land and the size of their herds. The only help they can afford are migrant workers, and they want legal workers with all their paperwork in order. Spencer-Fleming's handling of this entire subplot is sensitively done and well told.

As a matter of fact, quite a bit of the action in I Shall Not Want involves people who are trying their utmost to better themselves and their families-- and not finding it at all easy. Hadley Knox is a prime example of this. She's had a hard life dealing with a succession of low-paying jobs and an abusive husband. Now she and her children are back in Millers Kill, and she's the rookie cop. Hadley took the job not so much because she thought she would make a good police officer but because she desperately needs the money for her children.

Spencer-Fleming knows how to stretch readers' nerves to the breaking point with tense situations; she knows how to make readers' eyes well up with tears; and she also knows how to defuse tension with well-placed (and laugh-out-loud funny) bits of humor. All this is evident in I Shall Not Want. She also did something else that I felt was brilliant. The book begins with Hadley Knox, the rookie, involved in a shoot-out. We see the entire scene through her inexperienced and terrified eyes. At the end of the book, we're taken back to this very same scene, this time from the point of view of the veteran cop, Russ Van Alstyne. It's an amazing piece of writing that I will remember for a long time.

I have two more to go before I'm caught up with this series. After closing the book on this one, I immediately wanted to pick up the next, but I will restrain myself. Better to pace these gems out at intervals rather than gulp them all down at once.

I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

ISBN: 9780312334871

Minotaur Books © 2008

Hardcover, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #6 Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Paperback Swap 

All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming

First Line: Monday, January 14: Midway this way of life we're bound upon, I woke to find myself in a dark wood, where the right road was wholly lost and gone.

Linda Van Alstyne kicked her husband, Millers Kill Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne, out of the house after he told her he'd fallen in love with Reverend Clare Fergusson. Three people are in pain. Linda doesn't know what she wants. Russ wants a woman he knows he can't have, and Clare is at a crossroads. She can't be true to her beliefs and be in love with a married man.

All of this misery turns to tragedy when Linda's best friend shows up at the Van Alstyne house and finds the woman brutally murdered on the kitchen floor. The state police believe they have an open-and-shut case because who else could possibly have killed Linda Van Alstyne than her husband and the woman he's having an affair with... the Reverend Clare Fergusson?

This fifth book in Spencer-Fleming's excellent series satisfies on so many levels. It raises some very thoughtful questions about relationships and morality in today's world while telling a story that's full of emotion and misdirection. The gossipmongers of small town Millers Kill are perfectly portrayed, and their interference raises the tension of this fast-paced tale.

As always, the two main characters continue to evolve. In All Mortal Flesh, Russ and Clare aren't quite as strong and capable as they've been in previous books. Clare seems almost frozen in despair, especially when the church hierarchy sends a deacon to oversee the behavior of their problem priest. Russ is almost brought to his knees by the death of his wife, numb with grief and regret, and reacting like a little boy when his mother arrives at the crime scene-- "short and squat and beautiful." Even Clare needs some of Margy Van Alstyne's quiet, no-nonsense strength, and when she soaks in the atmosphere of the older woman's kitchen, she realizes that it feels like her own grandmother's: "Like you had rounded all the bases and come home safe." Being able to see these two strong people when they're not at their best brings added depth to the story and to the series as a whole.

At times the plot seems a bit over-the-top and almost soap opera-ish, but I've grown so attached to these characters that I had no trouble suspending my disbelief. Spencer-Fleming employs some of the best misdirection to be found, and although one of the red herrings didn't throw me off the scent, I was annoyed that I did indeed inhale one of the oldest fish in the trade. Shame on me. Ah well, I'm going to chalk my mistake up to the fact that I was immersed in the story, and practically blind and deaf to the world around me. All Mortal Flesh ends in a heart-breaking cliffhanger that makes me want to pick up the next book and dive right in. In this series, the characters' lives mirror the real world. Everything is not wrapped up and tied with shiny bows. This fictional world is every bit as messy as our own lives, and Julia Spencer-Fleming has made me care deeply about what happens to Russ and Clare.

All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming

ISBN: 9780312312640

Thomas Dunne Books © 2006

Hardcover, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #5 Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap

To Darkness and To Death by Julia-Spencer-Fleming

First Lines: Cold. The cold awoke her, creeping underneath her blanket, spreading like an ache along her hip.

Linda Van Alstyne is rushing to finish the huge order of curtains and drapes in time for the opening of the area's new luxury resort. Millers Kill Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne is happy to leave his wife to her sewing machine; he plans to do a little hunting and read a few chapters of Lee Childs' latest Jack Reacher novel. The Reverend Clare Fergusson needs to get St. Alban's Church ready for the bishop's annual visit. Although Linda is allowed to keep sewing up a storm, the plans of Russ and Clare go right out the window.

Millicent van der Hoeven is selling her family's Adirondack estate to a nature conservancy, and now her younger sister is missing. No hunting or reading for Russ, and-- as a volunteer for the area Search and Rescue team, Clare isn't going to be cleaning a church. She'll be looking for Millicent's sister, too. But Millers Kill is a small place, and one person's problems have a way of being interconnected with several others. What was first believed to be a woman lost in the woods rapidly turns to kidnap, revenge, blackmail... and murder.

