In the Bleak Midwinter

Rating:
Summary: Good Debut
Review: "It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby." This grabber of an opening line sets the scene. A newborn baby is left on the back steps of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Millers Kill, New York on a bitter November night.

The tightly woven story features Clare Fergusson, a newly hatched, unorthodox Episcopal priest and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne who have more in common than you would think. Murders take place that seem to be linked with the baby's abandonment and the upper class parishioners of St. Albans.

The omnipresent star of the book is the weather. In this Adirondack community right on the Vermont border, the oncoming winter is a living thing that is ignored at one's peril. Ms. Spencer-Fleming is deft in drawing both interiors and exteriors. She broadens the dimensions of her characters in describing how they live, what they like to have around them, and how they cope with the brutal winters that are part and parcel of their landscape. Some of the townspeople have a "winter rat," a beat up, barely serviceable car they use when the weather and roads are so tough, the road salt eats up the undercarriages and driving is one controlled skid after another.

"In the Bleak Midwinter" is just short of a "cozy" with its budding romance between the sheriff and the priest and its delightful warm interior scenes. Clare could use a crash course in detecting. There are a couple of times this otherwise sensible lady goes into the "absolutely stupid heroine routine" usually depicted by a young lady who hears suspicious noises in a gloomy mansion in the dead of night. Does she call the cops, scream her head off, or hide under the covers like any sane person would do? No, she creeps around in the dark in her bare feet and nightgown, and then (surprise! surprise!) something GRABS her. Clare is not this bad, but almost. She tears off to suspicious, lonely places all by herself, without informing anybody in a sports car lamentably unsuited to a blizzard and dressed as if she is going on errand in New York City on a temperate autumn day. Be that as it may, Clare is immensely likeable. The author handles her strong religious faith expertly; it works naturally without being cloying or moralistic.

The book is a page-turner, well plotted, and the issues are never silly or contrived. I am looking forward to Ms. Spencer-Fleming's next book.

Rating:
Summary: Good Debut
Review: "It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby." This grabber of an opening line sets the scene. A newborn baby is left on the back steps of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Millers Kill, New York on a bitter November night.

The tightly woven story features Clare Fergusson, a newly hatched, unorthodox Episcopal priest and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne who have more in common than you would think. Murders take place that seem to be linked with the baby's abandonment and the upper class parishioners of St. Albans.

The omnipresent star of the book is the weather. In this Adirondack community right on the Vermont border, the oncoming winter is a living thing that is ignored at one's peril. Ms. Spencer-Fleming is deft in drawing both interiors and exteriors. She broadens the dimensions of her characters in describing how they live, what they like to have around them, and how they cope with the brutal winters that are part and parcel of their landscape. Some of the townspeople have a "winter rat," a beat up, barely serviceable car they use when the weather and roads are so tough, the road salt eats up the undercarriages and driving is one controlled skid after another.

"In the Bleak Midwinter" is just short of a "cozy" with its budding romance between the sheriff and the priest and its delightful warm interior scenes. Clare could use a crash course in detecting. There are a couple of times this otherwise sensible lady goes into the "absolutely stupid heroine routine" usually depicted by a young lady who hears suspicious noises in a gloomy mansion in the dead of night. Does she call the cops, scream her head off, or hide under the covers like any sane person would do? No, she creeps around in the dark in her bare feet and nightgown, and then (surprise! surprise!) something GRABS her. Clare is not this bad, but almost. She tears off to suspicious, lonely places all by herself, without informing anybody in a sports car lamentably unsuited to a blizzard and dressed as if she is going on errand in New York City on a temperate autumn day. Be that as it may, Clare is immensely likeable. The author handles her strong religious faith expertly; it works naturally without being cloying or moralistic.

The book is a page-turner, well plotted, and the issues are never silly or contrived. I am looking forward to Ms. Spencer-Fleming's next book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: A married cop who finds a priest more understanding and fun than his wife. A female priest who drinks beer, curses and loves her sports car. A very good mystery with plenty of possible suspects. A suspenseful chase thru the woods at night during a snowstorm. This was an excellent book and I hope the author is currently finishing up on the second book to this series and that the series will be a long run one. The characters were like real people - flawed - human and more than just words on the page. You could feel the warmth coming from them and found yourself laughing and smiling at some of the interaction. I could not put this book down, but hated how fast it read because I didn't want to let go of the characters. This book is very highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging
Review: I am friends with this author. She has written a very good first novel. Her characters are believable and well developed. The murder mystery plot is better than average. I look forward to her sequels.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting Reading
Review: I don't know when I've read a mystery that pleased me as much as this book does. I read it in one go as it is almost impossible to put down -- literally. I'm earnestly hoping the author has another half dozen books in the pipeline with these engaging characters.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: I just finished reading this book. It took me one day as I couldn't put it down. The story line was great. The characters were more than interesting and the story line very credible. I am anxiously,hopefully,awaiting a sequel. I hope this the beginning of a series about Clare and Russ.

Rating:
Summary: 5 STARS ++++++++++
Review: I just finished reading this book. It took me one day as I couldn't put it down. The story line was great. The characters were more than interesting and the story line very credible. I am anxiously,hopefully,awaiting a sequel. I hope this the beginning of a series about Clare and Russ.

Rating:
Summary: Great Winter Reading
Review: I read this book over a weekend while snowed in. It is a great cozy mystery that is difficult to put down. I never thought I would find a female Episcopalian priest a believable or interesting mystery protagonist but I was pleasantly surprised. The book had a good pace and was not immediately easy to figure out like some mystery novels. I look forward to following these characters in future books.

Rating:
Summary: Great Mystery!
Review: I really enjoyed this book! Filled with suspense and excitement, I had a very hard time putting it down, and was disappointed when the story ended....I wanted it to go on and on! Wonderful character development, I felt like these were people I really knew. I hope the author will revisit these characters again.

Rating:
Summary: Spirit and Flesh and Snowflakes
Review: I wasn't as dazzled as others seem to be at the author's prose, style, or suspense. I guessed the murderer about halfway through the book. That said, I have to admit I enjoyed the story, mostly because I enjoyed the unique protagonist. I liked that the sincerity of her vocation came through without diminishing her humanity. She's a well written character, and I'd probably read another of Spencer-Fleming's books for that reason alone.