Spencer-Fleming makes a triumphant return to her series ... It’s been seven years since her last novel, but Spencer-Fleming seamlessly continues her series, smoothly illustrating her characters’ nuances with a fresh look at them in an engrossing plot that reaches from contemporary times to past generations ... Spencer-Fleming's ninth novel continues a series hallmark: uncompromisingly melding her characters’ personal and professional concerns into tight plots ... Real people inhabit Spencer-Fleming’s novels with believable problems ... superb ... features believable twists that explore the complicated characters ... an outstanding addition to this solid series.
Flashbacks and flash-forwards are understandably tricky, especially among multiple eras, but Spencer-Fleming handles them with skill and ease, using secrets and revelations alike to ramp up the suspense and create a chain of investigation and mentorship among the police chiefs of each successive generation ... She also writes with compassion for those who struggle, whether with PTSD, financial strain or, like Clare, finding a satisfying balance between nervous new motherhood and a demanding job ... lets readers spend time inside the marriage of two beloved characters and follow along as they race against time to solve a confounding murder case that is threatening Millers Kill’s sense of unity and safety. The author also explores PTSD among returning veterans, small-town politics, class conflict, gender identity, religion and more in this multifaceted exploration of community and crime in a small town ... an exciting return to a beloved series, as well as an intriguing entry point for readers new to the world of Russ, Clare and Millers Kill.
In the latest book in this enthralling series set in Millers Kill, Upper New York State...what unfolds is a set of murderous circumstances that are fiendish and vastly entertaining in a crackerjack mystery story.
Spencer-Fleming has a marvelous ability to weave disparate storylines into a cohesive whole ... We’re in excellent hands here. . . and God willing, the 10th Reverend Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries will be coming along the pike in due course.
Series fans have had a long wait to dive back into Spencer-Fleming’s cleverly constructed mysteries, and this ninth entry, which delivers a haunting exposure of the town’s dark side, won’t disappoint.
Spencer-Fleming combines a first-rate mystery with flawed but endearing characters. Readers will hope they won’t have to wait another seven years for the next installment.
The narrative hopscotches nimbly but not very revealingly among the three time periods right through the unsatisfying, early-arriving solution, which doesn’t slow down the continuing complications in all three time frames that reveal where the author’s heart really lies ... As ambitious as Spencer-Fleming’s best as long as you don’t expect a tidy whodunit.
