From Publishers Weekly
Spencer-Fleming's second cozy-cum-thriller to feature the Reverend Clare Fergusson, an ex-army helicopter pilot turned Anglican priest, is every bit as riveting as her first, In the Bleak Midwinter (2002). A series of gay bashings, the discovery of PCBs in a local elementary school playground and a brutal murder heat up the Adirondacks town of Millers Kill, N.Y., hotter than the July weather. Clare, rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, and the very much married police chief Russ Van Alstyne, who have spent the last six months avoiding each other in hopes of dispelling their mutual attraction, find themselves working together on a perilous murder investigation. With eloquent exposition and natural dialogue, the precisely constructed plot moves effortlessly to its dramatic conclusion. The poignant reflections of Clare and Russ as they examine their own hearts and struggle with their feelings never detract from the crime solving. Amid a host of memorable characters, Clare stands out, whether daring to drive a sports car instead of a safer four-wheel-drive vehicle or donning her vestments to perform the evening service of Compline in an empty church lit with candles. Not just fans of ecclesiastical mysteries will have reason to rejoice.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Two gay men are brutally attacked in Spencer-Fleming's second Reverend Clare Fergusson mystery. Clare, a former army helicopter pilot, now a priest at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill, New York, feels the attacks are related, and the police should notify the community so people can protect themselves. Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne disagrees, wanting to avoid copycat crimes, and his refusal to act creates tension between the two, further complicated by their mutual attraction, although Russ is married. When a third man is killed, Clare launches her own investigation. Serious issues such as gay bashing and contamination of the town's water supply with PCBs add depth to the story. An exciting mountain rescue keeps the pages turning as the pace picks up at the end. Clare's army background and a plot framed by church rituals add interest to the series. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"[Spencer-Fleming] pulls it off again." -Chicago Tribune
"Spencer-Fleming's second cozy-cum-thriller to feature the Reverend Clare Fergusson...is every bit as riveting as her first...with eloquent exposition and natural dialogue, the precisely constructed plot moves effortlessly to its dramatic conclusion." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The plot is complicated, and the ethical issues are even thornier. Wisely, Spencer-Fleming treats them with the same delicacy she extends to Clare's forbidden love."-The New York Times
"Despite the brutal crimes, this is a quiet and civilized story just right for those who enjoy a modern take on the old-fashioned whodunit."-Rocky Mountain News
"Serious issues...add depth to the story. An exciting mountain rescue keeps the pages turning as the pace picks up at the end."-Booklist
"Even more action, more plot-twists, and more unconsummated romance than in Clare and Russ's notable debut."-Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[Spencer-Fleming] pulls it off again." -Chicago Tribune
"Spencer-Fleming's second cozy-cum-thriller to feature the Reverend Clare Fergusson...is every bit as riveting as her first...with eloquent exposition and natural dialogue, the precisely constructed plot moves effortlessly to its dramatic conclusion." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The plot is complicated, and the ethical issues are even thornier. Wisely, Spencer-Fleming treats them with the same delicacy she extends to Clare's forbidden love."-The New York Times
"Despite the brutal crimes, this is a quiet and civilized story just right for those who enjoy a modern take on the old-fashioned whodunit."-Rocky Mountain News
"Serious issues...add depth to the story. An exciting mountain rescue keeps the pages turning as the pace picks up at the end."-Booklist
"Even more action, more plot-twists, and more unconsummated romance than in Clare and Russ's notable debut."-Kirkus Reviews
Book Description
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...
From the Back Cover
Small Town Murder...Big Time Trouble...
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...
"[Spencer-Fleming] pulls it off again." -Chicago Tribune
"Spencer-Fleming's second cozy-cum-thriller to feature the Reverend Clare Fergusson...is every bit as riveting as her first...with eloquent exposition and natural dialogue, the precisely constructed plot moves effortlessly to its dramatic conclusion." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
About the Author
Julia Spencer-Fleming's first book, In the Bleak Midwinter, won the 2001 St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Contest for Best First Traditional Mystery. Born on Plattsburgh Air Force Base, Julia spent most of her childhood on the move as an Army brat. She studied acting and history at Ithaca College, and received her JD at the University of Maine School of Law. She lives in a 180-year-old farmhouse outside of Portland, Maine, with her husband, three children, and beloved big dog. She can be reached at www.juliaspencerfleming.com.