I continue to enjoy this series that I began reading such a short time ago. Spencer-Fleming knows how to write pulse-pounding scenes of action and danger while bringing her characters to life. Russ Van Alstyne and Clare Fergusson are two good people who've pledged themselves to help others. They are also falling deeply in love with each other, and this plunges them into a huge briar patch of moral dilemmas. I'd say that it's a treat to watch them walk the tightrope of professional respect and fiery passion except for one tiny fact: Spencer-Fleming not only makes readers feel the characters' attraction, she makes them feel their pain. This is probably the best relationship in crime fiction, and I'm always torn between inhaling the books in this series as quickly as I can to find out what happens to these two, or trying to take some time to savor each one. So far I'm savoring, but it's not easy.


Spencer-Fleming not only provides a top notch story and wonderfully complex characters (one of which is the upper New York state setting), there's also plenty of insight into human nature. She also touches on environmental issues with the estate being handed over to a nature conservancy, showing how this would affect the area's hunters as well as local logging companies and paper manufacturing.

If I have any complaints about this fourth book, it would be that too much time is spent with minor characters and not enough with Russ and Clare. The author is treading a very fine line with the two from a moralistic standpoint, and I know that they can't spend every day in each other's pockets, but when I find myself reading and reading and then thinking to myself, "Hey, where are Russ and Clare?" I know it's been too long between their scenes.

Now that I have that complaint off my chest, I find myself itching to pick up the next book in the series. I'm addicted!

To Darkness and To Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming

ISBN: 9780312988876

Minotaur Books © 2006

Mass Market Paperback, 364 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Fergusson and Van Alstyne mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Paperback Swap

Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming

First Line: Russ Van Alstyne had just gotten a tug on his line when he saw the old lady get up from between the headstones she had been trimming, lay down her gardening tools, and walk into the reservoir.

A section of the St. Alban's Episcopal Church roof is ready to collapse, and the chances of getting it repaired look bleak until Mrs. Marshall decides to break the trust created by her mother. Instead of helping to fund the free clinic, the money from the trust will allow St. Alban's costly repairs to be done.

Losing a bit of its funding turns out to be the least of the troubles facing the Millers Kill Free Clinic because its doctor goes missing and a local woman seems to be the best suspect in town. Reverend Clare Fergusson finds herself investigating Dr. Rouse's disappearance alongside Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne. What Clare and Russ don't realize is just how helpful Clare's volunteer work at the historical society is going to be. This case has long roots that go all the way back to the Prohibition era, and it's going to take everything Clare and Russ have got to untangle them to get at the truth.

I do love books that combine a current mystery with one that occurred in the past, and Julia Spencer-Fleming has created a marvelous one here. Chapters take the reader back to the 1930s when Mrs. Marshall's father disappeared without a trace, to the 1950s when her mother created the trust for the clinic, and even to 1970 when the young Russ Van Alstyne has his very first brush with the mystery.

Once again the author leads us through life in a small town. To those of us who have lived in one, it will seem as though we've gone home for a visit. To those who haven't, they can see it through the eyes of the Reverend Clare Fergusson, who, as a newcomer, is a rank amateur when it comes to dealing with a village gossip mill. The importance of a small town clinic is also outlined by showing us what happens when its doctor goes missing, and by how and why a local woman can campaign against having children receive immunizations to prevent disease.

When all was revealed at the end, I had to shake my head. All the clues were there, but I was so engrossed with the story and its characters that I didn't even think to tease out those threads of clues so that I could ponder them. If you like your books to be character rich, then you have to read these books by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Clare (a priest) and Russ (a married man) are two of the best characters in crime fiction, and the fact that they are two honorable people falling deeply in love with each other adds an extraordinary poignancy to each book.

Yes, these books can be read as standalones, but I would strongly advise against reading them as such. Yes, the stories are exceptional, but characters like Clare and Russ are like the rarest of pearls. You're going to want to collect them all.

Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming

ISBN: 9780312988883

St. Martin's Minotaur © 2005

Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages

Police Procedural, #3 Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Paperback Swap

A Fountain Filled With Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Title: A Fountain Filled With Blood
Author: Julia Spencer-Fleming
ISBN: 9780312995430
Publisher: St. Martin's, 2004
Mass Market Paperback, 400 pages
Genre: Police Procedural, #2 Clare Fergusson/ Russ Van Alstyne mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased as an eBook through Barnes and Noble.

First Line: The yahoos came by just after the dinner party broke up.

Small towns have a reputation for being quiet and safe that's not always deserved. The same holds true for Millers Kill, New York. The Fourth of July weekend brings a spate of vicious attacks that have Reverend Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne reeling-- not only because of the brutality but because the victims seem to have been chosen because they're gay.

When the third attack on an out-of-town developer ends in murder, Clare and Russ begin thinking outside the box. Could these attacks be connected to the murder victim's plan to open an upscale spa outside of town? What Clare and Russ don't know is that their thinking is going to lead them straight into danger.

