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SensualPoet · 07-26-2011, 11:09 PM

In 2003, Julia Spencer-Fleming burst on the mystery scene with In The Bleak Midwinter, her first novel and the first in what is now a seven novel series featuring Rev Clare Fergusson of St Alban's Episcopal Church and Millers Kill Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne. It was widely praised and lavished with awards including the 2002 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 2003 Dilys Award and 2003 Barry Award for Best First Novel. Set in a fictional town in the New York state's Adirondack's, with references to real places like Albany and Glen's Falls, the atmosphere is semi-rural and steeped in real history: these were the stomping grounds of the original Dutch settlements as well as waves of other immigrants in the early 1700s -- among them my own ancestors.

Barely days after arriving to take up her post at St. Alban's, Clare is leaving the rectory on a chilly early December evening and discovers a baby abandonned on her doorstep. But who's baby? At the hospital, she meets Russ, the Chief of Police and the Burnses, a middle-aged couple intent on adoption. Soon Clare and Russ have hit it off and he takes her under his wing in a neighbourly way ... even as romantic sparks smoulder (the Chief is married, but Clare, though a minister, is eligible for marriage). In trying to track down the mother, a young woman is found murdered in a local river (or "kill" in Dutch parlance). Now the search is on for the father and suddenly various members of the congregation are involved. And it's a small town: not everything is quite as it seems ... could another murder by around the corner?

I really liked the set-up -- although I did find the "God" bits distracting (they are expected given the premise). This is a mystery in the Agatha Christie vein: murder, a puzzle, some character development ... it's not "Christian fiction" with a hidden message or supernatural intervention. The dialogue in the first half of the book seemed quite forced in places as the author worked through the details of the back story. Delightfully, however, the book hit its paces and the pay off was a believable puzzle solved, motivations of characters credible and dialog that increasingly wore well on Clare, Russ and other key figures. No less than Charlaine Harris and Louise Penny have written appreciative blurbs on Ms Spencer-Fleming's behalf. Definitely an entertainment and a series worth exploring.

Available from Kindle and Kobo for $7 to $9.

07-26-2011, 11:09 PM	#411
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Julia Spencer-Fleming - In the Bleak Midwinter In 2003, Julia Spencer-Fleming burst on the mystery scene with In The Bleak Midwinter, her first novel and the first in what is now a seven novel series featuring Rev Clare Fergusson of St Alban's Episcopal Church and Millers Kill Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne. It was widely praised and lavished with awards including the 2002 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 2003 Dilys Award and 2003 Barry Award for Best First Novel. Set in a fictional town in the New York state's Adirondack's, with references to real places like Albany and Glen's Falls, the atmosphere is semi-rural and steeped in real history: these were the stomping grounds of the original Dutch settlements as well as waves of other immigrants in the early 1700s -- among them my own ancestors. Barely days after arriving to take up her post at St. Alban's, Clare is leaving the rectory on a chilly early December evening and discovers a baby abandonned on her doorstep. But who's baby? At the hospital, she meets Russ, the Chief of Police and the Burnses, a middle-aged couple intent on adoption. Soon Clare and Russ have hit it off and he takes her under his wing in a neighbourly way ... even as romantic sparks smoulder (the Chief is married, but Clare, though a minister, is eligible for marriage). In trying to track down the mother, a young woman is found murdered in a local river (or "kill" in Dutch parlance). Now the search is on for the father and suddenly various members of the congregation are involved. And it's a small town: not everything is quite as it seems ... could another murder by around the corner? I really liked the set-up -- although I did find the "God" bits distracting (they are expected given the premise). This is a mystery in the Agatha Christie vein: murder, a puzzle, some character development ... it's not "Christian fiction" with a hidden message or supernatural intervention. The dialogue in the first half of the book seemed quite forced in places as the author worked through the details of the back story. Delightfully, however, the book hit its paces and the pay off was a believable puzzle solved, motivations of characters credible and dialog that increasingly wore well on Clare, Russ and other key figures. No less than Charlaine Harris and Louise Penny have written appreciative blurbs on Ms Spencer-Fleming's behalf. Definitely an entertainment and a series worth exploring. Available from Kindle and Kobo for $7 to $9.