A Fountain Filled with Blood FROM THE PUBLISHER
In front of him, the headlights illuminated a swath of achingly green corn, cut off from the shoulder of the road by a sagging fence of barbed wire twisted around rough posts. His door was yanked open, and he wanted to think of Paul, to think of his children, but the only thing in his head was how the fence looked like the one on the cover of Time, like the one Matthew Shepard died on, and he was going to die now too, and it was going to hurt more than anything. "C'mere, faggot," one of them said as he was dragged from his seat. And the pain began.
In In the Bleak Midwinter, Reverend Clare Fergusson was quickly introduced to a more eventful life than she had expected after moving to the small town of Millers Kill in upstate New York. But the Episcopal priest and former Army Air Force chopper pilot proved to her flock - and to police chief Russ Van Alstyne - that she could cope with the unexpected, even with it was as dire as murder. In this new adventure for the two ill-matched friends (who are gamely resisting something beyond friendship), evidence shows that a small town can hold just as much evil as the Wicked City.
FROM THE CRITICS
The New York Times
The plot is complicated, and the ethical issues are even thornier.
Wisely, Spencer-Fleming treats them with the same delicacy that she
extends to Clare's forbidden love. — Marilyn Stasio
The Washington Post
This is the second installment of Spencer-Fleming's series featuring Episcopalian priest Clare Fergusson. She is a quietly gutsy former military chaplain and chopper pilot who, unmarried at 35 and not crazy about it, has an aching crush on the local police chief, Russ Van Alstyne. While committed to his marriage, the chief goes weak-kneed despite himself whenever he is around Fergusson. — Richard Lipez
Publishers Weekly
Spencer-Fleming's second cozy-cum-thriller to feature the Reverend Clare Fergusson, an ex-army helicopter pilot turned Anglican priest, is every bit as riveting as her first, In the Bleak Midwinter (2002). A series of gay bashings, the discovery of PCBs in a local elementary school playground and a brutal murder heat up the Adirondacks town of Millers Kill, N.Y., hotter than the July weather. Clare, rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, and the very much married police chief Russ Van Alstyne, who have spent the last six months avoiding each other in hopes of dispelling their mutual attraction, find themselves working together on a perilous murder investigation. With eloquent exposition and natural dialogue, the precisely constructed plot moves effortlessly to its dramatic conclusion. The poignant reflections of Clare and Russ as they examine their own hearts and struggle with their feelings never detract from the crime solving. Amid a host of memorable characters, Clare stands out, whether daring to drive a sports car instead of a safer four-wheel-drive vehicle or donning her vestments to perform the evening service of Compline in an empty church lit with candles. Not just fans of ecclesiastical mysteries will have reason to rejoice. Regional author tour. Agent, James Vines. (Apr. 7) Forecast: The jacket art, depicting a barbed wire fence and what look like fireworks against a dark sky, does little to convey the subject or theme, but the author's name should be recommendation enough for fans of In the Bleak Midwinter. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
One gay-bashing could be a prank, and two hardly constitute a pattern worth making a public announcement that may only encourage more of the same. But when a third victim is savagely killed, Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson ignores the wishes of Millers Kill (NY) police chief Russ Van Alstyne and leaks the connection to the press. Russ is furious, not just because he doesnﾽt want to lose control of his case to a woman heﾽs obviously drawn to (never mind his wife Linda, who remains oblivious at home), but because the late Bill Ingrahamﾽs sexual orientation was perhaps his least controversial feature. His company, BWI Development, had signed a deal with local landowner Peggy Landry to bring a glitzy resort to this quiet corner of the Adirondacks. Environmentalists are up in arms at BWIﾽs likely impact on the region and the rumor that the Landry parcel is already contaminated with PCB. The case is a minefield for the chief, but itﾽs nothing compared to his deepening love/hate relation to Clare, whoﾽs capable of segueing from a private sermon on chastity to getting drunk, flirting, spying without authorization on a suspect in the gay-bashing, and leaping out a window to be rescued by Russ, whoﾽs constantly losing his temper, swearing, and muttering, "Scuse my French." Even more action, more plot twists, and more unconsummated romance than in Clare and Russﾽs notable debut (In the Bleak Midwinter, 2002). As Russ demands of the former Army pilot whoﾽs about to save his life: "What kind of priest are you anyway?" Agent: Jimmy Vines/Vines Agency
Art & Photography
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