It hasn't been that long since I read-- and fell in love with-- the first book in this series, In the Bleak Midwinter. I wasn't even halfway through that book when I began ordering all the rest of the volumes in the series. I honestly try to pace myself through series, especially when they're as good as this one started out being. After all, the faster I gobble them up, the longer I'll have to wait for the next book to be published. However, I don't feel quite so guilty about reading A Fountain Filled With Blood so soon after the first. You see... I told my husband about In the Bleak Midwinter, and as of the writing of this review, he's already finished all the books in the series. When he found out I was only on the second book, two words came to mind to describe his facial expression: "cat" and "canary."

As I read this book, I see that Clare and I are doomed to disagree about her choice of transportation, but as long as her choice doesn't put her life in danger again, I'll just smile and shake my head. One of the things about this series that has grabbed me by the throat is the sheer power of Spencer-Fleming's characterizations. Clare and Russ are real. I catch myself talking to them as I read. (This time I remember yelling, "Check the helicopter!" several times.) They have wonderful senses of humor. They make mistakes and wonder how they're going to make things right. And neither one is about to stand idly by when someone is in trouble. A Fountain Filled With Blood shows both of these characters in action: Russ in his protective police chief best, and Clare putting her Army helicopter pilot training to good use.

I know I've been praising the characters in this book to the skies, but that's not the only good thing to be found. Spencer-Fleming provides some excellent misdirection throughout as to the true motivations behind the crimes. I didn't put all the pieces together until the action was gearing up for the grand finale.

As much as I've enjoyed the first two books in this series, I'm going to make myself slow down. I don't want to be a whiner, impatiently waiting for the next book to be published. And if you haven't read any of Julia Spencer-Fleming's books, I have only one question for you: What on earth are you waiting for?

A Fountain Filled With Blood at Amazon.

A Fountain Filled With Blood at The Book Depository.

A Fountain Filled With Blood at Your Favorite Indie Bookseller.

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Title: In the Bleak Midwinter
Author: Julia Spencer-Fleming
ISBN: 9780312986766
Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2003
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Genre: Suspense, #1 Fergusson/Van Alstyne mystery
Rating: A
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby.

There's a new priest at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Miller's Kill, New York, and there are several parish members who believe the newcomer isn't a very good fit. Not only is Clare Fergusson a female, she's also an ex-Army helicopter pilot. When Clare finds a newborn baby left on the church doorstep, she meets the town police chief, Russ Van Alstyne, who's the ex-Army good shepherd of his Miller's Kill flock. Together, their search for the baby's mother leads them into a world of secrets, a world of trouble... and a world of temptation.

When this book was published, it made quite a noise-- being the first to win the Agatha Award, the Malice Domestic Award, the Anthony Award, the Dilys Award, the Barry Award, and the Macavity Award for Best First Novel. This is the first time this has ever happened, and the fanfare was tremendous. As in most cases when a book is praised from every rooftop, I merely lowered my head a bit and kept on reading my books. Massive praise makes me leary; however, when I was doing research recently, this book and its author reappeared on my radar, and I thought the time was right to see what all the shouting was about.

There's one good thing about coming late to the party: I can make an entrance and perhaps persuade other no-shows that they may want to dust off their invitations and join in the fun.

From the first line and from the first meeting of the two main characters, I found myself climbing up on the bandwagon. The December weather in the Adirondack Mountains did make me glad I was reading the book in sunny Phoenix, but In the Bleak Midwinter is all about Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne, two of the best characters I've come across in in all my reading this year.

I felt more in tune with Van Alstyne-- cynical and all too aware of the evil humans are capable of. I have to admit that Clare had a tendency to drive me nuts in the how-can-a-smart-person-be-so-darned-dumb sort of way. Yes, she's not used to the sort of weather Miller's Kill is prone to, but how many times does she have to risk frostbite before she gets a pair of decent boots... and how many times does she have to skid off the road before she gets a vehicle that can deal with snow?

I do not care for "femjep"-- those times when a female character knowingly puts herself in danger for no real reason. Clare does this in her silly boots and even sillier MG, and the only thing that saved that portion of the book for me was how she got herself out of the mess.

These two characters could have me going on forever, but I will show restraint. The way I'm waxing poetic over Clare and Russ, you're probably wondering why I didn't give this book my highest rating. There are two reasons: Clare's mule-headed meteorological stupidity and the fact that it was rather easy to deduce whodunit and why.

Other than that, I'll have you know that I already have the next five books in the series on my to-be-read shelves-- with the most recent firmly ensconced on my wishlist. I will admit to being a bit nervous, though. My husband Denis has also read and enjoyed In the Bleak Midwinter and moved right along to A Fountain Filled With Blood. We've talked about the first book, so when Denis told me what Clare's new car is in the second book, all I could do was groan. Clare, don't do this to me!

Isn't it grand when you find characters that make you talk to yourself?

In the Bleak Midwinter at Amazon.

In the Bleak Midwinter at The Book Depository.

In the Bleak Midwinter at Your Favorite Indie Bookseller.